1 Thessalonians 5:23

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 28:1-20

We ended yesterday with the words of Augustine that if we want to see the Trinity in action then all we have to do is to go to the River Jordan. It was Augustine who pointed out also that the Trinity can be seen in the verse that is before us today, which we call "the baptismal formula." Note that we are bidden to...

For Reading and Meditation:     1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

Now that we have spent a few days meditating on the fact that the Beatitudes provide us with the right mental and spiritual attitudes for healthy and abundant living, we are ready to begin focusing on the first of these profound statements: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of...

For Reading and Meditation:     1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

We continue meditating on the importance of looking at life "steadily and whole". I venture to suggest that people who are not Christians are unable to see life as a whole. How can they, when their thinking takes place only on the level of the natural? Natural thinking is notoriously partial and incomplete....

Luke 1:5-23

There was a wonderful preparation of the world for Christ before He came. There was a Jewish expectation of the Messiah. This hope had been diffused throughout the nations by the wide dispersion of the Jewish people, who carried their religion with them and had synagogues in every city, where also their holy books were read. It is wonderful to think what the world owes...

1 Thessalonians 5:14-28

The Bible touches life at every point. While its great principles cover all moral acts in a general way, it descends to particulars in many cases, giving special instructions of great value. The passage noted above contains golden counsels for the common days, and for the common experiences of life.

Christ … loved the church and gave Himself for her, … that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. § Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.The peace of God … surpasses all understanding. § Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body.May our Lord...

The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. § He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!Therefore, beloved,...

I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples… You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.Sanctified by God the Father. § Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. § May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.Jesus… that He might sanctify the people with His own blood,...

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” § Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? “I, the Lord, am the first; and with the last I am He.”Sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.The God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He...