Discover What Scripture Says I’ve read through the Bible many times and can find no same-sex marriages in Scripture. Zero. Beyond that, I see no homosexual relationships either. Though some may try to twist the biblical narrative and take it out of context, they’re wrong to do so. They can’t theorize the existence of same […]
When God Wants to Give You a Second Chance Make Sure You’re Ready to Receive It You’re probably not familiar with Ahithophel in the Bible. His life serves as a lesson in how not to respond to disappointment. Though his name does show up a few times during the reign of King David, Ahithophel is […]
Don’t Hold on to Guilt Over What God Has Already Forgiven From the life of Jacob, we learn a lesson in how to receive God’s mercy. After Jacob dies, Joseph’s brothers come to him. They’re worried he’ll hold a grudge against them for what they did to him when he was a teenager. At that […]
Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly, and Hope in and Wait on God As the prophet Micah gives a series of stinging rebukes against the nations of Israel and Judah, he takes a pause for some personal reflection. As if keeping a journal, he wonders how he should approach God. With reverence, with offerings, with […]
Today’s passage: 2 John 1:1–3 Focus verse: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (2 John 1:3) John opens his letter calling himself simply “the elder.” Though he could have used more prestigious labels, such as “one of Jesus’s twelve disciples” […]
Jesus shared a story (parable) about forgiving others. Jesus’ illustration was prompted by Peter, who asked if forgiving someone seven times was enough; Peter thought seven times was generous. Jesus upped the figure considerably, saying seventy-seven times. We don’t take this amount literally, instead understanding that Jesus really meant we need to forgive others “more […]
The King Confesses His Mistake and Asks God to Take Away the Guilt In 1 Chronicles 21 we read the account of David telling Joab to take a census of the people to determine how many fighting men are in the nation. This was Satan’s doing who tempted David into numbering his military. This could […]
How We View God Impacts What We Allow Ourselves to Receive from Him I never liked the idea of mindset. It seemed a little too woo woo for me. It was as though I was depending on a positive attitude or self-fulfilling prophecy instead of relying on God to provide what I needed each day, […]
An Old Testament Parable Warning about the Perils of Prostitution and Idolatry Ezekiel shares a story about two sisters. It’s an Old Testament parable. And it comes directly from God. The older sister is Oholah, and the younger sister is Oholibah. Oholah is Samaria, the capital of Israel and represents the ten northern tribes. The […]
How We See Ourselves May Differ from How Our Heavenly Father Sees Us I was recently reminded that God’s perception of us can be quite different from our own self-perception. The pressures of life overwhelmed a friend. One concern, a second, and then more conspired to weigh her down and steal her joy. She emailed […]