Our Church Family Matters In my book 52 Churches, I share my experience in visiting various Christian congregations. I talk about what happens before, during, and after the service. Along the way, I recognized the importance of church community. My goal in researching and writing that book wasn’t to look for a new church, but […]
Son of Boaz & Ruth and Grandfather of King David Obed (1) is Boaz and Ruth’s first son. Though Ruth was first married to Mahlon, they had no children. The Bible doesn’t mention Boaz and Ruth having any more children, so he may be an only child. His grandmother is Naomi. The women in the […]
We Are His Servants The next word picture for God, is him as the master and we as his servants. With God as our master we see him as being in charge. He is the boss and directs our activities (1 Samuel 3:10, Matthew 6:24, Matthew 10:24, and Matthew 25:21). Extending this image to us, […]
Isaiah Teaches about Fasting To fast means to go without food. Though I’m still looking, I haven’t found any place in the Bible that commands us to fast. I was sure I’d find a reference to it in the Law of Moses, but it’s not there. In fact, the first time the Bible mentions fasting […]
Tween Jesus Today’s passage: Luke 2:39–52 Focus verse:“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) After Jesus’s miraculous conception, birth, and the testimonies from the angels—and later Simeon and Anna—we don’t hear anything more about Jesus until he’s twelve. We can only guess what his childhood might have been like. […]
A Worthy Title and Not Mindless Filler We’ve talked about people who just pray and what the word amen means and doesn’t mean. Let us now consider how we use the word Lord in our prayers. Proper Use of Lord According to the dictionary, Lord means God. It can also refer to Jesus. We see […]
Marry Pagan Women and Later Die Mahlon and Kilion are the sons of Elimelek and Naomi. During the time of the judges, there’s a famine. In search of food, the family moves from Bethlehem to Moab and settles there. Elimelek dies in Moab. Mahlon and Kilion marry local Moabite girls. Mahlon marries Ruth, and Kilion […]
This Makes Us His Sheep In the fourth word picture for God, we consider the common image of God as the good shepherd and we as his sheep. We can read about this and discover more in Psalm 119:176, Isaiah 53:6, Ezekiel 34:11, Matthew 9:36, John 10:3, John 10:15, John 10:27, and 1 Peter 2:25. […]
King Hezekiah Prays for Deliverance Starting with Isaiah 36, this otherwise prophetic book switches to a narrative for four chapters, talking about King Hezekiah. The first one is about the source of the king’s confidence. King Hezekiah, a direct descendant of King David, rules the nation of Judah from the city of Jerusalem. Things aren’t […]
Celebrate Jesus Today’s passage: Luke 2:1–38 Focus verse:“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) Joseph and his pregnant fiancée travel to Bethlehem for a mandatory census. Unable to find a place to stay, they hunker down in a barn. There, among the stench and filth of […]