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Bible Memory collection
The New Testament spends most of its space here. These passages are the ones believers reach for in ordinary decisions. Micah 6:8 God has shown what is good: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus names the greatest commandment as loving God with all your…
Bible Memory collection
Christian assurance grows from the character of God's love rather than the temperature of our own. These are the passages to have ready on your worst day. Romans 8:38-39 Paul lists everything that might separate us from God's love and concludes that none of it can, because that love is in Christ…
Chapter study
Do not rush into this chapter. Genesis 22 is one of the most important passages in the Bible, and without it much of the New Testament loses its depth. Some chapters can be read quickly without much loss. This is not…
Chapter study
John 15 is spoken in motion. Jesus has just finished the Passover meal with His disciples, and John 14 ends with the words 'arise, let us go hence.' Many readers take that sentence as the close of a scene rather than…
Chapter study
Romans 8 is quoted more than it is studied. Most believers can recite verse 28 and verse 38 and have never traced the argument that makes either of them true. Paul is not writing a collection of encouraging lines. He…
Dig Deeper
Romans 8:32 He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? The argument runs from the greater to the lesser. If God has already given the…
Dig Deeper
John 15:7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. Two ifs stand in front of the promise. Read the sentence as a whole and the will in ask what you…
Dig Deeper
Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Work together, not are good. And the promise is addressed to a specific group,…
Bible study
A verse-by-verse study of the most beloved psalm in Scripture Psalm 23:1 A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. Psalm 23 belongs to the collection of psalms attributed to David, Israel's second…
Dig Deeper
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. The Greek verb meno means to remain, to stay, to continue in a…
Dig Deeper
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The verdict is attached to a location, not to a performance level.…
Dig Deeper
John 15:2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Two verbs. The first removes, the second cleans or prunes. Both involve a…
Verse study
μείνατε ἐν ἐμοί, κἀγὼ ἐν ὑμῖν meinate en emoi, kago en hymin Greek Meno means to remain, dwell, or stay put; it is used throughout John's Gospel and epistles for continuous, settled relationship rather than a single…
Verse study
πάντα συνεργεῖ εἰς ἀγαθόν panta sunergei eis agathon Greek Sunergei is where we get synergy. The verb does not say the ingredients are good. It says they are being worked together toward one end by someone with a…
Verse study
μείζονα ταύτης ἀγάπην οὐδεὶς ἔχει meizona tautes agapen oudeis echei Greek Agape here denotes love as costly commitment and action rather than mere emotion; the sentence structure sets an absolute superlative with no…
Verse study
ὅς γε τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο hos ge tou idiou huiou ouk epheisato Greek Ouk epheisato, did not spare, is the same phrasing the Greek Old Testament uses in Genesis 22:16 of Abraham not withholding Isaac. An…
Verse study
ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή ego eimi he ampelos he alethine Greek Ego eimi echoes the divine self-naming of Exodus 3:14; ampelos is the ordinary word for grapevine; alethinos means genuine or real, as distinct from a…
Verse study
εἴρηκα ὑμᾶς φίλους eireka hymas philous Greek Philous comes from phileo, love marked by warm affection and companionship, distinguished from the more general agapao used elsewhere for love as command. The difference…
Verse study
οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα oute tis ktisis hetera Greek Ktisis means anything created. Since only God is uncreated, the phrase excludes everything that exists apart from God Himself. Why death and life come first Death…
Verse study
A sentence, not a feeling Katakrima is a courtroom word. Paul is not saying that believers stop feeling guilty. He is saying that the sentence which their guilt deserved has already been carried out. That distinction…
52 Week Journey
It is possible to talk about loving Jesus and never once ask what He said to do. It is also possible to keep a long list of rules and never once love the one who gave them. Scripture will not let those two things…
52 Week Journey
Love is the word most easily emptied of meaning by overuse, and the Bible refuses to let that happen to it. Scripture does not begin with a definition of love drawn from human experience and then apply it to God. It…
Verse study
χωρὶς ἐμοῦ οὐ δύνασθε ποιεῖν οὐδέν choris emou ou dynasthe poiein ouden Greek Choris means apart from or separated from; the double negative construction (ou... ouden) intensifies the statement to an absolute nothing.…
Verse study
οὐχ ὑμεῖς με ἐξελέξασθε, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην ὑμᾶς ouch hymeis me exelexasthe, all' ego exelexamen hymas Greek Eklegomai means to select or choose out from among others; the same verb family used of God's election of…
Devotional
Isaiah 58:13-14 If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor…
Devotional
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity. WEB The proverb defines friendship by when it holds, not by how it feels. At all times includes the seasons that cost something: failure,…
Devotional
Genesis 22:3 Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which…
Devotional
Exodus 19:8 All the people answered together, and said, "All that Yahweh has spoken we will do." Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh. WEB This vow comes before the Ten Commandments are given in chapter 20.…
