5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

[This question is a follow-up to “Revolving Around The Bible”.]

     If churches that were still "figuring out" the correct pattern of benevolence were acceptable, why aren't they today?  How do we know they aren't still trying to figure things out?  Why do we condemn a church that is "liberal" when we were liberal at some point or possibly still are? It seems like we are quick to condemn now that we have the truth and intolerant to those who were like us not too long ago.

Sincerely,
Authenticity Review

Dear Authenticity Review,

The key to the whole issue is whether or not a congregation is trying to draw near to biblical accuracy or just carelessly not “sweating the details” of God’s Word.  Since every congregation is autonomous, each congregation should be judged individually.  After all, that is what Christ did with the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3.  Every congregation has faults, but the question for each church is: are they moving towards the Word or away from it?
We can’t make broad statements about independent congregations.  They are by very definition ‘independent’ and must be viewed as such.  Each group must be looked at based off of their own merits.  Even in the first century, churches were told their work must stand or fall before the Lord on its own (Acts 14:23).

There has been tension in my husband's family for many years between him and his mother.  He has cut ties with her because no matter what he did, it was always wrong.  She has managed to convince his son that she (grandmother) is the victim.  Now his son is carrying the same attitude as his grandmother.  At what point do you stop trying?

Sincerely,
End Of Our Rope

Dear End Of Our Rope,

We stop trying to make a difference in our children’s lives when we are dead.  God tells us to never grow weary of doing good (2 Thess 3:13).  Never give up (Gal 6:9).  It may be that your husband’s influence over his son seems minor… but every child is affected by their parents (Heb 12:9).  Put the Lord first in everything (2 Cor 8:5), and let your lights shine brightly for your son to see (Php 2:15).  You never know what kind of influence you will have.

Is it a curse word when someone uses the words “By God” in a slang way?

Sincerely,
Word For Word

Dear Word For Word,

Using the Lord’s name in vain (Deu 5:11) is a matter of context and attitude.  God’s name is supposed to be treated with reverence (Heb 12:28).  Just like our earthly parents, our heavenly Father is deserving of respect (Heb 12:9).  We should only use His name when referring to something appropriate and when speaking with the utmost sincerity and seriousness.  God should be feared (Ps 111:10).  We are told to watch our lips and words (Ps 141:3).  Slang is typically used when we are speaking loosely and casually.  God’s name deserves more reverence than that.

Thank you for the time and energy and effort it takes to keep this site up.  You are heaven-sent!  May the Lord bless each of you that do this for His will and keep you in peace and health and safety.  I would like to ask a question, please.  Can the devil read our minds?  Does he know our thoughts as God does?  Can he hear our prayers, even if we pray silently?  A lady testified in church last Sunday and said she prays silently at her nighttime prayer, so the devil could not hear what she had to say.  Can the devil read our minds, and do you have scripture to prove it, please?

Sincerely,
Not A Mind Reader

Dear Not A Mind Reader,

Satan cannot read your mind, but he can attack your mind.  The devil is exceptionally cunning and wiley (Eph 6:11).  He uses his trickery to deceive us, but he doesn’t know your inner thoughts.  On certain occasions, the devil has placed thoughts within minds (Jhn 13:2), but he cannot see into our hearts.  If the devil could read minds and hearts, he never would have wasted time tempting Jesus (Matt 4:1).

God is the only one to be noted to have the ability to see into our hearts (Acts 1:24) and read our minds (Lk 11:17).  Aside from God, the only one who knows your mind is you (1 Cor 2:11).  The devil may be very clever… but he doesn’t know the depths of your soul.