Read 1 Timothy 1:12–20 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:14 The grace of God turned the persecutor into a preacher, and the murderer into a minister and a missionary! So dramatic...
Read Colossians 3:1–2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2 How do we set our hearts on “things above”? The secret is found in a literal translation of verse 2: “Habitually set your mind—your attention—on things above, not on things on the earth.” Our feet...
Read Colossians 2:16–23 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Colossians 2:18 The word translated “disqualify” means “to declare unworthy of a prize.” It is an athletic term: The umpire disqualifies contestants who do not obey the rules....
Read Isaiah 13—18 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! Isaiah 14:12 Jeremiah had prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last for only seventy years. So, the capture of...
Read Romans 5:1–21 We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3–4 Suffering builds Christian character. The sequence is: suffering— perseverance—character—hope. Our English word tribulation comes from the Latin word tribulum. A tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing...
Read Job 18 The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning. Job 18:5 In Bildad’s second speech, his weapon was fear. However, Bildad made two mistakes when he gave this speech. To begin with, he preached it to the wrong man, because Job...
Read 2 Timothy 2:1–13 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:5 A person who strives as an athlete to win a game and get a crown must be careful to obey all the...
Read 1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 1 Peter 1:17 God will give us many gifts and privileges as we grow in the Christian life, but He will never give us the...
Read Philippians 1:21–24 To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 James tells us that “a double-minded man [is] unstable in all he does” (James 1:8). Or, to use the old Latin proverb: “When the pilot does not know what port he is heading for,...
Read 2 Corinthians 10:7–11 Even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 2 Corinthians 10:8 In my many years of ministry, I have never ceased to be amazed at...