Doing What the Bible Says Isn’t a Requirement but a Response In the post about how to be saved we realized there’s nothing we need to do (or can do) to earn our salvation; it’s a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). This means we don’t need to first obey God before he accepts us. He […]
Discover What the Bible Says about Salvation Paul, in writing to the church in Ephesus, shares a succinct and essential truth about salvation. He tells them how to be saved, which reminds them how they were saved. He writes “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, […]
We Dishonor God by Persisting in Sin Because We Assume His Grace Will Cover It A highschool friend heard about the doctrine of eternal security—which some people shorten to the more accessible mantra of “once saved, always saved”—and latched onto it. She took God’s grace for granted. She reasoned this creed allowed her to act […]
Stop Asking If You Can Do Something and Start Asking If You Should We have freedom through Jesus. Do we believe this is true? How does this idea inform our day-to-day actions? We’ll do well to consider this thought to determine the best way to apply it to our lives. As children, our parents taught […]
Learn More about John Mark There is an interesting story that begins in Acts 13. From it we can learn about the life of John Mark. God tells the church to commission and send out Barnabas and Paul to other cities, telling the people they meet about Jesus. They do this, taking with them John […]
When God Wants to Give You a Second Chance Make Sure You’re Ready to Receive It You’re probably not familiar with Ahithophel in the Bible. His life serves as a lesson in how not to respond to disappointment. Though his name does show up a few times during the reign of King David, Ahithophel is […]
The Lord Is Gracious, Compassionate, and Just After Isaiah records the stinging words of God against his people, Isaiah adds a passage of comfort and reassurance. It starts with the word yet. He writes, “Yet the Lord longs . . . Here are the three things that result from God’s longing for us, to offer us grace, compassion, […]
Hezekiah and Moses Plead with God for a Different Outcome In Isaiah we read about King Hezekiah. The king is sick, and Isaiah comes to him with a dire message from God. Through Isaiah, God tells Hezekiah to put his affairs in order because his illness is fatal. Death looms. Though few of us would […]
Regardless of our behavior, God’s love for us is unconditional When we do something nice for someone, we often expect something nice in return. And when they do something kind for us, we desire to reciprocate. It’s human nature. And if someone is mean to us, our first impulse is to respond to them likewise. […]
What We May Perceive As a Lack of Love May Actually be the Embodiment of It In the book of Revelation, John shares a grand vision with an epic scope, far reaching and future focused. But before we get to that, God has some first-century messages for seven area churches. Three of these messages appear […]