Romans 5:8God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Sometimes we feel like we need to clean up our act, or clean up our mouth, or clean up our thoughts, or, for crying out loud, clean up our house, to even be worthy of God’s notice. But true love is being seen at our worst and still being chosen. When God placed his seal of love upon you, it wasn’t when you...  Read More

Romans 4:20No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God. Wow. Abraham never wavered. Now this verse doesn’t claim he was without doubt. He had his doubts, to be sure (Genesis 15:2-3; 16:4; 17:17; 20:2)! But he clung to the promise of God, and it held. We all need to drop anchor in the Word of God. When the doubts come and the winds blow, we need something to stabilize us. This is where...  Read More

Romans 3:20By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight. Have you ever felt like you needed to curry the favor of a hard to please boss? Or ingratiate yourself to the society of important people? You finally feel you may have arrived, only to discover the standard keeps getting moved ahead. Your best efforts never seem good enough. And, unfortunately, that’s been much of our e...  Read More

Romans 2:21You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? Integrity comes from the idea of being unified, being whole, being one. What I believe, say, think, and do are all the same. I’m not one person over here, and a different person over there. I’m consistent. That’s what it means to be a person of integrity. You hold yourself to the same standard you hold for others. It’s so easy to let...  Read More

Romans 1:11-12For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Paul loved going to church. He longed to give and receive. He cherished the opportunity of a gathered assembly. He saw the potential at every hand’s turn. For the last 12 weeks our gatherings have been virtual. A...  Read More

Acts 27:22Yet now I urge you to take heart. Chapter 27 is a difficult read to say the least. Talk about burning calories. It takes it out of you just reading the narrative. Seems the storm will never end. One challenge right after another. And then it says in verse 20, neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and all hope of our being saved was abandoned. In other words, we’re done. And then P...  Read More

Acts 28:20It is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain. The hope of Israel that Paul is referring to is Jesus. And there were years that Paul traveled abroad, and there were times he was confined in prison. But whatever state he found himself in, he learned the art of contentment. This is where we leave Paul, the traveler extraordinaire: in a chain. This is our last view of the...  Read More

Acts 26:8Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? One of the reasons I consider myself a Pentecostal believer is because of statements like this. Is there anything too difficult for God? If he created the world out of nothing, why is it thought incredible that God should raise the dead? Is it beyond him to heal sickness, to cast out demons, to supply finances, to produc...  Read More

Acts 25:11I appeal to Caesar. Paul had a dream of bringing a huge offering to Jerusalem, then the plan was to take the gospel to Rome, the capital of the empire (Acts 19:11). And that’s exactly what happened, but not before he faced some serious setbacks. As a result of preaching the gospel, Paul spends two full years in jail (Acts 24:27). Then, still embroiled in legal affairs, he appealed to Cae...  Read More

Acts 24:16I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. May we always have a tender heart. If something is not right in our relationship with God, we should go talk with Him. This is called keeping our conscience clear. There’s nothing worse than soldiering through life with a conflicted conscience. Do yourself a favor and make it right. But did you hear what Paul said? W...  Read More

Acts 23:3God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! I love the Bible. It doesn’t cover over the humanity of some of our greatest heroes. Paul pens the beautiful words, “Love is patient, love is kind.” He lists one of the fruits of the Spirit as self-control. And, yet, what we see here is neither patient, kind, nor self-controlled. He was slapped in the mouth and he shot back with some bitte...  Read More

Acts 22:22Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he shall not be allowed to live.” What was the word that set them off? “Gentiles.” The Jews had no problem with Gentiles coming to God, for there was even a court of the Gentiles present at the temple. The Jews just had a problem with Gentiles coming to God without f...  Read More