2023-10-30 10:00
What does it mean to regard someone according to the flesh? 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says:
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ… Read More
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Blog | Unlocking The Bible Blog
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Unlocking the Bible seeks to put the gospel within people’s grasp by delivering impactful Bible teaching through a broad array of modern media, including blog articles on Christian living, theology, the Bible, and more.
2023-10-30 10:00
What does it mean to regard someone according to the flesh? 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says:
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ… Read More
2023-10-16 10:00
Question: I will sometimes wake up prompted to pray for someone. Last month I was prompted to pray something very confusing for someone I know. What exactly does this mean, and how can I bes… Read More
2023-10-09 10:00
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)
Prayer is an offer of a li… Read More
2023-09-25 10:00
Pastor Colin Smith preached the sermon "How the Lord's Prayer Can Change You" at The Gospel Coalition's Chicago Conference in late 2022. You can enjoy that message below. (Listen to Pastor C… Read More
2023-09-12 10:00
Your conviction about Scripture will shape your life and drive your ministry. Join Pastor Colin in this teaching session to learn how Scripture came, what Scripture is, and what Scriptu… Read More
2023-09-06 10:00
What often keeps us from engaging with Scripture? See how many of these five hindrances apply to you.
1. Distraction
We are living in an age of unparalleled opportunities and unrel… Read More
2023-08-28 15:50
If you're looking for a Bible verse about group prayer, James 5:16 isn't a bad choice:
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be heal… Read More
2023-08-08 10:00
Question: Do Christians believe in reincarnation? Is it taught in the Bible? If not, where does the idea come from?
The idea of reincarnation is a Buddhist teaching, and it is also taught… Read More
2023-07-31 10:00
The Psalms are a unique treasure of Scripture that connect a believer’s head and heart in a rich and vivid way. While most of Scripture delivers words from God to man, the Psalms provi… Read More
2023-07-24 10:00
Question: I am a poor man and I am praying to God to be rich, but He doesn’t answer my prayer. Why?
Answer: I am sorry to hear that you are struggling financially. The Bible never t… Read More
2023-07-17 05:00
The Bible contains some marvelous prayers that were breathed out directly by the Spirit of God. You find them in the Psalms. Using these Psalms to shape your prayers is a great way to discov… Read More
2023-07-10 10:00
In my research into why we struggle to pray, one of the top answers was "I don't know what to pray." Many people feel stuck repeating a handful of prayer requests and as a result, give up on… Read More
2023-06-28 10:00
However much you have, there are others who have more. However little you have, there are others who have less. All of us have more than some other people. All of us have less than some othe… Read More
2023-06-27 10:00
It was a rainy Saturday afternoon. I sent my college roommates to the dining hall without me because I wanted the dorm room to myself while I made a certain phone call. I dialed the number… Read More
2023-06-19 10:00
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, therapists shared their favorite coping strategies for anxiety.[1] They include normal recommendations like sleep and exercise, and surprising ones l… Read More
2023-06-13 10:00
In November 1919, Frans Kafka wrote a letter to his father, Hermann, explaining why he feared him. This letter concludes by comparing their father-child relationship to the fight of “v… Read More
2023-06-06 10:00
What follows is an excerpt from You Can Trust God to Write Your Story: Embracing the Mysteries of Providence by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Robert Wolgemuth. Get a copy this month for a gift… Read More
2023-05-30 10:00
If God had waited for me to seek after Him, He would still be waiting. No one seeks God (Romans 3:11). No one! Not even you. By nature we run from God. If we seek Him, it is only because He… Read More
2023-05-23 10:00
Question: Does God still exhibit His wrath toward people when they sin?
Answer: According to the Bible, the answer is “Yes.” Now a fair response would be to s… Read More
2023-05-16 10:00
Truth and accuracy is the first and most important tenet of the five tenets of journalism. It is the cardinal principle, and for good reason. There’s the obvious ethical matter related… Read More
2023-05-09 10:00
Joseph was the dearly loved son of his father, Jacob. His brothers hated him for this, so they threw him in a pit, sold him to traders who took him to Egypt, and told their father he was eat… Read More
2023-05-02 10:00
Richard Borgonon had been a Christian for 36 years.
