1 Corinthians 15
1 Corinthians 15 - 1 Corinthians 15 is a critical chapter that supports the evidence of Jesus Christ as well as His death and resurrection. Paul records an ancient oral tradition, "that Christ died for our sins ...
1 Corinthians 14
1 Corinthians 14 - Gifts that are meant to edify the body, share with the body. Gifts that are meant to edify you personally, keep them personal. Paul's stance on tongues is clear. If there is no ...
1 Corinthians 13
1 Corinthians 13 - The Greeks had four different words to describe love. 'Eros' described erotic love. It was the word used to describe sexual love. 'Storge' referred to family love. It described the love between father ...
1 Corinthians 12
1 Corinthians 12 - Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each ...
1 Corinthians 11
1 Corinthians 11 - 1 Corinthians 11 opens up a can of worms in our culture today. At the very least, many of Paul's words here have been challenged. In some cases, they have been called sexist ...
1 Corinthians 10
1 Corinthians 10 - So many Christians today have fallen into the temptation of obsessing over rights and privileges. What I mean by that is the need to ask the question, "What harm can it do?" to ...
1 Corinthians 9
1 Corinthians 9 - Paul was a man with his priorities straight. He was a man who had given up all his rights for the sake of Jesus. His life's mission was to preach the Gospel and ...
1 Corinthians 8
1 Corinthians 8 - Knowledge can be like a puffer fish. It puffs us up into a state where our thorny exterior rips the flesh of others. Using food as an example, Paul illustrates that Christians who ...
1 Corinthians 7
1 Corinthians 7 - It is important to first understand that Paul is not dealing with a full theology of marriage in this chapter. He is answering specific questions the Corinthians had asked him. We know this ...
1 Corinthians 6
1 Corinthians 6 - Paul's had some specific issues with the Corinthians in regard to legal matters. First and foremost, the disputes in question were between two believers. Paul is working under the assumption that Jesus has ...
1 Corinthians 5
1 Corinthians 5 - Paul once again comes out swinging against the Corinthians for their immorality and tolerance. Interestingly, his clarification toward the end of this chapter contains a lot of insight. Paul, just like Jesus, had ...
1 Corinthians 4
1 Corinthians 4 - Paul doesn't mince words with the church at Corinth. They had a very obvious pride issue. Humble Servant. Paul reminds them he is a servant of Christ and a steward of the mystery. ...
1 Corinthians 3
1 Corinthians 3 - I want to focus on the beginning of this chapter where Paul addresses his brethren as being carnal. This term really just means someone who is dominated by the flesh. There is a ...
1 Corinthians 2
1 Corinthians 2 - Imagine what it would have been like to be Paul. After conversion, he compared his Gospel to the disciples in order to validate his beliefs and share his experiences. Now, as he has ...
1 Corinthians 1
1 Corinthians 1 - Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother... 1 Corinthians 1:1 NASB In Acts 18 Sosthenes was the leader of the Jewish synagogue who ...
Psalm 138
Psalm 138 - The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalms 138:8 NASB David knew and believed that the Lord was working in ...
Psalm 135
Psalm 135 - Our God is praise worthy in every age and season. No matter the circumstances, God is with us and for us. Often, it is hard to understand and believe this when we look around ...
Psalm 130
Psalm 130 - Psalm 130 is known as a Pauline psalm because it speaks to the grace and mercy of God. This was a theme Paul wrote on extensively. For all have sinned and fall short of ...
Psalm 122
Psalm 122 - In the Christian Jewish Bible, verse 4 speaks to two reasons for going to the house of the Lord. The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of Adonai, as a witness to Isra'el, ...
Psalm 121
Psalm 121 - The Lord is our protector. He is our strength and our refuge. He fights our battles. He does not sleep or slumber. He sees and knows all. He will protect His children now and ...
Psalm 117
Psalm 117 - Although short, this psalm packs a heavy punch. God calls all people to worship Him. The calling of the Gentiles (all people other than Jews) was in the plan of God from the beginning. ...
Psalm 113
Psalm 113 - Music connects with every person on the planet. More than likely, all of us can identify with a song or artist that inspires us in a personal way. Songs are easy to remember, well-situated ...
