And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8) Here’s a question for your Sunday School class. Ask your classmates how many of the seven deadly sins they can name. Just in case you don’t know, they are pride (vanity), envy, gluttony, lust, anger, covetousness, and sloth. One of these sins is described as an abomination to God. Do you know which one? I remember it from years ago in an exchange I […]

“No longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother.” (Philemon 1:16) Has someone ever hurt you so deeply that you just can’t forgive them? Maybe this devotion is just for you. One of the most wonderful books in the Bible is the Philemon. Actually, Philemon hardly qualifies as a book. It only has 25 verses. It was a letter from the Paul to Philemon who was a wealthy friend that lived in Colosse. Interestingly, this very personal letter to Philemon was written while […]

“O wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24) I’ve learned the hard way that one of the chapters I need to read more frequently in the Bible is Romans 7. That is where the Apostle Paul declares that he is as wretched as they come. It’s a brutally honest declaration. Interestingly, he wrote it years after his Damascus Road salvation experience with Jesus! Many of us don’t see ourselves the way the Apostle Paul saw himself when he wrote this letter to the Church at Rome. However, the […]

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) Fifteen years ago, I lay in a hospital bed dying from a serious stomach infection. After waiting too too long to go to the doctor, my wife was told how important the next few days were going to be in my recovery. I didn’t know what she knew. Very early one morning, my surgeon came by to see me. […]