He enjoyed sharing the message of Jesus by giving away books to non-Christian friends, extending invitations to events, and starting sp… Read More
2023-04-25 10:00
In 2000, our son Matt was born with post axial hypoplasia in his left leg. This condition can have a variety of bone abnormalities. In his case, his left femur, tibia, and fibula were not th… Read More
2023-04-18 10:00
When I was in my 40’s, I vividly remember the sudden onset of farsightedness – words on a page being blurry the closer they got to my eyes. It was so discouraging, not just becau… Read More
2023-04-11 10:00
If you asked five random Christians "What is the gospel?" you might get five different answers. Many believers are simply confused as to the content of the gospel. That's why we're thankful… Read More
2023-04-03 10:00
Artists and poets have speculated over the centuries about hell (consider Dante’s “Inferno”), but the clearest revelation of hell is given at the cross. The Apostle&r&hell…Read More
2023-03-28 10:00
If you want a short and powerful story that teaches the gospel of grace, you can't beat the story of the thief crucified next to Jesus (Luke 23:39–43; Matthew 27:38–44). … Read More
2023-03-16 10:00
The first disciples did not all come to Jesus in the same way. They had different stories, and they found their way to Jesus by different means.
1. Gospel Proclamation
Two disciples of Joh… Read More
2023-03-09 11:00
Faith is like a muscle – if it is not used, it will atrophy.
Some of us spend time every day exercising certain muscles that we want to develop. You say, “I haven’t run… Read More
2023-03-07 11:00
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?&rdqu&hell…Read More
2023-02-21 11:00
If you search the Bible for the word ‘regeneration,’ you won’t come up with much.
In the English Standard Version, it occurs just once.
When the goodness and loving kin… Read More
2023-02-14 11:00
There was only one time my mother-in-law and I "had words." During my second year of marriage, in the middle of discussing an unrelated misunderstanding, my mother-in-law brought up the topi… Read More
2023-01-31 11:00
When I think of the value of praying the Bible, I think about superfoods. While the term "superfood" may be more of a marketing term than a scientific one, the simple idea rings true. A supe… Read More
2023-01-24 11:00
Heavenly Father, Your word instructs me to cast my anxieties on You, because You care for me (1 Peter 5:7). I confess that I have too often misjudged Your character, questioned Your kindness… Read More
2023-01-17 11:00
Romans 12:2 teaches that we can discern the will of God for our lives:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern wha… Read More
2023-01-01 06:00
These questions came directly out of a fresh examination of my own life some years ago.
When I first raised them it was during a significant year in ministry, having served in the States… Read More
2022-12-27 11:00
"I accepted Ken as my husband."
For the record, I have never spoken about my husband in these terms. I've never said to my children, "Twenty years ago, I accepted your daddy as my persona… Read More
2022-12-20 11:00
Question: How can Jesus be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Son of God, and the second person of the Trinity all at the same time?
Answer: This questi… Read More
2022-12-13 11:00
Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may… Read More
2022-12-06 11:00
What follows is an excerpt from Christmas Stories, a collection of first-person narratives that will help you recapture the wonder of Christmas.
I wasn't in Bethlehem. I didn’t… Read More
2022-11-29 06:00
Everybody is tempted. As long as you’re in the body, temptation can reach you. The impulse to sin has a landing place in your life.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Watch and pray, s… Read More
2022-11-21 11:00
The book of James says, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" (5:16b ESV). Other translations say, "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective"… Read More
2022-11-15 10:01
Christmas season is the season of joy, but it is also a time when the cumulative weight of all that has happened in the course of the year catches up with you. Moving into the last month of… Read More
2022-11-08 11:00
Question: Could you please give Biblical advice concerning cremation?
There are, generally speaking, two kinds of moral questions for Christians:
First, questions in which God has give… Read More
2022-10-25 10:00
Question: Will God give up on me? If I keep praying for Him to open my eyes, to lead me to repentance, will it happen? The Bible says God has mercy on whom He chooses, so what if He just cho… Read More
2022-10-21 10:00
Godliness is an essential pursuit for every Christian. God has wonderful plans to make us more like Christ, but we have work to do as well: "Train yourself for godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7)… Read More
2022-10-18 10:00
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 is one of the first Bible verses I mem… Read More
2022-10-11 10:00
Question: I am finding inconsistencies in the Gospels that really bother me. But if it contains contradictory accounts, how can we trust what the Bible says?
Answer: I suspect that you are b… Read More
2022-10-04 10:00
“God’s felt friendship in Christ.” It’s a lovely little phrase from the 17th-century Scottish preacher, David Dickson. His point is not simply that Christ makes us Hi… Read More
2022-09-27 10:00
I recently talked with Tim Augustyn, Pastor of Ministry Resources at Open the Bible, about a simple but powerful tool for praying for others: Nancy Guthrie's book I'm Praying for You: 40 Day… Read More
2022-09-13 10:00
Earlier this year I stood with my family in the throne room of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. We weren’t there for an audience with the Queen. No one was even on the thrones. We were ju… Read More
2022-09-06 10:00
The songs we sing do not always provide realistic expectations of the Christian life.
