Hosea 8-10 Be careful repeating this saying: “do not judge.” We don’t know the motives behind a person’s heart. God is saying I am the ultimate judge, and I alone can judge the heart. Remember Jeremiah’s words: the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; who can know it? God alone knows the heart. [Jer 17:9-10] […]
2 Kings 12-13, 2Chron 24 The question before us is, where is God in this story? Do you ask, like me, how/why one can turn away from God after years of a righteous lifestyle under pure teaching? Why does that happen? Just as then, so today, men begin to trivialize God’s Word and listen instead […]
Obadiah 1, Ps 82-83 “An Unforgiving Heart” Edom is the land of Esau, the twin of Jacob. Jacob stole Esau’s birthright as well as his father’s blessing. Esau fostered this hatred throughout his nation, and they carried a bitter grudge for centuries. Outwardly, Esau acted like he forgave Jacob when he returned home, but years […]
Eccl 1-3 Solomon spent much time musing on many topics. He came to the conclusion that all this striving is futile, fleeting, and incomprehensible. Yet, unlike many of us who tend to give up, Solomon kept going back to his drawing board with this phrase “I said in my heart; I searched in my heart; […]
Prov 13:22a Inheritances A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, so says the Proverbs writer. In Prov 17:6, the Proverbs writer says that grandchildren are like a crown to the elderly. A crown is something that adorns the head as a symbol of honor and respect. Grandchildren are our crown that we wear proudly to show the […]
Ps. 111- As you read each day, ask God to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to open your eyes, ears, and heart. Then do as the Psalmist: give thanks to the Lord with your whole heart. [Ps 111:1 paraphrase] Praise Him for His work is majestic and glorious, and his faithfulness endures forever. [Ps […]
2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chron 20 The Apostle John wrote much about the price of sin and the cost Jesus paid for our forgiveness. While John writes to help us, the accuser of the brethren, Satan, waits for us to sin, and then he begins his dastardly work. First, he watches, and then he enters […]
2Sam 10, 1Chron 19, Ps 20 Some people are “hard headed.” When someone does something that is gracious, they don’t respond with peace but with an arrogance that is unbecoming. That is the picture of Hanun. King David sent a delegation to comfort Hanun in the loss of his parent, but his gift was not […]
1Sam 21-24 The downward spiral of King Saul is revealed, and his jealousy overtakes his ability to make wise decisions. In sharp contrast, David uses the circumstance in a cave to teach his followers what it means to lead and how followers should follow. Christ did the same in the NT when He told the […]
1 Sam 9-12 The people reject Samuel’s sons, and rightly so, for they were not men ‘of the cloth’ but of perversion. We wonder why Samuel chose to make them judges when not one before him did so. The fruit is in the pudding, so to speak. They were unwise, and the people perceived that […]
