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  BIBLE READING: 1Corinthians 15-16 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. —  1 Corinthians 15:26 While visiting an elderly member of our church, I read the passage in  John 14:1-6  where Jesus promises to prepare a place for us. When I was finished reading, she said she did not understand why it should take the Lord  so long  to get her place ready. She added, “I don’t need anything fancy.” Instead of being afraid of death, she could not wait to be with the Savior.                 But not every Christian faces death without fear. Shortly before he died, my dad asked, “Will God accept me when I die? So much has gone wrong in my life.” Someone else asked me, “Will everything be all right when I die?”                 If you are afraid of death, be willing to admit it. The apostle Paul calls death “...

  BIBLE READING: 1Corinthians 8-11 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12             Forgive me for dropping right in the middle of this chapter and, quite honestly, the middle of Paul’s thought as well, but I want to take this opportunity to show you the importance of understanding context. Many will quote the Bible, but very easily misapply it by simply not comprehending the heart of the message. Yet, the messages’ core could have readily been found if the time had been taken to understand its context.             So, let’s review the context. In this case, Paul is warning the person who believes themselves to be standing, lest they experience a fall due to their pride. The passages prior to this verse are very telling as to what is in the mind of the person who believes they are perhaps above it all, standing tall. P...

  BIBLE READING: 1Corinthians 4-7                 One of the main reasons Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, a church he had personally founded about 5 years earlier, was because there was open sin in the church that no one was doing anything about. So, as the founding pastor, he took on the task of confronting it. An incestuous relationship with a stepmother was a forbidden act by both Greek and Roman law. It should have been enough that this was declared sin by the Bible, but if not, then surely the fact that worldly culture itself considered it sin would settle the matter. Paul made it clear that the man was a well-known person in the church and that the woman was his stepmother, or father’s wife, not his biological mother. Paul said it was an embarrassment on the church that this thing was happening, but it was even worse that nothing was being done about it. He then pointed to the underlying...

  BIBLE READING: 1Corinthians 1-3                 A 2011 survey by the United States Postal Service indicated that the typical American home receives a personal letter—not including greeting cards or invitations—once every seven weeks. It was once every two weeks as recently as 1987. A stream of advertisements still arrives; but personal letters have largely been replaced by email, Facebook, and Twitter.                          In Paul’s days, letter writing was the only option if you wanted to send a message to far-flung friends. In the Greco-Roman world letters followed certain conventions. They would begin with a salutation followed by prosaic words of thanksgiving. Concrete directions of some sort (called the parenesis) often sat sandwiched between the main body of the text and the cl...

  BIBLE READING: Romans 14-16                 God never intended for us to know about evil. In the beginning He made the universe, the world, all living things and mankind. Then He called it good. Evil, sin and corruption never entered the picture until Eve was deceived by Satan. He used her curiosity about evil to trick her into thinking she would be better off if she knew what evil was. The result was disastrous for mankind. As Adam and Eve partook in the tree that God commanded them not to eat of, their eyes were open to the knowledge of good and evil. The rest is history, the result was the universe and everything within it had a working knowledge that both good and evil existed, and we were not the better for it.             In today's passage, Paul is giving a wonderful key to living the Christian life. We are to be wise about what is good, a...

  BIBLE READING: Romans 11-13                 In this passage we see some wisdom that we can all take to heart.   Paul gives us three things to remember and put into practice.   All three parts of this verse can be relatable to any and every circumstance that we may find ourselves in.   Paul says that true Christians rejoice in hope, are patient in tribulation, and are constant in prayer.   Let’s take them one at a time.             “Rejoice in hope,” Paul says.   Let the hope that you have in God cause you to live with great joy and delight.   Regardless of circumstance, we should always let the gospel of Jesus Christ bring us lasting joy.   Our hope of being made right with God through Christ, our hope of Christ returning, the hope of heaven, our hope in the promises of God, and so much more, are sure foundation...

  BIBLE READING: Romans 8-10                 “ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:16 ESV)                 In our world each action, if valuable, must be performed in a manner incurring more benefit than cost. If an action costs more than it benefits, one is moving backwards. No fulfillment is resultant of regression, and no gain is typified by a heavier loss. This is how our markets behave, these are the fundamental truths of an efficient economy. This is the earthly economy. But what of heaven’s economy? What of the spiritual currencies by which eternal transactions are made? Should we operate according to the same principles of benefit and cost for attaining salvation? Do we ever try? In Christ, our way has been paid. Our eternal life has been secured through the subs...

