Delight in the Lord—Especially the Parts We Don’t Understand I delight in the reality that there are aspects about God I don’t understand, of things I can’t comprehend. I savor the wonderful mystery of God. So does the apostle Paul. In many of his letters, he talks about aspects of God as mystery. If there […]
Commander for Life In Absalom’s brief coup attempt against his father, he appoints Amasa (1) as commander of his rebel troops. Amasa is the first cousin of Joab, who commands David’s army. During the rebellion, Joab kills Absalom. This occurs despite David’s explicit command to spare his son’s life. Though doing so ends the coup […]
Today’s passage: Philippians 4:4–9 Focus verse: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6) Does today’s passage sound familiar? It’s the same one as Day 9. Then we focused on verse four, which tells us to rejoice in the Lord. […]
Elihu Talks About Justice As we read through the book of Job, we see that Elihu pauses, giving time for Job—or anyone else—to respond. When they don’t, Elihu glances at the three older men and then resumes speaking. “Listen to me, oh wise ones, as I continue. Weigh my words as I speak. May we […]
Luke Bible Study, Day 32 Today’s passage: Luke 20 Focus verse:“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Luke 20:18) The twentieth chapter of Luke has five segments that all relate—to one degree or another—to the religious leaders. The tone is critical. Most scathing […]
Delight in the Lord—Even the Parts You Don’t Comprehend Are there parts of God you don’t understand? Does this frustrate you? It shouldn’t. Don’t let what you don’t know weigh you down. We should accept that we can’t fully know our Lord—at least not in this world—that we can’t yet understand God. Yet some people […]
A Disgraced Counselor Ahithophel is King David’s counselor. Yet when Absalom attempts his coup against his father, Ahithophel shows no sign of loyalty to David and aligns himself with Absalom. Ahithophel gives Absalom advice, which we later find out is correct. But Hushai—working under David’s direction to foil Ahithophel—provides a conflicting recommendation, albeit for David’s […]
A Fresh Opportunity Today’s passage: Lamentations 3:22–27 Focus verse: His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22–23) The five-chapter book of Lamentations is a series of five laments often attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. A lament expresses grief, mourning, or deep regret. As such, we expect the book of Lamentations to be […]
Job Responds to Eliphaz In the book of Job, we see how Job’s countenance falls and his shoulders drop; he watches Eliphaz sit. Job lets out a slow, painful breath. He clamps his jaw and blinks to hold back the flood of tears that threatens to gush forth. He glances at the three other men, […]
Luke Bible Study, Day 31 Today’s passage: Luke 19:28–48 Focus verse: The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. (Luke 19:37) As Jesus and his disciples head toward Jerusalem, he sends two of them on ahead with a curious instruction. “Go into the […]