Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5: 4-6

⁴ But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.^[b]5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. ⁶ So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 

Scripture Commentary: Be clearheaded in thought and deed.

A drunken person has no control of him/herself. They have no idea what they are saying or doing. If you show them what they did, once clearheaded, they wouldn’t believe their eyes. This is the same with a sinner who has repented, accepted Christ, and has left their old lifestyle behind.

God destroys the old record of our life. He knows we are weak, sinful people, and He waits patiently for us to come to Him, asking for forgiveness. And He does forgive.

But some remain in their drunken stupor, never coming out into the light. They stumble and fall deeper into a cavern of sin. The day of reckoning will come. We are to help the lost through the aid of the Holy Spirit. If we don’t, then we are as lost as they are.

Are you trying to help someone?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Thessalonians 5

Read More Commentary From Thessalonians:

Don’t Suffer the Delusion to Believe a Lie

Scripture: Matthew 23: 25-26

²⁵ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,^[i] and then the outside will become clean, too.

Scripture Commentary:

After we eat, we take the dishes into the kitchen to wash. We don’t just wash the outside of the dish; we also wash the inside where the meal was placed. This is done so bacteria that causes disease can be washed away.

Jesus is saying that when you are portraying something you aren’t, like pretending to be a follower of Christ while living a self-serving life, you are like dishes that have not been properly washed. He condemns the Pharisees and church leaders for appearing holy but underneath remain corrupt and full of greed and selfishness.

These same leaders crucified Jesus and killed the disciples. They were powerful and respected but had lost sight of who they were serving. We also have church leaders today who have forgotten who they are supposed to be serving. They miss God in their self-centered journey.

Beware of false teachers with false messages. The message today is the same as yesterday. Love one another.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Matthew 23

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Matthew:

The Wise Take Time to Prepare

What Favor Do You Ask of Jesus?

Scripture: Luke 7: 40-42

⁴⁰ Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. ⁴¹ Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver^[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other. ⁴² But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Scripture Commentary:

In Luke 7, Jesus asks which debtor loved the creditor more: the one with the small loan or the larger loan? The answer is the one who owed the most. God loves us so much for He forgives us when we repent and accept Him. He forgives the small sins and the large ones. Sin is sin but God forgives and forgets.

Jesus is dining at Simon’s house in Luke 7 and a woman comes, uninvited. She is a sinner who places herself at Jesus’s feet and washes them with her tears and then puts expensive oil on them. She repents of her sins.

What are you doing to repent of your sins?

Are you asking Jesus for forgiveness and accepting His Only Begotten Son as your Lord and Savior or are you just continuing on a path of sin?

Jesus forgives the sinful woman. Only God’s grace through faith saves us. This woman shows her true faith and love for Christ.

Where are you on the road of life? Are you going to God’s kingdom or are you headed to a dead end? Jesus honors faith.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Luke 7

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Luke:

Ask, Seek, and Knock on God’s Door

The True Christian Has Good Stored in His Heart

Scripture: John 4: 47-48

⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. ⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

Scripture Commentary:

You may have read this scripture and felt the urgency in the nobleman’s plea to Jesus to heal his son who was about to die. When we encounter problems in life, do we take them to Jesus or try to deal with them ourselves? And if you take it to God, do you leave it with Him or do you get impatient and try to fix it yourself? If you do the latter, why take it to Him in the first place?

Ye of little faith!

The nobleman in John walked 20 miles, leaving his son home, not knowing if he would die while he was on his way to Jesus. But the man took Jesus’s word that his son was alive and he started back home. Jesus didn’t have to touch the son, or be in the house or town with the son. All Jesus did was speak the Word and the father believed.

Do you believe God will provide when you ask for His guidance? This is true faith that he will take care of you and answer your prayer. God will provide what you need.

Jesus’s miracles are not illusions. They are real miracles that were done over 2,000 years ago and are being done today.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 4

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

Works that Bear Fruit

Are You Spiritually Blind?

Scripture: Matthew 14: 28-29

²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” ²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

Scripture Commentary:

Peter calls Jesus saying, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you.” How can anyone walk on water? Peter and the disciples had just witnessed Jesus feed 5,000 plus people. This is a miracle for that’s impossible to do with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. So Peter asks Jesus to call to him.

Do you believe that Jesus will answer when you call to Him?

Do you believe He can do for you what you can’t do for yourself? Peter wasn’t testing Jesus. He was testing himself. And when you go to Jesus, you test yourself. Do you truly believe in God and that He can do for you?