  BIBLE READING: Romans 1-3 “When you play with sin, you pay.” -Unknown             A sad discourse of the damage done by sin is detailed in Romans 1. Paul addressed the people that “… knew God …” or had a relationship with Him (Romans 1:21, 28, 32). Somehow, they ignored what they had learned about Him and the way He had shown them to live. They “did their own thing.” The saddest part of this chapter is that God got to the point that He gave them over to the consequences of their sins. God gave up on them! I imagine God thinking or saying, “I convicted your hearts about sin. I gave you the knowledge to know what sin is and that you would stay away from it, but you ignored me. You think you are so smart (Romans 1:21, 22), but you will not stop sinning.  I give up on telling you to flee from iniquity, and now you will reap the consequences of your wickedness.” Three times God said He wou...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 24-28                 Perhaps, Paul could have chosen a life with fewer problems, but he chose a route that would be the most effective for the Lord. That life had many difficult times, no doubt. Still, those trials allowed him to have a ministry like not many others have ever experienced. Unintentionally, Paul had an opportunity that reached many high-ranking political and religious leaders. His bold preaching told many about Jesus. Many were angered, and Paul faced prison many times for his courageous stand. While incarcerated, he had the opportunity to give his testimony and the testimony of Jesus Christ to people he would not ordinarily have been able to reach. In Acts 23-25 alone, he was able to speak to a council of Jews and Romans, Felix, Drusilla, Sadducees, Pharisees, King Agrippa, the High Priest, Chief of Jews, Festus, and elders of the Jews. ...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 20-23                 The religious leaders were trying to stop Paul. They were willing to do whatever it took, even agreeing to a plot to kill him. More than forty people had taken an oath not to eat or drink till they had killed Paul. It seemed as if this could be the end of Paul and his earthly ministry. But the Lord had encouraged Paul the night before, saying that he would also bring the good news of Jesus in Rome. God would provide a way for Paul. It might not be the way Paul initially thought it would be, but God’s plan could not be stopped. God’s plans always triumph over the plans of people— especially when it comes to plots of destruction and death. God’s plans may sometimes appear to be frustrated or even defeated, but there is always more to the story when people think they can do as they please, ignoring God or believing he has no power. Eventually and finally, God’...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 17-19 “Being in a garage does not make you a car any more than being a church member will not make you a Christian.” - Unknown             Certain Jews thought they, too, could perform miracles. Maybe it was because of all the wonders God used Paul to perform (Acts 19:13). They may have figured, “If Paul can do these miracles in the name of Jesus, perhaps we can too, if we use that magic-word, ‘Jesus’.” The seven sons of Sceva tried to cast out demons. When they did, they spoke what they thought would give them control over demons, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” (Acts 19:13). Instead of making the demons flee, their attempt provoked the demons, saying, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” After that remark, the demons attacked the brothers. They stripped, beat, and chased the fake Christians away (Acts 19:16). Being a real Christian is nothing that can be faked, altho...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 13-16 There is a common saying that goes, “Love makes the world go around.” We hope that this is true, but at times it seems that “Money makes the world go around.” On a playing field that is not level, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It’s the same between nations with poorer nations being “mined” by the rich. All too frequently our lives our controlled by money; it is what we worry about and what we wish we had more of. Certainly, this can be seen by the words and actions of the young girl’s owners.             As followers of Jesus, though, we are called to a higher calling than making ends meet and getting more. We are conduits of God’s love and grace. Having been loved, we are called to share love and to make love our “bottom line.” Lord, forbid that we count our blessings in dollars and cents. Instead, may our blessings be experiences of your grace and opportunities to share your ...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 9-12             Peter is beaten and thrown into prison for talking about Jesus, but God sent an angel to break him out. Chained to two soldiers and guarded by 14 others, Peter needed a rescuer. God sent an angel to free Peter from his chains, rescuing him from a hostile court and certain death. The angel escorted Peter past the guards, and Peter walked out of prison unscathed.             Peter’s escape was miraculous, but no more miraculous than God’s work in our church today. Every day, God offers people freedom. It comes through prayer with fellow believers (James 5:16), the accountability and support of a group (Galatians 6:1-2), and the daily practice of listening to Jesus and doing what He says (Philippians 2:12-13).   God storms into prisons of loneliness, addiction, financial bondage, worthlessness, and rejection. He sets people fre...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 3-4 “Repent … that your sins may be blotted out.” — Acts 3:19 In 2010, auto manufacturers recalled a staggering 20 million cars in the US for various defects. The thought of such many defective cars on the road is startling enough. But what is more disturbing is the apathy of some owners. In one instance, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety warned owners, “It’s a free repair. Get it done. It may save your life.” Yet, despite the risk to their own lives, 30 percent never responded. Likewise, many ignore God’s “recall notice” to the entire human race. Unlike a defect found in automobiles, the moral defect of humanity is not the Maker’s fault. He made everything “very good” ( Gen. 1:31 ), but people’s sin ruined it. God’s offer to us is “repent … that your sins may be blotted out” ( Acts 3:19 ).                 God offers not just a free repair of the human heart...

  BIBLE READING: Acts 1-2                 Acts 1 is a passage that always strikes me as somewhat humorous. The disciples are told to wait for the Holy Spirit, then they are told they will have to wait for the kingdom of God to come in fullness, but at the moment when Jesus has finally commanded them what to do in the meantime, they are left staring into the clouds. I’d like to say that I know better, but I think I too often find myself in a similar position as the disciples. I imagine I’m not the only one. We desire the return of Christ. We long to see him return in glory. But we get so caught up in the vision of heaven that we miss the reality of our task in the present. Too often Christianity is about “getting saved” and then waiting on heaven. Rather, Jesus’ command in these verses looks more like a task we are called to accomplish. It looks like a drama in which Jesus, the main actor, has given his r...

  BIBLE READING: John 20-21 In the last part of chapter 19, verses 36-42 and in chapter 20 we read of the compassion and concern that the followers of Jesus have for him. In chapter 19, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus, and Nicodemus who had come to Jesus by night (John 3), step forward and take care of the body of Jesus by providing a tomb and rich spices to anoint his body. His close friends, John, Mary, and others who had been around the cross join with them in burying the body of Jesus. Overcome by sorrow they “bury” all of the promises Jesus had made. What a joy however, when they arrive three days later to find the tomb standing open and the body of Jesus gone. Christ has now performed the ultimate miracle. To prove it he appears to Mary of Magdala (10-18), to the disciples with Thomas absent (19-23), and to the disciples with Thomas present (24-31).   Thomas had stated that he would not believe that Jesus had been raised from the grave until he saw ...