The Spirit That Is on You
Read: Numbers 11:16-18, 24-25 I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. (v. 17) Though no one knows exactly where it originated, the expression “It’s lonely at the top” has been applied to leaders for more than a century. This phrase does not appear in the Bible, but […]
September 2022 Prayer Guide
INDONESIA — Pray for the young people who participate in the Booming Youth Community. The community members worship and study the Bible together. Pray that as they meet, the young people will come to know and love God more. Pray too that as their lives change, their behavior will attract others to learn more about […]
The Spirit at Creation
Read: Genesis 1:1-5; 2:7 And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (v. 2) The Holy Spirit makes his first appearance in the opening verses of the Bible. In fact, all three persons of the Trinity— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are present in the creation account. God the Father calls all […]
Love
Read: 1 Corinthians 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (v. 13) Love is the greatest and most costly Christian virtue, and it is the way in which we most imitate God. God does not need fortitude, temperance, or prudence because he is omnipotent and omniscient. […]
Hope
Read: Hebrews 6:13-20 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . . Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf. (vv. 19-20) On the front lawn of my Alma Mater, right outside the chapel, stands a giant anchor with the words of the college motto written below: Spera in Deo, “Hope in […]
Faith
Read: Hebrews 11:1-12:2 Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (12:1) The last three virtues (faith, hope, and love) are called the theological virtues because they are gifts of God that cannot be attained apart from grace. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the “author and perfecter of our faith.” […]
Justice
Read: Romans 12:14-21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (v. 21) There is a great debate in legal and philosophical circles about the nature of justice. The ancients defined justice as giving others their due. Modern theories of justice often talk about fairness and equality. Micah 6:8 says, “And what does […]
Fortitude
Read: Hebrews 10:19-39 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (v. 36) Fortitude is a word rich in meaning. It is derived from the Latin word for strength, and it means the strength of mind that allows a person to withstand […]
Temperance
Read: 2 Peter 1:3-11 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with . . . love. (vv. 5-7) In America, we tend to associate temperance with history lessons on the era of Prohibition. But temperance really is just an older word for the […]