Dear David, I’m so sorry for the loss of your newborn son. I can only imagine what pain you and your beautiful bride must be enduring right now. I have heard that you are being attended to well and that you are finally eating again. I must admit I am glad to hear of that [...]

I can imagine if I was a Jew living in Old Testament or New Testament times I would have felt pretty “safe with God” if I was keeping the law.  I also can imagine I would have felt a sense of bondage or even entrapment to the law.  Nevertheless, the covenant that God established with [...]

Day 26—Ephesians 2:1-10  1 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 those who are disobedient. 3 All of [...]

Day 22—Acts 16:13-15, 25-34 [Baptism of Lydia and her household—Acts 16:13-15] 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman [...]

Day 21—Acts 10:30-48 30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who [...]

Day 20—Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-21 [Luke’s version of Paul’s conversion to Jesus—Acts 9:1-19]  1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether [...]

Day 18—Acts 8:4-25   4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits [...]

Day 15—Acts 2:32-41 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, [...]

Day 6—Matthew 4:23-25; 5:1-2, 7-20  23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the [...]

Yesterday, while I was walking my dog Brisbane, I noticed in a friend’s yard a tree with a spectacular array of fall colors in its leaves, a tree which i quickly noticed was changing right before my eyes. As I watched the tree wave peacefully in the wind, I observed many of its leaves gently [...]

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18 Grudges are like festering boils, constantly irritating a person’s heart, and therefore usually a relationship between two people as well. A grudge at its core is strictly and plainly a [...]