Isaiah 35 - The promise at the end of the chapter is beautiful. There will be no lion there, and…
Isaiah 33 - The book of Isaiah is very clear. Trust in nations; destruction. Trust in God alone; deliverance. The…
Isaiah 27 - This chapter, as a whole, is about the destruction of Israel's enemies. The smaller story line, however,…
Isaiah 26 - Disease. Affliction. Poverty. The kingdom of man wrestles with the birth pains of this world. The city…
Isaiah 25 - Following a chapter on the destruction and judgment of God, we read a deeply personal appeal to…
Isaiah 24 - The somber truth is that our world is headed for judgment. In the end, God will reign.…
Isaiah 21 - A shared truth sticks out over the past few chapters of Isaiah. All the main players surrounding…
Isaiah 20 - Let's first set the stage. Coming on the heels of Isaiah 19 and the oracle concerning Egypt,…
Isaiah 17 - Mount Hermon was a massive ridge north of Damascus After focusing on the nations to the south,…
Isaiah 16 - Though Moab's nation was broken to pieces, they had far more hope through Salvation than did Babylon…
Isaiah 11 - There is a good point here to be made about the wrath of God. Many skeptics are…
Isaiah 9 - Here we get a description of Jesus as a child, son, and eventually, prince. He is called…
Isaiah 6 - The first 5 chapters of Isaiah outline his prophecies, but do not establish his calling. In chapter…
Isaiah 4 - Isaiah 4:2 describes the Branch of the Lord. The time is coming when the LORD will make…
Isaiah 2 - The first five verses of this chapter relate to the future Messiah and hint at the admission…
Isaiah 1 - The book of Isaiah is full of prophecy. Hebrew poetry used a literary style called parallelism, much…
Colossians 3 - Ironically, the ethics listed here in Colossians 3 are not foreign to the Jewish law. No one…
Philippians 4 - As I introduced in my commentary on Philippians 1, we read in Chapter 4 that this church…
Ephesians 4 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as…
Ephesians 2 - Many of us today live under the illusion that we simply can’t change. Hidden deep under a…
Ephesians 1 - The readers of this letter in Paul's day would have received a rolled up scroll that required…
Galatians 5 - The fruit of keeping the law is exposed here in Galatians 5. According to Paul, the devotion…
Galatians 4 - I admit that sometimes I get so caught up in my own wants and needs that I…
Galatians 1 - Just like we see today in the political sphere, Paul was battling against two extreme views within…
Exodus 34 - The term glory is not really an accurate depiction of what Moses asked for and received from…
Exodus 31 - At the end of the chapter, God reminds Israel of the third sign of their covenant -…
Exodus 28 - "You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on…
Exodus 17 - The team was assembled and ready to go! Joshua would lead the army into battle. This is…
Exodus 15 - The structure of this song can be broken up into four sections with a one-line closing declaration.…
Exodus 13 - The way God led was definitely the "road less traveled." The people did not go directly toward…
Exodus 6 - Leap of faith. Failure. Encouragement. Repeat. This pretty much sums up the journey of Moses. Likewise, it…
Exodus 5 - This is just the beginning of Moses' journey and, understandably, he's ready to give up. We often…
Exodus 4 - Moses was uncertain about serving God, and his fears represent the same struggles many of us have…
Exodus 2 - He was given the name of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter because she "drew him out of the…
2 Thessalonians 2 - In case you haven't grasped by now, the Thessalonians were deeply concerned with future events. It's…
1 Thessalonians 3 - Dear Thessalonica, I'm burdened for you. Love, Paul In this chapter, we get a glimpse into…
1 Thessalonians 1 - In the opening verses of this letter, we read Paul's words which seem to indicate he…
1 John 4 - When I worked in the computer software industry, I became familiar with the latest viruses and…
1 John 3 - This really is an incredible chapter! It's hard to summarize these thoughts in just a few…
1 John 1 - In this first chapter, John does not identify himself as the author, nor does the writing…
Job 42 - Without... Without knowing answers to all of his deepest questions, Job bowed his knee in humility to…
Job 41 - It is the mystery of the Leviathan... No beast, terrestrial or aquatic, deserves the high character here…
Job 40 - Consider Job's humility in this chapter. Consider that he takes up none of the words with God…
Job 36 - God is the most patient, relentless, and loving Father we will ever encounter. Unfortunately, many people of…
Job 35 - This is arguably Elihu's harshest language against Job. It is a message of condemnation with truth mixed…
Job 30 - Which is more agonizing for Job - the suffering he is currently enduring or the exasperation of…
Job 29 - What does it mean to reflect on the former times? We've all heard people talk about the…
Job 22 - When we do not pay attention to the needs before us, true care can turn to condemnation.…
Job 19 - The most magnificent phrase in this chapter shines in verses 25-26. It is so surprising and unexpected.…
Job 18 - The dating of this time period would have meant that Job and his friends were highly influenced…
