1 Peter 1:22 (ESV) 22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, This command concerning one another is the most important of all because it encompasses all the rest.  If we truly love one another, we will care for, […]

Colossians 3:16 (ESV) 16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. That Christians are to encourage one another does not mean that we are always aiming to make one another feel […]

There was a man by the name of Joseph who was such an encouraging presence that the apostles gave him the nickname Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36).  Most Bible students only know this man by the name Barnabas because, from that point forward, that is the only name that he is called in […]

Forgiveness is not optional for the child of God.  As Christians, we are commanded to forgive those who sin against us, even as God has forgiven us. Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) 32  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. So far as the health of a local church […]

The church is the family of God.  In a reference that included the church on earth, Paul said, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14-15).   Too often we fail to view one another in Christ as family, but […]

Christianity is not for lazy people.  There is much work to be done in the body of Christ.  Too many who obey the gospel view baptism as the endgame.  The truth, however, is that baptism marks the beginning of the race, not the end.  Baptism puts us into Christ where we can start living for […]

One of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite phrases was “knowledge is power.”  In almost every walk of life, knowledge gives a person an edge.  This is true spiritually as well.  Paul once said that the Jews once had an advantage over the Gentiles because they had the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2).  Indeed, having God’s Word is […]

We all have either one of two kinds of minds.  We are either carnal-minded, minding the things of the flesh, or we are spiritual-minded, minding the things of God.  Where are you spiritually?  What kind of mindset do you have?   Paul wrote of our mindset in Romans 8. Romans 8:5 (ESV) 5  For those who […]

Being religious simply refers to being devoted to a set of established beliefs.  There are many different religions in the world, but the only one that is beneficial to the soul is the one that involves devotion to the true and living God.  It involves being faithful to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and […]

In Genesis 3, we read of the fall of Adam and Eve.  God told them not to eat the fruit of the tree that was in the midst of the garden of Eden (ver. 3), but the devil came along in the form of a serpent and tempted them (vers. 1-5).  Eve succumbed to his […]