Today’s reading covers 3 short Letters: 2 & 3 John and Jude, as well 1 John 5. In all of these Letters, the early Church leaders were contending with false teachers and prophets, all of whom had gained a foothold in the congregations addressed by these Letters. John put it this way in 2 John […]
Living the Kingdom on Earth
Christianity is personal and relational. If we miss this, we will never understand what the Christian life is all about. We will never understand why God has us on this earth in the first place. Ultimate Reality Is Personal The reason why Christianity is personal and relational is that the Christian God is personal and […]
As we read 1 Peter, one is amazed in how the Apostle Peter has been transformed from an impetuous young man as portrayed in the 4 Gospels, to a man who has learned to suffer patiently for the cause of Christ. In 1 Peter 4:12-14 we read these words: Dear friends, do not be surprised […]
James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote the Letter of James to Jewish-Christians who lived among the Gentile nations (James 1:1). He became the main leader of the Jerusalem Church after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. This is confirmed by Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in the first century, and also by Scripture […]
Christianity doesn’t teach to have faith in faith, but to have faith in a personal God. This God has revealed His character in His covenant relationship with the Jewish people in Old Testament times, and has most fully revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said to one of his disciples Philip: “Anyone who […]
In my blog yesterday, I mentioned that the Book of Hebrews teaches how Jesus, the long-expected Messiah of Israel, fulfills the types and shadows of the worship rituals of Old Testament religion. For example, the high priesthood ministry of Aaron and his descendants find their fulfillment in Jesus, our heavenly high priest. A Better Priest, […]
The Book of Hebrews was written to Jewish-Christians who were undergoing persecution for their belief that Jesus was Israel’s long-expected Messiah. They were being persecuted by both unbelieving Jews and idol-worshiping Roman Gentiles. These socially-isolated Jewish-Christians were tempted to turn back from following Jesus, and reverting to living under the Covenant of Moses (Exodus 20:1-40:38). […]
As we read Paul’s Letter to Titus, we see that the Apostle Paul has a driving passion to see God’s character reproduced and made visible in the lives of the people that Titus is pastoring. He demonstrates this burning desire in several ways. Making God Visible In God’s People First of all, in his introductory […]
As we closely read the Letters of 1 & 2 Timothy, we come to understand the Apostle Paul’s vision of the Christian life as a spiritual battle engaged with spiritual powers. The Christian Life Is A Spiritual Battle In 1 Timothy 6:12, Paul exhorts his young protege, Timothy, for the second time in the Letter […]
The next 3 Letters on our journey through the New Testament, 1&2 Timothy and Titus, are called the Pastoral Letters. Paul wrote all 3 Letters to young Pastors that he had mentored. They are the last Scriptures that Paul wrote before he was martyred in Rome, during the later part of Nero Caesar’s reign, around […]