Genesis 1:1–3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Read the context It's tough to imagine nothing. You live in a world filled with stuff... so what was before the "stuff"? Before the world you know, God was. The Triune God was present in eternity — nothing created God. He has always...
1 day ago • 1 min read
Matt. 28:18–20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Read the context On top of the mountain, I'm certain the disciples were worried about the future. But Jesus had work for them to do: GO....
3 days ago • 1 min read
Psalm 8 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Read the context The earth has a natural hierarchy — predators, prey. Stronger animals and weaker ones. Yet in a world...
4 days ago • 1 min read
John 16:12–15 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” Read the context In...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Romans 8:26–27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Read the context I know if it stood face-to-face with my favorite athlete, I wouldn't know what to say. Honestly, I'd likely say something foolish. Do you ever feel that way...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Joel 2:28-29 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, — I will pour out my Spirit in those days. Read the context The prophets were a special group. It was only a few people that God would speak to throughout the Old Testament. On Pentecost, God's Holy Spirit made prophets out of a crowd. The disciples proclaimed the wonders of God to...
7 days ago • 1 min read
John 7:37–39 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Read the context The water reserves were almost empty. There were just a few drops...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Acts 2:1–21 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ... We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Read the context I wish I was fluent in another language. I know a little bit of German, but not enough to hold a conversation... let...
9 days ago • 1 min read
1 Cor 12:3&7 "No one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." ... "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." Read the context It's easy to compare your gifts to others' or to feel like the Holy Spirit is working over there and skipping past you. But before you can evaluate what you've been given, start here: the Spirit already gave you the greatest gift: Faith itself. The ability to call Jesus Lord. That gift arrived first, and everything else...
9 days ago • 1 min read