How important is HUMILITY to you? Humility in leaders, humility in friendships, humility you see in yourself? 2700 years ago, God said something to the Jewish prophet Isaiah which has become very significant in my life. God said: “This is the person I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite […]
What in our world causes you to feel inadequate, or foolish in your wisdom, or unprepared for the challenges you face in life? The amount of global information continues to grow at such a fast pace that even huge data centers, with thousands of computers collecting and tracking all information, cannot keep pace. Is it science […]
Did you know the Gospel of Jesus Christ seems like foolishness to many people? In fact, join me again today with the apostle Paul as he is writing his first letter to the Christians living in a very confused city, Corinth, in about 55ad. Paul knew the Christians then, as today, were ridiculed by people who really didn’t […]
When you hear news of distant family or friends embroiled in disagreements how do you respond? Join me again with the apostle Paul in the great city of Ephesus in 55ad. As we saw yesterday Paul was experiencing both a wonderful response to his proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus in Ephesus, as well as great opposition from many people who rejected […]
What motivates you to take action? A need you want to meet? A personal agenda or dream you want to accomplish? Responding to a call for help from someone you care about? Or maybe the financial or accolades benefit you anticipate? I left you yesterday with the apostle Paul, in the great city of Ephesus, in about 55ad. […]
Have you given much thought to the many ways Jesus makes Himself known to such a wide diversity of people all around our world? Join me again in the great city of Ephesus in about 55ad with the apostle Paul, on his third missionary journey. This is his second visit to Ephesus and Acts 19:10 tells us Paul […]
There are some words in our Christian vocabulary which stir up people and fairly quickly evidence their differences, would you agree? “Baptism” is one of those words, isn’t it? Yesterday I left you in a conversation the apostle Paul was having with some people in the great city of Ephesus who thought they were Christians, but they admitted they had never heard […]
Today, as we travel with the apostle Paul on his third missionary journey, we’ll see some examples of why. I left you yesterday in Ephesus as Paul had arrived and was both challenging spiritual confusion and clarifying important truths about Jesus. We saw yesterday there were some in Ephesus who believed in Jesus but had never heard […]
Yesterday we met a man named Apollos. He was an intelligent scholar, well-grounded in Old Testament Scriptures and a remarkably gifted communicator. He had come to Ephesus from Alexandria, Egypt. (Acts 18:24) It appears it didn’t take long for him to earn both a hearing and a following. The problem was Apollos was only PARTIALLY right […]
Do you have some journeys you like to take which bring you back to special places in the story of your lifetime? Maybe a return to your childhood home or schools you attended, or maybe special vacation spots filled with past memories you cherish. Would you believe that’s how it was for the apostle […]
