Three Things God Requires from Us God’s Expectations May Surprise Us, but They Do Make Sense As Micah wraps up his prophecy to the people of Israel, he slips in a profound thought. In one short sentence he tells what God requires of his people...
Isaiah Issues a Call to Pursue Justice Pursue Justice for the Oppressed, Widows, and Orphans A short passage in the book of Isaiah warns against those who make unjust laws to deprive the marginalized of their rights. Isaiah targets the lawmakers...
If you’ve been reading along in our New Testament reading plan, you’ve just finished the book of Titus and will wrap up your Bible reading for the year with the short book of Philemon. Congratulations for finishing! (Next year let’s read the...
We know Cain to be a murderer—and we vilify him for it. What we often fail to consider is that Cain had a relationship with God. Consider that Cain gave an offering to God that wasn’t requested or expected. (Cain lived centuries before God...
While the story of Cain killing his brother may be commonly known, the rebellion led by Korah is quite obscure. Korah was from the tribe of Levi; he and the other Levites were assigned God-given tasks to serve in the temple; they were set apart...
Consider how the Bible teaches us to treat one another: Love one another [John 13:34, John 13:35, Romans 13:8, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:11, 1 John 4:12, 2 John 1:5] Accept one another [Romans 15:7] Instruct one...
Do you ever ask yourself, “What is really important?” If we’re not careful, it’s all too easy to end up doing things that, at best, are secondary, and at worst, don’t matter at all. Such was the case of the people of...
The book of Obadiah in the Bible contains a prophecy about the nation of Edom. Among other things, Edom is criticized for their pride. The primary issue, however, is not what they did, but what they didn’t do. Theirs is not an act of...
There is an interesting story that begins in Acts 13. God tells the church to commission and send out Barnabas and Paul to other cities, telling the people they meet about Jesus. They do this, taking with them John (also called, John Mark or just...
I have a friend who pursues justice; she wants everything to be fair.The bad thing about absolute justice is that it leaves no room for mercy.In many ways, justice and mercy are opposites: Mercy is getting off with a warning, while justice says...