Devotional
Psalm 103:13-14 Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust. WEB David does not compare God's compassion to…
Devotional
John 13:14-15 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. WEB Jesus draws…
Devotional
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. WEB Paul writes this right after describing how to restore someone caught in a fault, in verse 1. Bearing burdens is not abstract goodwill; it…
Devotional
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died. WEB Paul explains his own drive to persuade people, mentioned in the verse just before this…
Devotional
1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. But having food and clothing, we will be content with that. WEB Paul names…
Daily reading
Read Romans 8 slowly, then read the Audela chapter study on it. This is the longest study in the library because the chapter carries the whole Christian life from no condemnation to no separation. The three groans in…
Daily reading
Read John 15 remembering when it was said: the last night, on the way to a garden, to men who would fail within hours. Fruit is never produced by the branch. It is carried by it. Pruning happens to fruitful branches,…
Devotional
2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. WEB Demas is mentioned by name earlier as one of Paul's fellow workers…
Devotional
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. WEB James does not say hearers without doing harm other people. He says they deceive themselves, which means the danger of hearing…
Devotional
Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love. WEB Paul spends the whole letter insisting that no religious performance can make a person…
Devotional
2 Corinthians 9:7 Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. WEB Paul is raising money for the poor in Jerusalem, and he takes…
Devotional
1 John 4:9-10 By this God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to…
Devotional
John 13:4-5 He arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel, and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them…
Devotional
Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. WEB Psalm 136 has one refrain repeated after every single line for twenty-six verses: His loving kindness endures forever. The…
Devotional
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me…
Devotional
John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments. WEB The sentence is a condition, not a threat. Jesus does not say keep my commandments so that I will love you. He says love produces keeping, the way a tree produces…
Devotional
Luke 1:38 Mary said, "Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." The angel departed from her. WEB Mary has just heard something that will cost her reputation, her engagement, and…
Topic study
Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. It is confident expectation resting on the character and the promises of God. Most people use the word hope to admit that they do not know. I hope tomorrow is easier. I hope the…
Biblical concept
The kingdom of God is God's rule, not a territory. Mark opens the ministry of Jesus with the announcement that the kingdom of God has come near, and calls for repentance and faith as the response. Scripture speaks of…
Biblical concept
Jesus says he is the light of the world, and adds a promise: whoever follows him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Light here is both revelation and direction. In Matthew 5:14 he turns the same…
Biblical concept
The cross was a Roman method of execution, and it is the place where Jesus died. The Gospels describe the event in careful historical detail: the charge, the soldiers, the nails, the hours, the words he spoke. The New…
Biblical concept
Jesus says he is the true vine and his followers are branches, and that a branch bears fruit only while it stays joined to the vine. Apart from me you can do nothing is the plainest sentence in the passage. The Old…
Christian Living
Psalm 34:18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. WEB psalms 34 The verse does not say God mends a broken heart quickly. It says He comes near to it. Nearness is…
Christian Living
Matthew 25:46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” WEB matthew 25 Jesus spoke of judgement more plainly than anyone else in Scripture, and He did it as the One who came to…
Christian Living
1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. WEB 1-john 4 The order in this short verse is the whole of Christian ethics. Love is a response, not an achievement, and it begins outside us. That is why the New…
Christian Living
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it; WEB ephesians 5 Paul sets the standard for marriage at a cross. The love commanded here is measured by…
Christian Living
Lamentations 3:22-23 It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. WEB lamentations 3 These lines sit…
Christian Living
John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments. WEB john 14 Jesus joins love and obedience so tightly that neither can be claimed without the other. Obedience is not how a person earns His favour, it is how love…
Bible question
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? WEB God has already spoken about his will. Read that first, because…
Bible question
Luke 9:23-24 He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake,…
Bible question
1 Timothy 6:9-10 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of…
Bible question
Exodus 34:6 Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, WEB Scripture does not begin with a definition of God…
The Sunday Study
Verse-by-verse teaching with historical context, and a prayer to close. Nothing else in the email.