Gospel

Mark 10:45 – A Ransom For Many

Devotions, Gospel, Jesus, Prayer, Thanksgiving

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 ESV)

Most relationships are based upon the notion of “give and take”. For example, Jeff holds value to Pete, because Jeff knows everything there is to know about electronics. So, all too conveniently, Pete calls Jeff to ask him about which home theater system to buy, but feels guilty about only calling to get information from him, so he asks him to coffee as an afterthought. While this isn’t necessarily bad, it can exemplify the shallowness of many of our friendships.

Let’s take it a step further: Continue Reading →

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Galatians 3:2-3 – Remember Your Roots

Devotions, Faith, Gospel, Jesus

Daily Bible Devotional Verse

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:2-3 ESV)

Have you ever heard a person described as someone who forgot where they came from or had forgotten their roots? This type of person usually doesn’t give credit to those in their life who aided in getting them to where they presently are. Maybe they came from a small farming town and now live in the big city and don’t want to get their hands dirty. It might be neglecting a friend or mentor who poured into them, and act as if they made it through life alone. This doesn’t just happen outside the church, but inside the church as well. Continue Reading →

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2 Corinthians 5:16 – Book Cover Christians

Devotions, Gospel, Love, Relationships

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16 ESV)

“You can’t judge a book by it’s cover” is a commonly used phrase. For the most part, it is also true. One doesn’t really know who a person is by their outward appearance. Time, effort, and intentionality are required to build a relationship with someone and to truly know them. Paul tells the Church in Corinth that he doesn’t judge people by their outward appearance, instead he looks at people through their spiritual condition. He “judges” them by what’s in their heart.

Asking God to help us view people the way Paul does can help us immensely in Continue Reading →

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John 1:14 – The Word Became Flesh

Christian Walk, Devotions, Gospel, Jesus

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)

Jesus, the Word, 100% God, steps out of heaven, takes on the flesh of humankind, and enters our world. With this huge step of becoming flesh, we see that Jesus willingly sets aside His divine rights.

In a similar section of scripture the Apostle Paul writes:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7 ESV)

We can tell from the New Testament that Jesus does not suffer from any type of divine identity crisis. Continue Reading →

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John 1:1-3: The Word is God

Bible, Devotions, Gospel, Jesus

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3 ESV)

The Apostle John opens his gospel a very bold statement about Jesus in today’s devotional Bible verse. John refers to Jesus as the word or the Greek word is logos. Logos was a common term in Greek philosophy:

Heraclitus referred to the logos as the principle that controlled the universe.
The Stoics said it was the soul of the world.
Marcus Aurelius called it the generative principle in nature.
To the Jewish readers the word or logos was the power and authority of God.

The flow of these first few verses are pretty clear. The word or logos was with God and is God. He did not progressively achieve God status. He is, always was, and always will be God. He is creator, sustainer, and key to life. Everything John writes goes back to this central idea: Jesus is 100% God.

The reason John nails this idea in these first few verses is Continue Reading →

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1 Corinthians 2:4-5 – Men’s Words vs God’s Power

Bible, Devotions, Gospel, Jesus

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 ESV)

The word evangelism can frighten many, Christian and non-Christian alike. When some Christians hear this word, they immediately think of the litany of verses to memorize, the catchy acrostics, or maybe the many rebuttals needed for their apologetic repertoire. These connotations tend to frighten us because we believe that the words we use are what brings the person to a saving knowledge of the Lord. In essence, the power is in the words, that is, the “right” words. If we say the wrong thing or mix up the order a person could wind up in Hell because of us! Is this really what evangelism is all about? Continue Reading →

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