There are ten epistles that have meant a lot to me; some over many years and some in more recent time. I want to write about them. Unlocking The Secrets Of First Peter is the fifth book I have done in this series. The Apostle Peter's first epistle spends a lot of time talking about persecution and suffering; his readers were experiencing much of these things. Peter told them not to be surprised at the fiery ordeals they were experiencing because Jesus also experienced these types of things; they all a part of the Christian life in a lost world. He said that angels long to look at God's work...

About the Author I am identifying myself only as brother Jon, because I love when a brother or sister in Christ calls me brother Jon, or just brother. In an instant it reminds me that I am in Christ, and that we are in this together. May we help one another to fight the good fight of faith. Also, and more importantly, our focus should not be on who promoted this or who wrote that. It should be upon our Glorious and Wonderful God, our Father in Heaven, and on His Marvelous Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus. Jesus is Lord

If you have followed teachers and preachers who say that our obedience merely shows that we are born-again then you have believed a lie. For most of my Christian life I was one of these, but, by God's mercy, and my diligent study of the Word I came to understand what the Scriptures so powerfully and plentifully proclaim. We are saved by grace, but that does not negate our part in God's great salvation. Please take the time to read this book and consider the many verses I've presented from First Thessalonians through Hebrews.

We've all heard James' words, "Therefore it says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:6-8a). We want God to draw near to us, but we fail on our part, that is, to draw near to Him. Holiness is "priority one." I do hope you will join with me to help you to see this as we explore the New Testament from the book of Acts through the book of Revelation.

Many of us have made prayer something it was never intended to be. Consider how personal Jesus' prayers were. He did not make them a big production like, "OOOOH, GREAT and MIGHTY FATHER GREAAATE IS YOUR NAME " No, Jesus spoke very personally with the Father. We seem to have forgotten, or maybe never knew, that prayer is merely conversation with God. We can't approach prayer like it is just another thing on our to-do list. Bible reading? Check. Prayer time? Check. If we regularly met with a dear neighbor we wouldn't have it on a list. Why then prayer time, as if it were a chore. No, prayer...

There are ten epistles that have meant a lot to me; some over many years and some in more recent time. I want to write about them. Unlocking The Secrets Of Ephesians is the sixth book I have done in this series. The Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus is a beloved epistle. It is six chapters long and it is generally agreed that the first three chapters are on doctrine and the last three are more practical as they tell us how to live. Paul begins chapter one talking about predestination, and ends with how he prayed for them. In chapter two he tells that it is by grace we've been...

I was at my son's house around Christmastime last year and was given a gift. I opened the gift when they gave it to me and saw they had purchased a nice twelve-cup coffee maker-an upgrade from my old five-cupper. When I got home I put it up on a shelf in the back of the closet and continued using my old coffeemaker. As time passed I forgot about it. Then a couple of weeks ago I was running out of filters for my smaller machine and when I went to buy more all I could find were for twelve-cup machines. Then it came to my mind that I own one When I got home I threw my old one out and dug in the...

We focus too much on Jesus. You ask, Brother Jon, how can this be? If Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, then how can we focus too much on Him? Thanks for asking. Let me begin by stating that there are two judgments coming at the end of this world. There will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked (Acts 24:15); these will both face God at two judgments: One for the unrighteous (Revelation 20:12-15); and one for the righteous (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). We need to focus upon Jesus, but not to the neglect of personal righteousness. Yes, our personal righteousness. As I will show in...

This is it; you have to get this right. You absolutely need this job You submitted your resume and they called you back for an interview. You are putting your best foot forward. You've got to because you need to knock it out of the park. Attentive? Yes. Calm? Well, sort of. You make one last look in the mirror to make sure no residues of lunch are on your teeth; you pop a mint and go and wait for your appointment. You want to appear as patient and cheerful as you can. Your resume is important, but you know that the interview will decide whether you sink or swim. We've all been there, and...

There are ten epistles that have meant a lot to me; some over many years and some in more recent time. I want to write about them. Unlocking The Secrets Of Philippians is the seventh book I have done in this series. Paul made his first trip to Philippi during his second missionary journey. It was a rough start. Paul, with Silas and Timothy, were walking around preaching the gospel. They had someone tagging along with them; it was a demon possessed fortune teller. Day after day she would cry out that they were from God and were teaching the way of salvation. At some point Paul got annoyed and...