“Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.” John 2:6 (NIV) You are not too broken to be His starting point. The six stone jars in…
“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’” John 2:3 (NIV) He was already there when the wine ran out. Mary did not ask Jesus to perform a miracle. She walked up to…
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 (NIV) You have not come this far just to stop here. Paul ends this passage with his eyes…
“But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12b (NIV) You did not find Christ. He found you first. Paul presses on to take hold of what Christ already took…
“I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10–11 (NIV) Nobody warned…
“I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Philippians 3:10 (NIV) “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead…
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost…
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 (NIV) Something shifts when God’s people pray together. The early church gathered after the threat, prayed, and the building shook. Nobody planned that or…
“For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20 (NIV) Some things simply cannot be contained. Peter and John did not walk out of that council meeting having decided to be bold. They walked out…
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:31 (NIV) Nobody planned what happened next. The early church had just…