Psalm 107
Psalm 107 - But He lifts the needy out of their suffering and makes their families multiply like flocks. 42 The upright see it and rejoice, and all injustice shuts its mouth. 43 Let whoever is wise ...
Psalm 106
Psalm 106 - What is risk? It is a decision to act in a way that opens us to danger, hurt, or uncertainty. Every day we take risks. Today, you have a 1 in 70 chance of ...
Psalm 97
Psalm 97 - When we look back at Scripture, we see just how holy God really is. Anyone who came into the fullness of God (or Jesus in His heavenly form) were overwhelmed beyond comprehension. Wrestling With ...
Psalm 67
Psalm 67 - Many forget God's original intent when He chose Israel as His people. "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them ...
Psalm 66
Psalm 66 - The end of Psalm 66 highlights various ways in which we are to walk out the mercy of God in our lives. All of us who have believed have received grace from the Father ...
Psalm 59
Psalm 59 - Twice in the first two verses, David cried out for God to deliver him. In verse 2, he cries out for God to save him. Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save ...
Psalm 50
Psalm 50 - What does our praise look like when we face trouble and adversity? Or, do we praise at all? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 ...
Psalm 47
Psalm 47 - In Psalm 47, I am drawn to God's sovereign choosing... He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah. Psalms 47:4 ESV Jesus chose us before Creation. His choice ...
Psalm 44
Psalm 44 - Following God wholeheartedly is a practical act of cooperation (our response) and faith (assurance of God's love). When we teeter too far to one side or the other, we fall short and end up ...
Psalm 41
Psalm 41 - The timeless and inspired Word of God never ceases to amaze us. It has the ability to speak to the situation in context while also providing truth for generations to come. We see this ...
Psalm 40
Psalm 40 - Gratefulness. Some days it seems to escape us. Our day starts off on the wrong foot and we struggle to regroup. Problems pile up and we find every reason to gripe and complain about ...
Psalm 39
Psalm 39 - Let's track this psalm from the beginning. The psalmist opens with tremendous grief. There seems to be physical, emotional and mental suffering going on in his life and he doesn't know how to respond. ...
Psalm 35
Psalm 35 - Years ago, while working for Youth for Christ, my wife and I become close friends with a young teenage girl. She was a paradox of sorts because her appearance was "tough as nails" but ...
Psalm 33
Psalm 33 - Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. 22 Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be ...
Psalm 30
Psalm 30 - One of the most difficult theological principles to reconcile in our hearts and minds is the idea that the same God who delivers us is also the God who allows for our destruction. Many ...
Psalm 24
Psalm 24 - Psalm 24 was written to be chanted/recited and comes with two choruses. It would have been sung during Jewish worship on the first day of the week (Sunday). It was followed by Psalm 48 ...
Psalm 13
Psalm 13 - This psalm is general enough to speak to anyone going through a crisis but specific enough to contain the primary elements of a prayer for help. It is a solid illustration of how we ...
Mark 15
Mark 15 - More than 1/3 of Mark's narrative is focused on passion week. He includes many details that other Gospel accounts do not. For instance, Matthew's Gospel reveals that Barabbas is a "notorious" criminal but Mark ...
Mark 13
Mark 13 - No one knows the day or hour. This is a familiar passage, yet, there is one question that I've always wondered. If Jesus was both God and man, then why didn't He know the ...
Mark 5
Mark 5 - I want to make a few quick points about the demon-possessed man and then move to the woman who touched Jesus. We read several striking characteristics about this demon-possessed man. This man had been ...
Mark 1
Mark 1 - It's fascinating to identify the different writing styles of the Gospel authors. Matthew began with genealogy. His mission was to write to the Jews and prove that Jesus was the heir to David's throne. ...
Deuteronomy 30
Deuteronomy 30 - I was drawn specifically to verse 6 of this chapter because it relates closely to the process a believer undergoes within the New Covenant. "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and ...
Deuteronomy 25
Deuteronomy 25 - "Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain." Deuteronomy 25:4 GNB On the surface, this seems like a straightforward passage. In that time, an ox would break the grain ...
