Category: Bible Study

“We must undergo many trials.” —Acts 14:22 At the close of the very first Christian missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas instructed their disciples: “We must undergo many trials if we are to enter into the reign of God” (Acts 14:22). Trials, in fact, many trials, are a given for a disciple, although Jesus gives a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light (Mt 11:30). Life is hard. This is not the Lord’s idea. He did not make original sin, “death or mourning, crying out or pain” (Rv 21:4; see Wis 1:13). He will eventually abolish all these...

“Believe Me.” —John 14:11 Did you know that the word “believe” is used eighty-two times in the Gospel of John? Indeed, the very purpose of John’s Gospel is that all who read it may “believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this” belief you may have eternal life in His name (Jn 20:31). When a book or passage of Scripture uses the same word that many times, the Lord wants us to get the message. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus refers to believing in Him four times. If we believe in Jesus and prove...

“These are His witnesses now before the people.” —Acts 13:31 Throughout Acts of the Apostles, the Lord repeatedly commands us to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 10:39; 13:31). Now that we are more than halfway through the Easter season, it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we have obeyed the Lord’s command to be His witnesses. Hopefully, we have done this throughout our Christian lives and even more intensely in this Easter season. If you were subpoenaed as a witness by a human court, would you obey? If not, you would face contempt of court charges. Each Christian...

“Believe that I AM.” —John 13:19 Jesus told His apostles that one of them would betray Him. Jesus explained His reason for doing this: “I tell you this now, before it takes place, so that when it takes place you may believe that I AM” (Jn 13:19). Jesus is working in our lives so that we will have an ever greater faith in Him as the great I AM, God Himself. It is of supreme importance that we believe in Jesus’ divinity. Jesus bluntly stated: “You will surely die in your sins unless you come to believe that I AM”...

“Barnabas and Saul…sent forth by the Holy Spirit…set sail from there for Cyprus.” —Acts 13:2, 4 Barnabas was likely the leader for the Church’s first missionary trip, as indicated by the fact that his name came before Saul’s. Of all the possible destinations in a world without the Lord, the Holy Spirit sent Barnabas home, to Cyprus (Acts 13:4). Remember that Barnabas came “from Cyprus” (Acts 4:36). After evangelizing Cyprus, Barnabas and Saul evangelized numerous cities. Thus, with home serving as a launching pad, “the word of the Lord continued to spread and increase” (Acts 12:24). Jesus once delivered a...