First Peter 1 encourages Christians to remember who and whose they are while facing the stresses of life. Verses 18, 21, and 23 make pronouncements about God’s claim on our lives....

These last eight verses of Psalm 116 continue the theme of gratitude for deliverance. The psalmist’s vows to the Lord and offerings of sacrifice are thankful expressions of joy. The Hebrew...

Psalm 116 is a psalm of thanksgiving. It expresses gratitude to God for deliverance from distress. The word Sheol is used to mean a place after death or a death-like power...

In today’s passage, we read about the response to Peter’s message on the Day of Pentecost. No one in the crowd seems to be denying Peter’s claim that they are responsible...

Acts 2 finds all the believers gathered together in one place. Suddenly a noise comes from the sky, a great wind fills the house, and tongues of fire appear above the...

When all is said and done, what matters is not how clever we are, or even how wise. What matters is how generous we are—first of all, in receiving God’s good...

What does it mean to practice resurrection? Among the stories about the first encounters the disciples have with their risen Lord, John remembers Jesus’ first words to his troubled and fearful...

Today’s text opens with praise: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” This acclamation sounds straightforward enough, since it is one we hear or speak week by...

Poet T. S. Eliot once described the Incarnation as “[t]he hint half guessed, the gift half understood.”* This description is as truthful and encouraging a description as one can find. For...

Sometimes, a single verse is enough for a day—if not for a whole lifetime. This is one of those verses: “You have made known to me the ways of life; you...