Job 17 - Job is pretty depressed here in Chapter 17. He reiterates that he expected his friends to support…
Job 15 - Eliphaz brings a load of sarcasm to this chapter. He claims that his understanding of Scripture and…
Job 14 - Be quiet and give me a chance to speak, and let the results be what they will.…
Job 13 - If it's true that the enduring attitude of a believer is a great threat to everything the…
Job 9 - The description of God's power in verses 5-9 is breathtaking. I like the HCSB version... God is…
Job 8 - As the New International Commentary states, "Bildad is a champion of 'old-time' religion." God's ways are right.…
Job 7 - Job now turns his attention to God. He is fully convinced that he will die soon, and…
Job 6 - Here are some points we can draw from Job's response in chapter 6: Job is under tremendous…
Job 3 - In this chapter, we see the pendulam swing completely in the opposite direction from where it began.…
Ezra 6 - The people trusted God they were delivered from the threat to their temple. God knew exactly where…
Ezra 5 - Let's get a quick background on the characters involved in the temple rebuild. Haggai and Zechariah are…
Matthew 28 - The appearances of the resurrected Christ are astonishing! Many people will concede that Jesus was a real…
Matthew 27 - Although we are typically hard on the Pharisees in Scripture, there were a few who sincerely had…
Matthew 26 - Judas Iscariot is an interesting person to study. There are so many questions that center around his…
Matthew 13 - Here in Matthew 13, there are so many great parables it is hard to just reflect on…
Matthew 4 - "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."…
Matthew 3 - Photo credit: Nelson's New Illustrated Commentary Pictured is the traditionally accepted site (the Jordan River) for the…
Matthew 1 - The Gospels do not record a single word spoken by this man. Yet, the Gospel account written…
Proverbs 30 - Nelson's Commentary gives us a brief introduction to the mysterious authors of the last two chapters of…
Proverbs 23 - "Don't let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the LORD. 18 For then you will have…
Proverbs 20 - This chapter really addresses a diverse range of topics. Excessive drinking, gossip, pride, and disobedience, just to…
Proverbs 17 - As I read this chapter, I see a theme of relational conflict. "Better a dry crust with…
Proverbs 11 - God provides many illustrations in Scripture explaining that He deals with people based on how they deal…
Proverbs 10 - Up until this point in Proverbs, we have studied the difference between the foolishness of men and…
Proverbs 9 - Proverbs 9: Only a fool would deny God. How do you know if you are acting foolishly?…
Proverbs 3 - It doesn't matter if you are talking about running a business, a ministry, or a family; there…
2 Peter 2 - 2 Peter 2 opens by describing two different kinds of false people within the church. Maybe…
1 Peter 1 - It is beneficial to explore the interesting background on the book of Peter. First, many scholars…
2 Samuel 22 - My rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. These were the words David penned about God after…
2 Samuel 13 - What a mess here in 2 Samuel 13! It's hard to know where to begin. Amnon…
2 Samuel 11 - Most of us know the story of 2 Samuel 11. David's sin and repentance are well-documented.…
1 Samuel 24 - David retreats with his men to the caves of the Wilderness of En Gedi. This was…
1 Samuel 23 - All Saul cares about is killing David. He doesn't care about worshiping God. He doesn't care…
1 Samuel 19 - Saul has tried everything by this point. He will not be satisfied until David is dead.…
1 Samuel 18 - “Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands.” The wording here says that "all cities…
1 Samuel 13 - Here in 1 Samuel 13, we see the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites begin…
2 Timothy 4 - I have never really noticed this before, but I am struck by Paul's confidence in 2…
Romans 16 - This is a phenomenal chapter that champions the role of women in the church. Romans 16 begins…
Romans 15 - This week, I learned a very relevant historical fact that alters the way I read and understand…
Romans 12 - Starting in verse 9 of Romans 12, Paul rattles off a disjointed list of Christian principles. On…
Romans 9 - Paul now shifts his focus to the Israelites specifically. His heart is so heavy for his brothers…
Romans 8 - Christ lived a sinless life. He willingly gave Himself as a living sacrifice for our sin so…
Romans 7 - What is the purpose of the law? In Romans 6 we saw the law cannot make us…
Romans 6 - Grigori Rasputin was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed "holy man" who claimed to speak on behalf of…
Romans 4 - In Romans 4, Paul contrasts the ideas of "works = righteousness" with "faith = righteousness." Abraham was…
Romans 3 - When we study Scripture, it is important we don't sweep through it with a predetermined mindset. There…
Romans 1 - John Calvin said of Romans, "When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him…
2 Kings 19 - For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And…
2 Kings 13 - What’s the context here? Well, as we have read, 2 Kings is a terrible time for…
2 Kings 11 - The history can get pretty confusing when the stories switch back and forth from the northern…