Halloween is a complicated challenge for Christians to handle in some cultures because of how imbedded it has become in many places and the lines between "right" and "wrong" can quickly become blurred. Some people respond by oversimplifying the issue by using texts like Ephesians 5:11 to flatly condemn the holiday, while others simply refuse …
How to Grow in Prayer
1st Timothy 2:1-2, 8 (CSB) First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity... 8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, …
An Anointing: 1st John 2:20a
Verse 20a: An Anointing But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. John writes a series of encouragements to reassure his spiritual children of God’s redemptive work in Christ from “their sins have been forgiven” (v.12), to “they will remain forever if they do the will of …
Have You Forgotten What You Look Like? James 1:23-24
James 1:23-24 (CSB) Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. This is a verse for the people of our day. …
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The End of the Age: Matthew 25
REVIEW Previously in Matthew 24 we studied the Lord’s answer to the first two questions asked by his disciples in verse three by revealing the first two questions and then pausing to teach the disciples a lesson so that they may be prepared for the coming of Christ. They asked: When will these things happen? …
The Olivet Discourse: Matthew 24
Background: Matthew 23:37 – 24:3 Read & Pray: Matthew 23:37-24:51 The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 form one prophetic-apocalyptic revelation from Jesus about the destruction of Jerusalem, the coming of Christ, and the end of the age. Literary Analysis One of the first principles of Biblical interpretation is …
The Antichrists Within: 1st John 2:19a
Verse 19a: The Antichrists Within They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. To wrap our heads around this verse requires us to see the Church …
The Last Hour: 1st John 2:18
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. The paternal note in John’s voice continues as he tenderly shepherds his beloved children in the faith through the many trials they …
Reflections on 1st John 2:12-17
NET: 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name. 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one. 2:14 I have written to you, children, …
A World Passing Away: 1st John 2:17
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. The second reason Christians should not love this world is because the realm of darkness and its evil desires are passing away and only those who do the will of God will remain forever. The world and its desires: …
