The 260 Journey
A life-changing experience through the New Testament one chapter at a time.
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A life-changing experience through the New Testament one chapter at a time.
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Day 172 Today’s Reading: Ephesians 4 I love these words from Corrie ten Boom: “When we confess our sins . . . God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. . . . God then places a sign out there that says No fishing allowed.” She is giving a unique way to describe Isaiah 43:25, which tells us something so important about God’s forgiveness. God says in that verse “I will not remember your sins.” That’s incredible when we think about God’s forgiveness of our sin. Today in Ephesians 4, we are going to see that incredible forgiveness, that is bestowed on us, take one giant leap forward in a
Day 171 Today’s Reading: Ephesians 3 I knew her for more than a decade. When she finally accepted Jesus into her life, I asked her, “How did it happen? We talked about Jesus a lot, but why did you finally commit your life to Him? And then you just stopped living a lifestyle you knew was destructive. How did all this happen?” She looked at me and smiled. “You never told me what I was doing was wrong. You told me how right Jesus is. You just kept talking about Jesus.” She was saying in essence that Jesus was so attractive, why would she want anyone or anything else? That is Paul’s message in Eph
Day 170 Today’s Reading: Ephesians 2 I love the bumper sticker that says, “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.” Ephesians 2 reminds us what real peace is and the source of it. “Peace is not the absence of problems but the presence of God in the midst of our problems.” Paul tells us that in verses 13-17: "Now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained
Day 169 Today’s Reading: Ephesians 1 Today people use a lot of hyperbole. From their social-media posts to their arguments with their families, people say words like every, never, and always to “prove” their points. Hyperbole is exaggerated statements. It sounds like this: You never pick up your dirty laundry. Every time we talk you never listen. You do this to me every time. You always make us late. This is all impossible. Why can’t we make those hyperbole statements? Listen closely. We can’t because no one on the planet can ever be that consistent. There is only one who can be that consisten
Day 168 Today’s Reading: Galatians 6 Hu Jen-chuan was two years old when he fell from a table and went into a coma. When he woke after six days, he was unable to talk or move. Like any parent, his mother, Liu Kuei-lan, was terribly distressed. Yet her distress was multiplied by the fact that she could not afford to place him in medical care or any type of rehab. Instead she has cared for him herself, and for the past thirty years, she has carried her son on her back. As she’s grown older and more frail, she has fallen and fractured bones while carrying her grown son who weighs 180 pounds. Yet
Day 167 Today’s Reading: Galatians 5 Karl Wallenda, the great tightrope walker, fell to his death in 1978 from a seventy-five-foot high wire in downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico. Here’s what his wife, Helen, said about the fall: All Karl thought about for three straight months prior to it was falling. It was the first time he’d ever thought about that, and it seemed to me that he put all his energies into not falling rather than walking the tightrope. He was virtually destined to fall. As Christians we are commanded to walk in the Spirit. We are not commanded not to fall. Those who pursue not fal
Day 166 Today’s Reading: Galatians 4 In his autobiography, Buck O’Neil tells what it was like being a black man who played professional baseball before African-Americans were allowed to play in the all-white major leagues. By the time the color barrier was broken in 1947, O’Neil was considered too old to play in the big leagues, as were most of his teammates. Many of his friends grew bitter about their missed opportunities. O’Neil writes: At a reunion of Negro league players in Ashland, Kentucky, a reporter from Sports Illustrated asked me if I had any regrets, coming along as I did before Jac
Day 165 Today’s Reading: Galatians 3 The letter to the Galatians is a call back to reintroducing the simplicity of the gospel message. It’s so simple that the formula has not been changed for five thousand years. And Galatians 3 tells us something epic and answers a question I have been asked many times: how did the Old Testament people become believers or Christians? How did those in Genesis through Malachi have a relationship with God? This may surprise you, but there’s no better New Testament letter to answer this than the book of Galatians. Paul says this: Even so Abraham believed God, and
Day 164 Today’s Reading: Galatians 2 Barnabas was not even his real name; it was a nickname given to him by the people in the early church. His real name was Joseph. In Acts 4 we read that Joseph was so positive in his conversations that people nicknamed him Barnabas, because everything he said made them feel great. His journey starts in Acts 4, and the last verse we get about him is in Galatians 2, today’s chapter. This is Barnabas’s journey on how a really good man ended up pretty bad. Strap in for a jolting journey. I remember reading something interesting about the first Olympics in Greece
Day 163 Today’s Reading: Galatians 1 A biography always ends with a person, their story, and what they did. A testimony is different. A testimony ends with what God did. God is the star of a testimony. A person is the star of a biography. The old saints used to say, “No test? Then no testimony.” The test is what gives us the testimony and the story. I grew up always hearing the word testimony. We don’t hear that anymore. It’s a forgotten form of storytelling that needs to be reintroduced. We used to call it “testimony services” in my church when I was growing up. It was in those services we go
Day 162 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 13 Charles Schwab’s CEO, Walt Bettinger, opened the vault to the Schwab test he uses for potential high-level hires. He told the New York Times that we can discover a person’s character by the ways they respond during times of great pressure and distress. So before each new hire, to test out the job candidate to see how they react when things don’t go according to plan, Bettinger takes the potential employee out for a breakfast interview. What the candidate doesn’t know is that before they arrive, Bettinger asks the restaurant staff to purposefully mess u
Day 161 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 12 In today’s chapter we see a set of red letters, which come alive in a place that we don’t expect. Do you know what I mean when I say red letters? For those of us who grew up in the church when KJV was just about our only option of Bible translation, we know that all of Jesus’ words were in red letters to distinguish them from all other letters. We knew those red letters were all in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the very beginning of Acts. Those were the books of the Bible that covered when Jesus was on the earth. But red letters in 2 Corinthians 12? P