Consider the line from a well-loved hymn which states that it was at the cross by faith, &ldquo&hellip…Read More
2022-08-29 10:00
“Whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9 ESV).
Believers will please Christ forever in heaven, and our aim on earth i… Read More
2022-08-23 10:00
C. H. Spurgeon is widely held to be one of the greatest preachers of the 19th century. I would recommend getting your hands on anything and everything of his that you can find. His lively f… Read More
2022-08-16 10:00
Question: Will I see my abusive ex-husband again in heaven? He claimed to be a Christian.
Answer: As you probably already know, the answer to your question is not simply a matter of wha… Read More
2022-07-25 05:00
When my wife and I considered having kids, we worried we weren’t ready. In response, a friend of ours commented, “If you wait till you feel ready, you’ll never do it.&rdquo&hell…Read More
2022-07-18 05:00
If the word "evangelism" has ever sent a shiver down your spine, I have some encouragement for you: the apostle Paul sometimes battled fear as well. Why else would he ask for prayer to proc… Read More
2022-07-04 10:00
Psalm 23 is perhaps the most beloved passage in all of Scripture. Even many nonbelievers in our secular world are familiar with it due to many references in pop music, movies, and national… Read More
2022-06-27 10:00
I usually don't mind sharing my struggle if I can also tell how it resolved, how I'm better and how everything's fixed and right again in my little corner of the universe. Yet the story I'm… Read More
2022-06-20 10:00
If you are looking for some penetrating questions to help you evaluate the state of your faith, look no further than Walking with God by J. C. Ryle. I have been a Christian for over 30 year… Read More
2022-06-13 10:00
God was kind to give us the Psalms, wasn’t He? These prayers and songs give us words when we are fatigued, confused, or numb.
But, if we’re honest, some of the Psalms flow mo… Read More
2022-06-05 10:00
When you are ‘in Christ,’ you stand in a completely new relationship to the power of sin. Sin used to be your master. Sin used to reign over you. But now you have ‘died&rs&helli…Read More
2022-05-31 10:00
“He leads me in paths of righteousness.” (Psalm 23:3)
Christ gives us rest so that we may have strength to follow Him on righteous paths.
Notice the order. You might think that w… Read More
2022-05-24 10:00
“Jesus keeps me safe,” Jovi, my oldest daughter, quietly said as I tucked her in the other night.
“Yes, He will always keep you safe,” I said, while hugging her.
&ldq&hell…Read More
2022-05-17 10:00
The Welsh minister, Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), served at Westminster Chapel in London for 30 years, and he is considered by some to be the greatest preacher of the 20th century.
Here ar… Read More
2022-05-16 10:00
Too often words fail me when I spend time in prayer. Do you feel your praise falls flat, and your thanksgiving is routine? How do we pray when we don’t know what to pray?
God calls us… Read More
2022-05-10 10:00
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” (Psalm 23:2)
How can you find rest in a world of relentless busyness and trouble?
David speaks about gr… Read More
2022-05-03 10:00
“Mom! Dad! Something keeps biting me!” one of our children yelled. We ran into the family room to investigate what was happening. As soon as I realized the cause, I froze. Fleas!… Read More
2022-04-26 10:00
Is God mad at me?
I confess that I’ve asked myself this question more times than I care to admit. It doesn’t only come when I think of reading the Word but also when I consider o… Read More
2022-04-19 10:00
We have not seen Jesus with our eyes. We didn’t follow Him during his ministry like Mary Magdalene, or have our feet washed by Him like the disciples. Yet Jesus says we don’t nee… Read More
2022-04-11 19:56
What follows is an excerpt of the book Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross by Pastor Colin Smith told from the perspective of the thief.
Hope began for me in the st… Read More
2022-04-05 10:00
James tells us that the “double-minded man [is] unstable in all of his ways” (James 1:8). That is a very good description of Judas. He was double-minded, and in the end, the fait… Read More
2022-03-28 10:00
“The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1)
Sheep are added to a flock by being bought or being born. A shepherd can breed sheep or he can buy them and, in farming, one or the other o… Read More
2022-03-22 10:00
There once was a man who served time in prison because he was a thief. This had been his lifestyle, but during his time in prison, he heard the gospel and was wonderfully converted.
