“‘But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.’” Mark 2:10-11   It’s human nature to focus on our physical needs. Our attention gets pulled[...]

“For this is the will of God…that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4   Christians should have an intuition toward moral purity. This built-in knowledge about how to control ourselves comes from the Holy Spirit. Why then do we[...]

“For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass” 1 Thessalonians 3:4   The Bible never says that life gets easier after salvation. In fact, it says quite the opposite. Paul told the Thessalonian Christians to[...]

“You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers” 1 Thessalonians 2:10   Few of us today think the way Paul did. Here, he invited other believers to judge his life—to be witnesses of whether or not he was living with integrity. We’re[...]

“we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.” 1 Thessalonians 2:2   It’s no secret that our culture is increasingly hostile to Christianity, which is why many believers stay silent. The apostle Paul faced similar issues. The gospel of Jesus was not a popular[...]

“constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father” 1 Thessalonians 1:3   There’s nothing more personal than having faith in Jesus Christ. But don't confuse your faith being personal[...]

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” Luke 1:31   God sent Gabriel to the virgin Mary to prepare her for what He was about to do. This young Jewish woman was full of plans for her future as Joseph’s[...]

“Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’” James 2:17–18   Faith is believing and acting[...]