He Is Worth Being Ready For
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:13 (NIV) This week may have settled in you like a weight. You sat with the parable, examined the oil, and it became heavy. That is a real…
The One Who Was Not There When the Door Opened
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.” Matthew 25:10 (NIV) Six words carry the full weight of this verse. The door did not close because the virgins were defiant or indifferent. It closed…
What Midnight Reveals
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’” Matthew 25:6 (NIV) Nobody expected the cry to come at midnight. The hour felt wrong and all ten virgins had fallen asleep. Then the cry…
You Cannot Borrow What Only Grows
“Five of them were foolish and five were wise.” Matthew 25:2 (NIV) The line in this parable is drawn before anything dramatic happens. It is not drawn at midnight or when the lamps go out. It is drawn at the…
The Lamp Is Not Enough
“The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.” Matthew 25:3 (NIV) You can carry something real and still not be ready. The five foolish virgins were not pretending or rebelling. They had lamps and…
You Don’t Get Ready Alone
“I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2 (NIV) Maybe you have been quietly missing church lately. Not in a dramatic way, more like one…
Stop Hiding What’s Unfinished
“and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:27 (NIV) You smooth out the wrinkle before anyone walks in. Maybe it is a messy room,…
Your Heart Can Drift Quietly
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV) Nothing about that moment in the garden…
He’s Patient With What You’re Impatient About
“to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,” Ephesians 5:26 (NIV) You hoped this struggle would be over by now. Maybe it is a temper, a habit, or something you cannot name. You have…
He Loved Before You Did Anything
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” Ephesians 5:25 (NIV) Some days you feel like you owe God an apology. You think today went badly, so maybe He pulled back too.…