The Tragedy of a Beautiful Princess The story of Tamar (2) is tragic. She’s the beautiful daughter of King David and catches the eye of her half-brother, Amnon, who lusts for her. At the advice of his cousin, Amnon feigns illness and manipulates Tamar into his bedroom, duping David into innocently arranging the whole thing. […]
Give Thanks to the Lord Today’s passage: Psalm 136 Focus verse: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:29) As we covered in yesterday’s reading, we should offer God our thanksgiving for our salvation, spiritual blessings, and physical provisions. Not only that, but we can also praise him […]
“What Goes Around, Comes Around” Karma is a concept found in many eastern religions that essentially says, “What goes around, comes around.” It is a sort of universal law of cause and effect. There is a seemingly karma-like verse in the Bible, which appears to paraphrase this idea. It says, “You reap what you sow.” […]
Priorities Matter Today’s passage: Luke 10:38–42 Focus verse:“You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed.” (Luke 10:41–42) Jesus and his disciples travel to the village where Martha and her sister, Mary, live. Martha invites them to her home. They accept and drop by to hang out and enjoy some tasty […]
How We Learn Is as Important as What We Learn The internet is a vast source of information. We can learn much from it. Not all of it, however, is good information. Too much is misleading, and some is outright wrong. If we’re using the internet as our source of information about God, we need […]
Benign Holiday or Celebration of Evil? How people react to Halloween varies greatly. Some view it as a fun holiday and mock those who think otherwise. Yet others avoid Halloween, treating it with caution and even trepidation. As followers of Jesus, this is an important issue for us to determine. We must discern what is […]
Tenth Installment in Popular 40-Day Bible Study Series Now Available in Multiple Formats Christian author and Bible study writer Peter DeHaan announces the release of Hebrews Bible Study, a comprehensive guide to one of the New Testament’s most theologically rich books. The new release, the tenth book in DeHaan’s acclaimed 40-Day Bible Study Series, is now […]
A Prophet Who Dares to Confront the King Nathan (2) is a prophet during the reign of King David. The Bible has two stories about Nathan. When David has established his kingdom and enjoys a time of peace, he shares an idea with Nathan. He wants to build a temple for the Lord. Nathan tells […]
Embrace a Spirit of Gratitude This Fall Several countries around the world have an official Thanksgiving holiday, but not all do. Thanksgiving usually occurs in the fall. For example, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving toward the end of November, and Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October. The origins of Thanksgiving reflect a gratitude for the fall […]
His Disciples Carried Weapons In the Bible, Dr. Luke records the scene: Jesus is eating his final meal with his followers. He is sharing some parting words when he makes a perplexing remark about buying swords. His disciples matter-of-factly reply that they have two swords. Did you catch that? Jesus’ disciples carry swords. I don’t know […]