Day 160 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 11 Click on Google.com and you’ll find a predominantly white screen with less than forty words on it. That’s it. Compare it to other search engines where the user is confronted with hundreds of words. More than 75 percent of all web searches are done on Google. They are simple, so they appeal. As we look at today’s chapter, we find that Paul is calling us to go “Google” with our Christianity: “I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians
Day 159 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 10 I wrote someone a prescription the other day. Don’t get nervous and don’t report me just yet. The condition the person had was deilia (day-lea). Ever heard of it? A lot of people I talk to and counsel with face deilia and are in desperate need of a prescription. There are times I’ve even have had this condition myself. For this person, I prescribed three things: sophronismos (you may not recognize this, but it is very powerful), dunamis, and agape. These are not chemicals, these are Greek words. Deilia is the Greek word for fear. Fear can be debilitati
Day 158 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 9 Some people are thermostats and some are thermometers. Thermometers just register the temperature of the room, while the thermostat controls the temperature of the room. This is not just for hot and cold but for hot and cold attitudes. The people who are thermostats try to control a room with their attitudes. If they are happy, we all get to be happy. If they are quiet and sad, no one gets to be exuberant and laugh. The thermostat just dictated how the room will be. This is both good and bad. Good with good attitudes. Bad with bad attitudes. Second Cori
Day 157 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 8 Today’s chapter may hurt as we unpack it because it deals with money, generosity, and giving. Listen to these powerful words: We want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectati
Day 156 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 7 A man wrote to the IRS, “I haven’t been able to sleep because last year on my income tax report, I deliberately misrepresented my income. I am enclosing a check for $150, if I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest.” If we are going to repent of dishonesty and do the right thing then let’s do it all the way—not like this fellow in his IRS letter. Today’s chapter reminds us what real repentance is. In A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson wrote, “Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision.”
Day 155 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 6 In today’s chapter, Paul introduces us to a very important word, yoke. Listen to what Paul warns about it: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16, TNIV) This principle was familiar in this agricultural culture. Liste
Day 154 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 5 One of the pieces of advice I give to expecting fathers is about the moment they leave the hospital with their first child. I tell them that while they’re still in the hospital, their baby will have around-the-clock care from professionals. Nurses and doctors will watch over that newborn, changing their diaper, and meeting every need. They are always just a button away from coming into the wife’s room. The moment the new parents step outside that hospital door, they’re on their own. It’s scary. And the place it starts is in the car. They put that little
Day 153 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 4 Today’s chapter challenges us to remember that what’s on the inside determines our responses and reactions to outside forces. Listen to Paul’s outside issues that he has been facing: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Wow! There is a lot of outside stuff trying to take out Paul. There is affliction, perplexities, persecution, and people attempting to strike him down. I like the way The Living Bible paraphrases it: "We are pre
Day 152 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 3 Today’s chapter is so important because it is a challenge for the church and how we are supposed to look. As we keep attending church every Sunday, going to small groups, listening to preaching, what is the end game? Where is all of this heading? What’s the win? Maybe a better question is, “How do I know I am winning and on the right track?” In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul give us “the win”: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the S
Day 151 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 2 Frightened by the storm’s thunder and lightning, little Gabby cried out for her parents. Her father entered her room and held her securely in his arms. He explained that she didn’t need to be afraid, since God would take care of her, because He loved her greatly. “Daddy, I know God will take care of me and He loves me,” she said. “But right now, Daddy, I just need someone with skin on to love me.” God wants us to be His skin to express His love to people. Second Corinthians 2 is a plea for skin. It’s the challenge for the people of God to show the forgi
Day 150 Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 1 There is a fine line between gossip and intercession. Intercession is when you talk to God about other people. Gossip is when you talk to people about people—and they can only listen but never be a solution. My dear friend R. T. Kendall says these profound words: “Remember this rule of thumb: if people gossip to you, they will also gossip about you.” Gossip and intercession are so closely associated, it’s just an issue of who you go to about other people. The Corinthians chose intercession and not gossip. Intercession is so important. They are about to
Day 149 Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 16 Seriously, a connection between the rapture and the offering at church? It’s not my idea but the apostle Paul’s. And there is a big-time connection. As we discussed previously, the chapters and verses of the Bible were not divided until much later. Sometimes when you connect the last verse of a chapter with the first verse of the next chapter, you will discover a cool connection and collaboration. That it is a single thought and we unintentionally removed some of its energy and poignancy when we separated them into chapters. One of my favorites in this
Day 148 Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 15 A woman asked her pastor when she should start training her child in spiritual things. “Should I start at six?” “No,” he said. “That’s too late.” “At three years old?” “Still too late.” “Then when should I?” she asked. “With the grandparents.” That means my mom and dad for me and for my children. It’s about generational influence. In today’s chapter we will see how important relationships are. The other day I called my mom and thanked her for doing a devotional with me every morning when I was growing up. She always read the Daily Bread devotion with i
