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...

Ephesians 6 Paul ends this letter with a "bang" as he lays out practical instruction for the natural world, while reminding us that our real battle is happening on a supernatural level. He tells us that, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of e...

Ephesians 5 Well Ephesians 5 fell perfectly on my day because since I have been married for a month and ten days, I now know a month and ten days worth more than I did before about marriage. It seems like it is just wedding season in general. My best friend got married last weekend, Peyton's best friend two weekends ago, and my college roommate in a week. So much to cel...

Ephesians 4 In this chapter of Ephesians, Paul is encouraging us to bond together as one body in Christ, to grow up together and live as children of the Light. He instructs us to throw off our old way of living and thinking and allow God to grow us into what He created us to beTHE CHURCH THE BRIDE OF CHRIST. In order to be all that God has called us to be, we must stop...

EPHESIANS 2 Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of the clearest and most concise presentations of the gospel in the entire Bible. You are a Sinner EPHESIANS 2:1-3 (NIV) As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in thos...

Ephesians 1 Ephesians chapter 1 is the kind of chapter where I don't really know where to begin. There is so much here to digest, to wonder over and to thank God for. However, there is a clear theme that is repeated again and again throughout the chapter. That theme is the sovereignty of God in our salvation and in our lives as a whole. Paul doesn't get past verse 1 befo...

In Romans 16, Paul has completed all of the major themes of the letter. He's said all of what he chiefly set out to say. Now he is ready to deliver some personal greetings and end his letter. But even in this concluding chapter there are some real treasures that should inform how we live the Christian life. Observation 1 -- No one, not even Paul, stands alone in the churc...

Romans 15 I read chapter 15 and can't help but thinking "Wow". Because of this chapter I think I now have a greater understanding of the character of Paul, and I want to grow to have that sort of character. Paul's passion for spreading the gospel is amazing, but in this chapter I get a real feel for his genuine love for others. In Acts we saw how he was persecuted and s...

Romans 14:1 "As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions." This is a difficult passage for me wrap my mind around because I love to debate. While there are basic tenets of our faith that we should stand and fight for (the deity of Jesus, our salvation by grace alone through faith alone), over the past few years I've been exposed ...