When the… Read More
2022-03-15 10:00
What book of the Bible should a new believer read first?
Great question. There are so many to choose from! I’m going to suggest two options. Before I make my case, I want to give you s… Read More
2022-03-08 11:00
Our ministry is all about opening the Bible with people because we have the conviction that comes from the Bible itself that God uses the Scripture to bring real and lasting change to people… Read More
2022-03-01 11:00
Low attendance at church prayer meetings sadly demonstrates the spiritual coldness of many Christians. And so, in the introduction, I dare affirm this: believers losing their passion for pra… Read More
2022-02-22 11:00
A proper understanding of the Ten Commandments will lead you to faith in Jesus Christ. If you look at yourself honestly in the light of these commandments, it will not be long before you con… Read More
2022-02-08 22:10
I’m rereading Pilgrim’s Progress… again. I’ve probably read it at least a dozen times, and I can’t explain why, but it seems to get better every time I read it… Read More
2022-02-08 11:00
Do you try to impress God? I admit there are times when I realize I’m trying to dazzle God, eager to hear not just “well done, good and faithful servant” but “Wow! Yo… Read More
2022-02-01 11:00
The Ten Commandments are not an arbitrary set of rules. They are a direct reflection of the character of God.
Paul says “All have sinned and fall short. Fall short of what? You might e… Read More
2022-01-25 11:00
When I took my last class in high school, I had the privilege of walking across the stage and throwing my cap in the air. I had graduated high school.
Four years later—an even bigger a… Read More
2022-01-18 11:00
I’ll never forget that April morning when we woke up without food. A million thoughts passed through my mind. We had only been married for a few years, and we were battling like any ot… Read More
2022-01-14 11:00
Our Father in heaven, we bow before You so grateful for the grace by which You have reconciled us to Yourself in and through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. We are very conscious of b… Read More
2022-01-11 11:00
Our Father in heaven, we come before You today profoundly aware of our utter dependence on You. We grieve that Your name is not honored, that Your will is not done, and we long to see Your k… Read More
2022-01-04 11:00
The last petition of the Lord’s Prayer asks God to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
God answers this last petition, like all the othe… Read More
2021-12-28 11:00
I ‘borrowed’ the title of this article from a sermon I heard many years ago. The pastor shared how Moses’ parents chose to ‘live normally’ and build a family wh… Read More
2021-12-23 11:00
The following is a first-person account of the Christmas story from Mary’s perspective. For more stories like this, read the short book Christmas Stories.
The day that changed my life… Read More
2021-12-21 22:01
What follows are twenty-five Christmas songs about Jesus Christ*, ranging from traditional hymns and carols to modern worship songs.
Our desire is that they would set your hope on the Lord J… Read More
2021-12-16 11:00
Ever feel frustrated that you can’t focus for prayer? Concentrating on God in prayer feels like trying to nail jello to the wall. You can’t stop the flurry of thoughts ranging fr… Read More
2021-12-14 11:00
Our Father, we bow before You in worship and gladly acknowledge that every good gift comes from Your loving hand. We thank You today for the beauty of the earth, for the love of friends and… Read More
2021-12-09 11:00
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together! (Psalm 34:3)
As 2021 winds down, we give thanks to God for another year of His grace and faithfulness. It&rsq&hell…Read More
2021-12-07 11:00
Where does your worldview come from? The Christmas story might seem like a surprising place to go to explore that question. But it’s my conviction that these familiar passages actually… Read More
2021-11-30 15:13
We’re all prone to “fan mentality.” It’s when you think or do something because of your attraction to an individual, brand, or style. For example, as a Cubs fan, I st… Read More
2021-11-23 11:00
Our culture of independence clamors over ‘rights.’ As a believer, I can fall prey to this view and begin to see God’s promise to bless as one of those rights. However, reco… Read More
2021-11-16 11:00
I don’t have to tell you that these are anxious times. You probably woke up this morning to an ongoing set of worries, and perhaps a few new ones.
Let’s open God’s Word tog… Read More
2021-11-09 11:00
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I’ve felt bombarded with major prayer requests. One day I hear news of sick and struggling family members, the next I hear a church friend repor… Read More
2021-11-02 10:00
In early 2019, Unlocking the Bible launched OPEN as a free, online tool that takes an individual or group through the whole Bible story. OPEN is based on the 4-volume set Unlocking the Bible… Read More
2021-10-26 10:00
Have you noticed the massive staff shortage across industries during this extended season of COVID? I can’t drive a mile without seeing a “help wanted” sign. I’v… Read More
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