Read James 4:15–17 You ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15 Some people think God’s will is a cold, impersonal machine. God starts it going, and it is up to them to keep it functioning smoothly. If they...
Read Ecclesiastes 1:4–8 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. Ecclesiastes 1:4 From the human point of view, nothing seems more permanent and durable than the planet on which we live. When we say that something is as sure as the world, we are echoing Solomon’s confidence...
Read 1 John 4:17–19 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 Two brand-new words come into John’s vocabulary here: fear and punishment. And this passage...
Read 1 Corinthians 6:9–20 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18 Having sex outside of marriage is like a man robbing a bank: He gets something, but it is not...
Read 1 John 2:12–15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15 John’s epistle warns us that there is a wrong kind of love, a love God hates. This is love...
Read 1 Peter 5:4 When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:4 Christian workers may labor for many different kinds of rewards. Some work hard to build personal empires; others strive for the applause of men; still others...
Read Galatians 4:19–31 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you … Galatians 4:19 We parents never seem to outgrow our children. The saying goes, “When they’re little, they’re a handful; but when they’re grown, they’re a heart full!”...
Read 2 Corinthians 10:1–6 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. 2 Corinthians 10:4 There are walls of resistance in the minds of people, and these walls must be pulled down (2 Cor. 10:4 KJV). What are these “mental walls”? Reasonings that are opposed to...
Read Colossians 2:8–15 In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:9–10 When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He went in a human body (Acts 1:1–11). It was...
Read 1 John 2:9–11 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 1 John 2:10 A man who was walking down a dark street one night saw a pinpoint of light coming toward him in a faltering way. He thought...