Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. — John 4:14 Into the Word Jesus sat down, tired, beside Jacob’s well near the Samaritan town of Sychar (John… Continue reading Dig Deep Enough for Strangers
Loving Someone We Have Never Seen
Though you have not seen him, you love him. — 1 Peter 1:8 Into the Word Peter had seen nearly everything. He watched Jesus heal the sick and heard Him teach. He saw Him arrested, denied Him that same night, and then saw Him alive again. Few people have had more reason to love Jesus… Continue reading Loving Someone We Have Never Seen
Three Words for What We Can Never Lose
“to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” — 1 Peter 1:4 Into the Word Peter wrote this letter to small churches scattered across Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. These believers were outsiders in their own towns. Their neighbors spoke against them and could not understand why… Continue reading Three Words for What We Can Never Lose
When the Hurt Comes from Inside the Church
I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich). — Revelation 2:9 Into the Word Jesus opens His letter to Smyrna by naming Himself: “the first and the last, who died and came to life” (Rev. 2:8). Others in Scripture were raised from the dead and later died again, but He rose never… Continue reading When the Hurt Comes from Inside the Church
The Joy That Does Not Count the Cost
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.— John 15:11 Into the Word We think happiness is something we find. We assume it is waiting at the end of the next thing we get, and many of us spend years looking for… Continue reading The Joy That Does Not Count the Cost
Before You Had a Name
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. — Genesis 1:27 Into the Word I have spent a lot of my life asking the wrong question. I did not know it was the wrong one until I stopped long enough to… Continue reading Before You Had a Name
Why Does Life Keep Running Out of Wine?
Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. — John 2:10 Into the Word John tells us that “Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples” (John 2:2). He came the way any guest comes, and… Continue reading Why Does Life Keep Running Out of Wine?
Plenty of Love Songs, and Still Thirsty
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. — Romans 5:8 Into the Word Picture a city after a flood. Water covers the streets and fills the ground floors. A man paddles a rubber raft between rooftops, looking for something to drink. There is water… Continue reading Plenty of Love Songs, and Still Thirsty
Two Men Praying, Thirty Miles Apart
Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. — Acts 10:20 Into the Word Cornelius was a centurion stationed in Caesarea, a Gentile officer in the Roman army. Luke describes him as “a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and… Continue reading Two Men Praying, Thirty Miles Apart
What We Cannot Find in Ourselves
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?— 1 Corinthians 1:13 Into the Word Corinth had more spiritual gifts than it could handle. Paul says the believers there were enriched “in all speech and all knowledge” and were “not lacking in any gift” (1 Cor. 1:5,… Continue reading What We Cannot Find in Ourselves