Anticipating Eternal Life with Jesus As followers of Jesus we think about eternity. We especially anticipate eternal life with him. By faith, eternal life is a future reality that we expect to experience. The primary definition of eternity is time without a beginning or an end; it is infinite time. As such, eternity extends into […]
Today’s passage: Acts 1:9, along with Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:50–52 Focus verse: He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:9) After Jesus gives his parting instructions to his disciples and commissions them to be his witnesses throughout the entire world, he has completed all […]
God Will Shine So Brightly that We Won’t Need the Sun to See As the epic battle in Revelation continues, just before Babylon—the symbol of all that’s evil—is about to receive her final punishment, an angel comes from heaven. John writes that this angel has great authority, and his splendor illuminates the earth (Revelation 18:1). […]
A Word Picture of What a Good Dad Is Like The sixth word picture is God as our father and we as his children. Although not everyone had a good biological father—in fact all human fathers make mistakes in raising their children—our spiritual father, God, is without fault, raising us out of perfect love and […]
Revelation Bible Study, Day 37 Today’s passage: Revelation 22:1–5 Focus verse: On each side of the river stood the tree of life. (Revelation 22:2) The angel shows John a river of the water of life, clear and pure. It springs from the throne of Father God and the Lamb. From them comes living water, the source of […]
Offer Ongoing Adoration to Our Creator, Savior, and Sustainer The book of Revelation tells of John’s spirit being whisked into heaven. Four living creatures spend all their time—day and night—praising God. They chant, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8, NIV). The threefold repetition […]
He Has Risen! Today’s passage: John 20:1–18 Focus verse: Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18) Jesus dies. His body is prepared for burial and his human shell is placed in a tomb. A large stone seals the entrance. But this isn’t the end. In many […]
Successfully Move from One Year to the Next I never really understood the allure of staying up late on December 31 to welcome in the new year. As such, I saw no reason to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As a teenager, however, I embraced the idea of staying up until midnight as confirmation I was […]
How Engagement and Marriage Worked in the New Testament In Bible times, when a couple became engaged, the groom-to-be with go home and prepare a place for them to live by adding a room to his parents’ house. As soon as he finished the construction, he would go to his fiancée, the marriage ceremony would […]
We Need to Learn to Worship God in Silence, Doing Nothing but Standing in Awe of Him The Book of Revelation is an amazing book. However, I fear that many people miss the point of it. The intent of Revelation isn’t to give us a detailed map of the future. Instead, Revelation provides us with […]