If you’ve been around church very long and you’ve heard about “spiritual warfare”, you’ll find one of the key passages on the subject in today’s Bible reading. Paul says, “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,…
Again, I’ll highlight what I have said before, that when you see a word or phrase repeated in close proximity in the Bible, it’s a signal of its importance. In today’s Bible reading, Paul uses reconcile five times in only three verses. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) The word reconcile is used in accounting. You may have reconciled your checkbook to make sure that…
I’ve said many times that when you see a word or idea repeated several times in a few Bible verses, it’s a pretty good sign that the word or idea is important. Well, in today’s Bible reading, the word “comfort” appears nine times in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. That’s nine times in five verses! It’s safe to say that…
The Resurrection of Jesus either happened or it didn’t. So what difference would it make if it did or didn’t happen? What if it never happened and the entire Christian movement — from the very beginning — is based on hopeful wishes of Jesus’ Disciples? Would that make much difference? Paul thinks the Resurrection is…
Today’s Bible reading includes what is often called “The Love Chapter”. Part of this chapter 1 Corinthians 13:4–7) is often used during wedding ceremonies. But Paul didn’t write this chapter to describe marital love. Instead, he wrote it to show the superiority of love over spiritual gifts. He goes so far as to say that without love,…
Paul gives a mandate by way of example in today’s Bible reading. After discussing the fact that he has not lorded his apostleship over anyone, Paul tells us about his methodology for reaching people with the Gospel Message: Think outside the box to reach people. Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I…
