confess ⁽¹⁶⁾

John 1:19–28, John 3:22–28, Acts 19:1–7 (read online ⧉) Baptism holds a central place in the Christian church from its very beginning. The only other act that is of equal or perhaps greater importance is the Eucharist (i.e., Communion). Today, it is the ceremony/event by…

1 Samuel 25:36–42, Luke 22:39–46, James 1:13–15 Temptation is a tricky thing. It can seem easy to succumb to, and it is. It can also be easy to beat yourself up should you fall to temptation. In many respects, after the failure, it is the…

Isaiah 43:1–4, 1 Peter 1:13–23 Do you know somebody’s name? Of course, you do. You know yours. You know the names of loved ones. You know the names of friends. You probably know the names of people that are not that close. We sometimes dismiss…

Psalm 104, Ezekiel 18:1-32, John 9:1–11 Original sin is the corruption of the God-given original nature of all the offspring of Adam. This corrupted base has an aversion to God, has no spiritual life, and is inclined to evil. Until the Holy Spirit fully cleanses…

Psalm 103, 2 Peter 1:3–11, 1 John 1:5–2:2 Have you ever whittled, shaping a piece of wood cut-by-cut, flick-by-flick, putting something into life that was only in your mind? While God does not use a knife to whittle on us, through others and life’s trials…