one of the more interesting things about reading the end of the book of Colossians is how Paul recognizes individuals who are helpers and friends to him in the ministry of the gospel. These people were working hard to communicate the message of Christ, and who even suffered for their dedication t...

1 Thessalonians was written as a letter to the church at Thessalonica, early on in Paul's ministry. It's believed to have been written not long after Timothy joined Paul's mission, and it seems to be aimed at answering questions that the Thessalonians may have about God and the gospel of Christ. ...

The Thessalonian Christians knew God and understood that God's Kingdom was coming. Paul calls them sons of the light‚. They knew how they were supposed to live, they knew God, and they knew persecution. It is interesting to me that they were told to comfort one another with the knowledge that Chr...

God has preserved His Word in the form of the Scriptures so that we can direct our lives according to what it says. The Bible reveals the character of God to us; its histories, poems, commands, and teachings work to give us a dynamic picture of God. More than this, as we study the Word with the i...

In 1 Timothy, we see Paul writing to his fellow minister and spiritual son, Timothy. He had established Timothy as a leader in the Church and was now instructing him on how to develop and organize leadership within the Church. When I read 1 Timothy, I'm struck with how far Church leadership has d...

When you believe in Jesus Christ, ask Him to come into your life, and dedicate yourself to following Him, you change. We run into obvious problems when we call ourselves Christians without that commitment inspiring belief in the work of Christ. What is a Christ follower supposed to look like? Wha...

It is really good when we can get together as Christians and have great fellowship and fun. It should grow our bonds and be encouraging, but it doesn't always come naturally. Christians can and do still have difficulty with each other sometimes. While difficulties are normal, we need to know and ...

Despite some of the really the bad history between Jews and Christians, it is true that to follow Christ is to follow a Jewish King. Jesus was the fulfillment of the old Testament law and prophets. Nearly the entire first round of Christians were Jewish Christians. Jesus lived and ministered
with...

The LORD did what He said He would. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of...

The Bible gives us an explanation for the evil we experience, right in its first chapters: Sin. Sin is now a very real part of our personal lives, and our world. It is visible around us every day, in multiple ways. Wars are a consequence of sin. Any type of fight and trouble, whether it's interpe...

What does it mean to have prideto be proud? The English dictionary says that pride is feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something regarded as highly honorable or creditable to oneself. Another way of putting it would be some kind of accomplishment that builds your reputation; that not only ma...

So much of our culture today comes from the entertainment industry. Think of fashion and beauty trends, so many of our jokes, sayings, values, and goals are all influenced, if not directly set, by entertainment and Hollywood. It's amazing to me because this is true even though we all know the ent...

As Christians, we are called by God to a unique focus. We are no longer to pursue our own pleasures in this world, although we will have life pleasures as God gives them to us. our main pursuit becomes building the Kingdom of God. We know that Jesus Christ will come again soon, and that when He c...

False teachers were a problem in the time of the New Testament, and they are a problem still today. Teaching what God has said is very important. God has given us special revelation through the Bible, and that is what should be taught. The difficulty comes in when people claim to be teaching the ...

It's not all about what we believe, it is also about how we live. How we live reveals what we truly believe. John was a man who understood this and emphasized the importance of knowing and allowing the Holy Spirit to change us as we continue to seek God. We see this come through 1 John 2:3-4, Now...

Revelation 4 tells us what God is going to do and what will take place in our near future. Revelation 4 begins this way, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will...

Revelation is a fascinating book because it speaks to us from the spiritual world. It's one of those books that we can't rightly interpret based off our own point of view or life experiences, instead we must look to the rest of the Bible to interpret the rich imagery we find here. In Revelation 6...

Revelation tells us clearly that someone will come claiming to be God. The Bible calls him the antichrist. This man will claim the authority of God, and mimic some of the works of Christ, but he is neither. I believe that it is the Holy Spirit who is currently holding him back from enacting his p...

In our reading, there are seven seals opened by the Lamb of God. When He opens the final seal, the Bible says there is silence in heaven for about half an hour. This is the prelude to the seven angels blowing seven trumpets. Finally, the seven angels pour out the seven last plagues of the wrath o...

After the 1,000-year reign, God will change everything. His plan of redemption will come to completion. There will be a new heaven and a new earth that will come down out of heaven, and men will live with God. The Bible tells us that the old things involving great pain and turmoil will be elimina...

Revelation 22 is full of amazing things, which is very appropriate for the last chapter of the Bible! The stream of water that flows from under God's throne of grace, the famous tree of life, these are strange things to talk about for those who don't think about the spiritual world. But for those...