Six hundred years before Jesus was born, a man in exile saw something. Daniel, an Israelite in the Babylonian court, saw a night vision that would become one of the most important texts in the Old Testament. He did not fully understand it. He wrote it down. The Vision in Full NIV “In my vision … Read more
Most people read this verse once, assume it settles the question of biblical dietary laws, and move on. NIV “For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) But Mark 7:19 is one of the most debated verses in … Read more
Most people in the Gospels appear once and disappear. Jairus is one of the few whose name we are given and whose story lands with the kind of weight that makes you put the passage down and sit with it. A father. A religious leader. A man who ran out of options and ran toward … Read more
Moses had just watched his people melt their jewelry into a golden calf. God had every reason to walk away from Israel. But Moses interceded, and God gave him something remarkable: He introduced Himself. With words. He told Moses, plainly, who He actually is. ESV “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the … Read more
There is a particular exhaustion that comes not from doing too much but from doing unseen work for too long. I know people who have served their churches for years without recognition, prayed prayers no one else could see the point of, and given money they could not easily spare. And quietly, a question forms: … Read more
Most people encounter this verse and feel one of two things: vague anxiety or total indifference. The anxiety comes from thinking Paul is telling you to question whether you are saved. The indifference comes from assuming you already know the answer and moving on. Both responses miss what Paul is actually doing. NASB “Test yourselves … Read more
Most miracles in the Gospels happen in response to a crisis: a disease, a storm, a death. This one happens at a party. That is the first surprising thing about the story. The second is that John calls it a “sign,” which in his Gospel means something different from simply a miracle. Signs in John … Read more
Most people have this verse on a wall somewhere. They know it as encouragement. NIV “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57) What they often do not know is what the verse cost to write. Paul wrote this from a position of ongoing suffering, … Read more
Jesus said it plainly, and most people would rather not sit with it. ESV “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14) Not complicated. Not metaphorical in a way that softens it. Few will find the way to life. I … Read more
Most people hear this verse and stop short. It sounds, on the surface, like Jesus is either being modest or denying something important about Himself. NASB “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’” (Mark 10:18) A few years ago, a friend of mine who … Read more