Revelation 22:12 My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. A godly minister was nearing the end of his life when his friends encouraged him to relax and enjoy his final days. Shall I not run with all my might...
Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne . . . . And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as...
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Weddings are celebrated in almost every culture of the world. They normally follow a period of engagement, when plans are made...
Revelation 14:10b They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. This applies to everyone who worships the antichrist and receives his mark. They will be tortured in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb....
Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever. This pronouncement seems...
Revelation 9:13-21 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet [and] . . . . A third of mankind was killed . . . . The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols . . . ....
Revelation 7:9-14 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in...
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice . . . said, Come up here. John was an old man with a short time left on earth. With little to do during his exile, he probably thought much about heaven....
Revelation 2:4 I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. The second and third chapters of Revelation contain seven letters from the risen Christ to seven particular churches. They contain words of encouragement and challenge, to specific...
Revelation 1:1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John around AD 95, while he was exiled to the small rocky island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). The...
Jude 1:16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. The false teachers were experts at dividing congregations. Their methods of grumbling, self-promotion...
Jude 1:9-10 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, The Lord rebuke you! Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand. In order to win...
Jude 1:5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. Soon after the nation of Israel was delivered from Egyptian slavery, through the Red...
Jude 1:5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. Soon after the nation of Israel was delivered from Egyptian slavery, through the Red...
Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. This letter was likely written around AD 65, by the half-brother of Jesus Christ, and the full brother of James. Like his brothers, Jude did not believe in Jesus during his earthly ministry (John 7:5),...
2 John 1:1 The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth. The author of this letter is not identified, but is widely believed to be the Apostle John. The style is similar to the...
1 John 4:16 [W]e know and rely on the love God has for us. A brilliant young man, with a promising career in physics, left his job to become a missionary. The work was hard, but he was determined to win God’s approval no matter what. Sadly, within a few years, he...
1 John 3:5 In him is no sin. An amazing thing about Jesus is that those who knew him best believed that he was sinless. John was closer to Jesus than anyone else (John 13:23), and could find no fault in him. Peter was also close to Jesus, and said, He...
1 John 2:4 Whoever says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. The fact that God forgives us through faith in Jesus Christ will appeal to our sinful nature to keep on sinning. If Jesus paid for all our sins, and...
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The writer of this letter is not identified, but it’s commonly held...
2 Peter 2:21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. There have always been some who appear to receive Christ, but later walk...
2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. This letter was written by the Apostle Peter around AD 65, just a few years before his death. His main concerns were spiritual growth, false teaching, and waiting for Christ’s return. After Jesus rose...
1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Peter wanted his readers to know what they believed, and why they believed it, so they could answer those who asked. Stated simply, we believe...
1 Peter 1:24-25 All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Peter quoted the prophet Isaiah to emphasize the enduring nature of God’s word,...
1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. This letter was written by the Apostle Peter around AD 62. It was a time of persecution, and Peter wrote to...
James 5:13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. We pray best whenever we are in trouble. We do not have to read a book on prayer, take a class on prayer, or ask someone else to pray for us. When serious trouble comes, we know how to pray. Prayer becomes our...
James 4:7-8 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Some people resist the devil, but do not come near to God. They are like an addict in recovery, who does not pray or read the Bible. Others come near to God, but...
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? The gospel offers eternal life on the basis of faith alone. A good example is the criminal who was crucified next to...
James 1:19 Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. It is easy to become angry when people around you are talking nonsense, or saying something false. But instead of becoming angry, and getting into a shouting match, James wanted...
James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. The author of this letter was probably James, the brother of Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:55). James did not believe in his brother until after...
Hebrews 12:14 [W]ithout holiness no one will see the Lord. In a survey given to college students, eighty-nine percent wanted to be rich, eleven percent wanted to be famous, and no one wanted to be holy. In truth, no one wants to be holy unless God gives them that...
Hebrews 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. When people come to faith in Jesus Christ, they often have an idea of how their lives should go,...
Hebrews 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. A young man was waiting for his trial to begin when he asked permission to go to the bathroom. He stood on top of the toilet, pulled himself into the ceiling, and tried to get away. The...
Hebrews 9:27 [P]eople are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. The eternal destiny of every person is sealed the moment they die. There is no opportunity to repent once this life is over. The moment someone passes from this life to the next, they...
Hebrews 8:12 I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. A young man drove his car while drunk, and killed a young lady. Her parents were so distraught that they sued him for a dollar a week, for the next several years. Every week, as he...
Hebrews 5:9 [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. A ball rolled into the street and a little boy chased after it. His Father yelled stop and the little boy obeyed. A garbage truck ran over the ball, but thankfully, the little boy was...