Click for a PDF version Monday Read Ephesians 3:1 “For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—” (Ephesians 3:1) Christ has a purpose in our hard places. Paul went through many hardships throughout his ministerial life. The letter of Ephesians is considered one of his “prison...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Ephesians 2:11-22; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 As believers, we are called to unity in Christ—union and community are common themes throughout Paul’s epistles. In Ephesians 2:11-12, Paul reminds Gentile believers in Ephesus of how they were former outsiders alienated from Christ and thereby hopelessly stumbling toward God’s judgment....
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Ephesians 2:5; Ezekiel 36:26; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 Heart Transplant “[God] has made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions.” (Ephesians 2:5) Is it possible that God can do this, that He can “raise us from the dead” as Jesus raised Lazarus (John...
Click for a PDF version Monday Read Ephesians 1:1-4 God’s Vision for His Church “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Ephesians 1:4) From the very beginning, God envisioned a people united in Christ. His purpose was not just for individual...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Romans 12:1-5, 8:15 Peculiar Communities ARE UNIQUE We should remind ourselves that the preferred definition of “peculiar” is not “strange” or “odd”; the dictionary says that its primary meaning is “to belong exclusively to.” There can be few terms more appropriate, therefore, to describe the people of God,...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Matthew 5:14-16, 24:14, 28:18-20; Revelation 7:9-12 This week’s devo series, supporting next Sunday’s message, considers “the state of the church.” Today’s focus: the professing global Christian church. “Christianity’s [global growth exceeds the general] population’s growth. From 2020 to … mid-2024, the world’s population [projects growth] from … 7.84...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Romans 12:3, 11:11-32 Paul starts his letter to the Romans by saying, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (1:7a). He is writing to a mixed community of Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). One of his goals is for this group of...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy.” (Romans 12:1) Romans 12:1 begins with the word “therefore.” Whenever we see the word “therefore” in our Bible study, we must ask what is it there for? It is a very important word because the human...
Click for PDF version Monday Read Exodus 6:2-8 Freedom. Redemption. Provision. Promise. The Book of Exodus begins as a story from freedom to bondage. Before Pharaoh ruled the land, the Israelites moved to Egypt where they would settle for some time. Over this transitory time to Egypt, the Israelites started growing their community and...
Click for PDF vesion Monday Read Nehemiah 9:1-37 In his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer writes, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” If Tozer is right that what we think about God is what is most important about us, then...
