Opposing Moses It may surprise you to see Jannes and Jambres in our discussion of Old Testament sinners and saints. This is because they don’t appear in the Old Testament. They show up in the New Testament and then only once. Yet the reference ties them to Moses, so this places them in the Old […]
Today’s passage: Matthew 21:23–27, Mark 11:27–33, and Luke 20:1–8 Focus verse: “By what authority are you doing these things?” [the religious leaders] asked. “And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) Let’s recap what Jesus has done in the past few hours. First, he rides into Jerusalem like a victorious king, with the people shouting […]
Gideon Tells His Men to Follow His Example Just before Gideon goes to battle, he tells his men to “watch me,” “follow my lead,” and “do exactly what I do.” His men do and God uses their collective actions to throw the enemy into complete confusion. As a result, a great victory is won. Gideon’s actions […]
Leave Her Today’s passage: Revelation 18 Focus verse: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4) In the fight between the beast and the Lamb, we know that the Lamb is victorious. Now we hear from an […]
Discover the Marvelous Things Our Lord Does for Us Paul writes to the church in Rome, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). There are many wonderful passages in the Bible like this one that use the phrase but God. Let’s […]
The Two Sons of Moses and Zipporah Moses and Zipporah have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The oldest is Gershom (1). His name means a foreigner there because Moses says he’s a foreigner in a foreign land. The younger son is Eliezer (2). His name means God is my helper. Moses acknowledges God as the […]
Today’s passage: Matthew 21:18–22 and Mark 11:12–14, 20–25 Focus verse: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22) The next morning, as Jesus and his troop return to Jerusalem, he’s hungry. Seeing a fig tree, he expects a tasty meal and searches for fruit. Though the tree has lots […]
Justifying the Bible ThroughHuman Reasoning Limits God’s Power As Joshua leads the nation of Israel into the promised land, they defeat Gibeon in a most amazing battle. Though Joshua’s army does its part, God plays an even bigger role. He orchestrates a hailstorm that pelts the Gibeon army with huge hailstones, killing many of them, […]
The Lamb Will Overcome Today’s passage: Revelation 17 Focus verse: “They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” (Revelation 17:14) With God’s final wrath complete, we can now move steadily […]
Let’s play word association. I say “St Patrick” and you might say “March 17,” “shamrock” (three leaf clovers), “Ireland,” “leprechaun,” or “green beverages.” To be cute, you might even answer with an Irish brogue. Just like Christmas and Easter, St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of religious origin, of which the original meaning has been […]