Peter is the only disciple who asks Jesus for permission to come to Him. He’s the only one who had the faith. Where is your faith? Peter started to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus. When you take your life into your own hands and out of Jesus’s hands, you will sink also.

Do not focus on the difficult circumstances of the world. Go to Jesus for his power and stop trying to deal with your inadequacies.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Matthew 14

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Matthew:

Welcome Jesus Into Your Life

Not Everyone Has a Relationship with God. What About You?

Scripture: Galatians 6: 7-9

⁷ Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. ⁸ Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. ⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Scripture Commentary: You will always harvest what you plant.

At planting time the farmer plants his crops. He plants beans in one field, corn in another, and wheat in yet another. At harvest he expects a yield of the crops he planted.

For debate, let’s say that at harvest the corn field yields tomatoes. If this happens, the farmer would return to the barn where he stored the seed to see if he planted the wrong seed. What if he didn’t plant the wrong seed but another crop was harvested?

We come into this world blameless but as we go through life we take on things we should not. We judge people, we gossip, and act as if we are of great importance.

Bad seed yields useless crops.

What kind of seeds are you planting in your life and what will be your harvest?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Galatians 6

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Galatians:

You Do Not Carry Your Burdens Alone

God Is Not a God of Confusion but of Truth

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5: 5-7

 ⁵ Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed^[d] and he himself^[e] will be saved on the day the Lord^[f] returns. ⁶ Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.^[g] 

Scripture Commentary: Yeast adds strength.

Yeast is a powerful ingredient. It’s added to flour to increase its size. Paul uses yeast as an analogy to explain how sin, if not addressed, will spread to the entire flock. If we are aware of a wrong and do nothing, we become part of that sin.

We are all sinners; however, we were all different people before we accepted Jesus Christ and repented. In 1 Corinthians the believers of the church of Corinth had not confronted sin. They ignored the problem. Paul writes to them to tell them, out of love, not vengeance, to deal with the situation.

God’s yeast is the Holy Spirit.

With prayer and God’s help, we are to do our best in love. However, if the person or people refuse to change and continue to let Satan lead them, we must cut them out of the flock. If allowed to stay, they will eventually contaminate it. If the member(s) are put out, they may realize the wrong they have done, repent, and return to serve the Lord.

It’s like the return of the prodigal son when the lost in Christ return. Yeast’s purpose is for good. When we work and do what God has for us, we will spread His gospel. God’s yeast is the Holy Spirit and He has placed it in each of us.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Corinthians 5

Read Other Commentary from 1 Corinthians:

Do You Believe Christ is Raised From the Dead?

Where Is the Wise? Search for Wisdom

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3: 6-9

⁶ I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. ⁷ It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. ⁹ For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

Scripture Commentary:

No one person is more important to God than another. There are no stars in God’s family. We are one with God, our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

God has given each of us a gift. How, or if, we use it is up to each of us. One of Paul’s gifts was to plant seeds of the gospel in people’s hearts. Paul was a pioneer who brought salvation to the lost in Corinth along with Apollos. Both were important.

The church in Corinth was financially well off. They were more focused on worldly values and not on the true spirit of God. We encounter this problem today when we follow the preacher, not God’s message. There are a lot of churches that fall apart once a pastor leaves a church or dies.

We are to respect our pastor but not put him or her on a pedestal. Remember, there are no superstars in God’s House. There are only workers to carry the Gospel to the world.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Corinthians 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 1 Corinthians:

Husband and Wife: Keep God in Your Marriage

The Lord Offers You A Seat At His Table

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5: 6-8, 10

⁶ So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸ Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Scripture Commentary:

You stand at the station, waiting to go home. How do you spend that time? Do you do nothing or are you using your time productively? Use this example as an analogy of your life. How are you spending your life? Are you advancing your own message or spreading the Gospel of Christ?

Stand for God.

God has given each of us an assignment. Do you know yours? Talk to God; read His Word (The Bible). Stand for God. Although we can’t see Him, we can talk to Him, and He talks to us through The Holy Spirit.

For those of us who have a relationship with God, we know that death is not the end but the beginning. Eternal life is the gift God has for His followers; however, God’s gift of salvation is not free. One day we each will give an account.

Jesus’ death and resurrection has made us whole.

Love one another, help one another, and be obedient to God. He knows we are not perfect and that we will sin; however, when you sin, ask for forgiveness. Don’t take pride in false, worldly values. Jesus’ death and resurrection has freed us from Satan’s hold on death.

Free at last. Thank God!

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

2 Corinthians 5

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 2 Corinthians:

God’s Grace Is Sufficient For Me

Examine Your Spiritual Life Today