5 Perspectives We Need to Change We’ve come to accept what happens at church as normal. It’s what most churches do, and what most attendees expect. Yet we’ll do well to consider our church practices and contrast them with a more critical perspective of church priorities. Here are five considerations of present realities compared to […]
Methuselah is Enoch’s son. Aside from being Noah’s grandfather, the other notable fact about Methuselah is that he has the longest recorded life in the Bible, standing at an amazing 969 years. The Bible records many people at that time as living hundreds of years, but Methuselah’s life is the longest. Yet as we move […]
When Barak and the Israelite army routes Sisera’s army, Sisera escapes and takes refuge with Jael. He seeks her because her clan has a favorable history with his country. Pretending to protect him, Jael takes him in, attends to his needs, and then slays him by bashing in his scull while he sleeps. Though a […]
Two Reactions to Miracles The people of the nearby town who are told of this miracle have two ways to respond to the work of Jesus: First, in awe of Jesus’s power and authority, they could turn to him and follow him. Second, out of fear of the unknown and the uncomfortable, they could reject […]
The Church in Thyatira: Sexual Immorality Today’s passage: Revelation 2:18–29 Focus verse: “By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” (Revelation 2:20) We hear of the city of Thyatira once in the book of Acts. It’s the home of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, […]
If We’re to Influence the World, We Can’t Let the World Influence Us I’ve written a lot about personal influence, but not so much about church influence. As followers of Jesus, we should seek to influence others, to have a positive impact on them. This means we must seek positive influences for our lives and […]
As we already noted, Enoch (1) is a descendant of Cain, whereas Enoch (2) is a descendant of Seth. To give us some historical perspective, here are the world’s first nine generations, from Adam to Noah: As we can see, Enoch is the great-grandfather of Noah, as well as six generations removed from Adam. Scripture […]
Elisha travels to the city of Shunem, and a wealthy woman urges him to stay for a meal. From then on, whenever he’s in the area, he stops by. Realizing he’s a man of God, she makes a room for him to stay when he’s in town. Grateful, Elisha wants to do something nice for […]
In Nehemiah and the Wall, we saw Nehemiah’s great leadership at work, stirring up a passive and floundering people to act, quickly accomplishing what had long been languishing. He also ushered in numerous reforms and ignited a spiritual revival. Yet he lacked one thing. He did not train a replacement. After leading his people for 12 […]
The Church in Pergamum: Repent Today’s passage: Revelation 2:12–17 Focus verse: “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you.” (Revelation 2:14) As with the church in Smyrna, the Bible tells us nothing more about the church in Pergamum. But like the church in Ephesus, Jesus’s message to them offers both affirmation and correction. Despite living […]