Deuteronomy 23
Deuteronomy 23 - As we've written many times in Deuteronomy, these laws can seem foreign to us. In some ways, they prescribe almost an ascetic type of lifestyle. Asceticism is defined as a lifestyle characterized by abstinence ...
Deuteronomy 13
Deuteronomy 13 - When did self-appointed titles become a "thing" in the church? When did "a word" become more important than action? When did the thoughts inside people's heads become full-blown prophecies directly from the mouth of ...
Deuteronomy 12
Deuteronomy 12 - What separated the people of God from the pagans around them was their total allegiance to the One True God. He gave them commands to follow which centered around every facet of life. They ...
Deuteronomy 5
Deuteronomy 5 - False teachers love to cherry-pick verses and twist the context to their liking. A perfect example of this is found in Deuteronomy 5:9. 'You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness ...
Ecclesiastes 7
Ecclesiastes 7 - Even the day of one’s birth is ominous, despite all the hopes and potential in a baby’s birth. Children come into the world uttering the human sound – a scream. “Before ever a child ...
Numbers 36
Numbers 36 - Unfortunately, the evangelical church today has become a place where people feel they cannot seek truth through difficult questions. Many churches discourage seekers from "questioning God," and while questioning Him without faith can be ...
Numbers 35
Numbers 35 - When we take a deeper look into the cities which were selected as places of refuge and we utilize the Hebrew text, we see obvious parallels to the refuge Jesus provides for His church. ...
Numbers 34
Numbers 34 - When analyzing this chapter, F.B. Meyer wrote, "God’s ideal for His people far exceeded their realization of it." What a true statement that is! Numbers 34 outlines the land boundaries for the tribes of ...
Numbers 33
Numbers 33 - At the end of this chapter, there are six verses that give the Israelites specific instructions on how to take the land. Cross the Jordan into Canaan and drive out all the inhabitants. Destroy ...
Numbers 23
Numbers 23 - This chapter reminds me of an encounter Elijah had with the prophets of Baal when they were seeking help from their "god." They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and ...
Numbers 20
Numbers 20 - So... do you want the bad news or the worse news? Well, the bad news is that in Numbers 20 we, unfortunately, witness a sobering truth - complaining and unbelief go hand-in-hand. Where you ...
Numbers 6
Numbers 6 - People are probably surprised to learn that this famous prayer of blessing comes from the book of Numbers. The LORD bless you, and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine on you, ...
Numbers 4
Numbers 4 - Numbers 1 dealt with numbering the tribes. Numbers 2 was all about the ordering of the camps. Numbers 3 introduced us to the duties of the priests and Levites. Now, in Numbers 4, it ...
Luke 24
Luke 24 Commentary by Brad Boyles Then he said to them, "These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, ...
Luke 23
Luke 23 Commentary by Brad Boyles He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He ...
Luke 17
Luke 17 Commentary by Brad Boyles It is a common occurrence for people to be tripped up in this life. The word Jesus uses in verse 1 to describe a “stumbling block” is also used in many other places in ...
Luke 1
Luke 1 Commentary by Brad Boyles Who made the most significant contribution to the New Testament in terms of total verses? Most would say Paul or maybe even John, but those answers would be incorrect. Who was the only non-Jewish ...
Song of Solomon 8
Song of Solomon 8 Commentary by Brad Boyles As Hank has written, this chapter is the 1 Corinthians 13 of the Old Testament. In these verses, we find four essential qualities of love. It is unstoppable and inevitable within a ...
Song of Solomon 4
Song of Solomon 4 - If we study these chapters carefully we can see that there has been no mention of a wedding prior to chapter 3. In 3:11, (the last verse of chapter 3), we read ...
Ezekiel 39
Ezekiel 39 - Until the time that Jerusalem fell, the message of Ezekiel was negative and full of judgment. Now, God turns His attention towards hope. There would be a new spirit, new leadership, and a new ...
Ezekiel 38
Ezekiel 38 - This chapter has gained a lot of attention in recent years as expositors have focused on the connection to modern-day events. Though some scholars are quick to label this chapter as apocalyptic, many are ...
Ezekiel 36
Ezekiel 36 - Verses 22-38 immediately drew my attention. The title over the section reads "I Will Put My Spirit Within You." We must remember that when we read this, it is God speaking to His people, ...