Luke 1 I am really enjoying our reading plan. I especially like that the plan has us reading a different Gospel every season. Winter was Mark's Gospel, Spring was the Gospel according to Matthew, Fall will be the Gospel of John and Summer (beginning today) is Luke. The four Gospels are all biographies of the life of Jesus written in the first century either by eye witn...

Philemon 1 In just 25 verses Paul conveys a compelling story of the life changing good news of Jesus Christ working in the lives of normal people. Paul is in prison. Onesimus is a runaway slave who probably stole from his master on his way out, which in this context means he more than likely deserves the death penalty. Onesimus ends up in the same prison as Paul. Paul ...

Colossians 4 The Book of Colossians was written by Paul during his first imprisonment in Rome before he had ever visited the city of Colosse. The apostle dwells on the dignity and glory of Christ's person, and brings out the great mystery of the indwelling of Christ, and God's purpose to unite under the Headship of Jesus Christ all things in heaven and earth. It was del...

Colossians 3 The word perspective is very important to me when I read Colossians 3. So I have included a definition of the word perspective. Perspective (pəˈspɛktɪv) n 1. a way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance 2. the proper or accurate point of view or the a...

Colossians 2 Most of the time when we talk about our salvation, we're talking about where we will go when we die. If you are saved, it means you are going to Heaven when you die. If you have put your faith in Christ, you can have assurance that your sins are forgiven and you will spend eternity with your Heavenly Father. The question most of us struggle with on a daily...

Colossians 1 Paul begins his letter to the Church of Colossae with his standard, greeting, thanksgiving and prayer. From his prayer for this young church, we can learn much about how to pray for one another and (in light of this being BYBC week) our Great Adventurers. If you ever struggle with how to pray for another believer, just turn to the prayers of the Apostle Pau...

Philippians 4 Paul's pattern in most of his letters is to complete them with a section of very practical implications for specific believers and churches and Christians in general. That is what we see in Philippians 4 today. At the risk of oversimplifying the previous chapters and the thoughtful reflections of Sean, Tom, and Jason before me, let me give a bullet-point ...

Philippians 3 Rejoice in the Lord. This is the command that Paul uses to starts this section of Scripture. Rejoice! Meriam Webster's dictionary defines rejoice as: To feel or show that you are very happy about something. Are you very happy about your relationship with the Lord? If you truly know Him, you should be so excited about the fact that He is in a relation...

I've always looked at this passage disjointedly, as a series of great truths strung together, quotable passages that inspire and encourage us. Reading it through today, however, I see a pattern, a theme, I hadn't picked up before. Paul is writing about the greatest Man who ever lived and giving us His secret to success. And it is this live a life that is more committed ...

Philippians 1 Today we start a new book of the Bible, Philippians. In this book which is only four chapters long, Paul uses the "Joy" or "Rejoice" sixteen times. If Paul was writing from Acapulco this would make a lot more sense, but Paul is writing from jail (1:7). For the last 10 to 15 years Paul has lived a hard life where he has suffered immensely, but all he can te...