In 1 Samuel 5, the Philistines took the ark of the covenant from Ebenezer to Ashdod and placed it in…
In Proverbs 1, the author identifies himself as Solomon, son of David and king of Israel. The Proverbs of Solomon…
In Ruth 3, Naomi seeks to secure provision for Ruth through marriage to Boaz. (Ruth 3:1-2). She instructs Ruth to…
In Judges 20, the 11 tribes of Israel gather at Mizpeh to address the murder of the Levite’s wife by…
In Judges 12, the Ephraimites confronted Jephthah angrily for not calling them to battle, threatening to burn his house (Judges…
In Judges 7, Gideon gathers his troops near the spring of Harod to face the Midianites. However, God instructs him…
Joshua 24 - In Joshua 24, Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their leaders to present…
Joshua 22 - The one thing that sticks out as a positive note is how seriously the western tribes took…
Joshua 20 - It's one thing to say that we believe in God as our refuge and strength, but it's…
Joshua 19 - When the people of Israel finished dividing up the land, they gave Joshua son of Nun a…
Deuteronomy 34 - So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the…
Deuteronomy 33 - Moses gives his final blessings to the tribes of Israel. I was drawn to the guidance given…
Ezekiel 13 - Wow! What a relevant topic! For years, false prophets have been stirring up dissension in order to…
Acts 15 - The first question we want to know is, who was right and who was wrong between Paul…
Acts 9 - Saul We are reminded here in chapter 9 that even the most rebellious and hard-hearted people can…
Acts 4 - As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and…
Revelation 13 - The First Beast At the end of Revelation 12, we read of Satan's rage. He sets out…
Revelation 9 - The 5th Trumpet The 5th trumpet releases a key to open the abyss. Many scholars believe this…
Jeremiah 48 - Moab can trace its ancestry all the way back to Lot. Historically, Israel and Moab experienced times…
Jeremiah 42 - Bias. We all have it. There is a lot to be said in this chapter about predetermined…
Jeremiah 41 - The scene here in chapter 41 is reminiscent of a Hollywood blockbuster action movie. The nation is…
Isaiah 65 - God has made Himself available. He is standing with arms outstretched ready to help His people. God…
Isaiah 64 - What does it really look like to come before God in humility and express your deepest grief…
Isaiah 58 - Superficial people. We've all endured them. If we're honest, we've probably been one at some point in…
Isaiah 33 - The book of Isaiah is very clear. Trust in nations; destruction. Trust in God alone; deliverance. The…
Isaiah 31 - God had willed captivity for His people. He also willed restoration. When we must go through a…
Isaiah 25 - Following a chapter on the destruction and judgment of God, we read a deeply personal appeal to…
Isaiah 19 - What do we use to replace God in our lives? It's really a thought-provoking question. The temptation…
Isaiah 3 - Strong Christian leadership is important. Most likely during the time that Isaiah was writing this, the readers…
Ephesians 4 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as…
Galatians 6 - The problem in the Galatian church was two-fold. As we've already outlined, the Jewish Christians were loading…
Exodus 22 - I am most struck by verses 22 and 25 in this chapter. God has, from the beginning,…
Exodus 18 - The advice Jethro gave to Moses has been used in countless illustrations regarding delegation and leadership. The…
Exodus 3 - God shows His character to Moses by both coming down to him and promising to be present…
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 35 - This is arguably Elihu's harshest language against Job. It is a message of condemnation with truth mixed…
Job 33 - As I read Elihu speak, I feel the tension of two different angles. On one hand, Elihu…
Job 22 - When we do not pay attention to the needs before us, true care can turn to condemnation.…
Job 20 - The cruel misjudgment of man stems from an ignorant and arrogant attitude. I've written this many times…
Ezra 10 - A powerful victory is found here in Chapter 10 with humility and repentance. In fact, the whole…
Ezra 9 - This chapter is a perfect example of why context is so important when reading Scripture. The Israelites…
Ezra 2 - Why was genealogy so important to the Jews? We see this many times in Scripture and often…
Matthew 23 - Jesus uses a lot of phrases of that time period to describe what the Pharisees were like.…
Matthew 10 - Jesus' selections were complete. Among his disciples were some strange picks by human standards. Among those chosen…
Matthew 8 - Jesus marveled. It's a strong phrase. What was it like for Jesus to marvel? What did it…
Matthew 5 - I love the depth and practicality of Jesus' message here. Many of his critics thought he was…
Proverbs 31 - Proverbs 31 is a famous chapter describing a virtuous woman of God. Many of us have heard…
Proverbs 29 - "Bloodthirsty men hate an honest person, but the upright care about him." Proverbs 29:10 HCSB "When the…
Proverbs 28 - "The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find…
Proverbs 21 - A very intriguing verse in this chapter of Proverbs includes a reference back to the days of…
Proverbs 16 - "A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9 HCSB This passage…
Proverbs 12 - Discipline is hard. Accepting instruction is difficult. They both require us to delay our satisfaction. When we…
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?…
2 Peter 1 - Peter was a bond-servant and apostle. This is a unique combination, being subject to all others…
1 Peter 5 - Peter is following up on his previous chapter on suffering. It's no surprise that in order…
2 Samuel 23 - David was never ashamed of who he was and where he came from. In a culture…
2 Samuel 20 - Concubines, intestines, and a severed head being thrown over a wall! This chapter is not for…
2 Samuel 9 - David had made a promise to Jonathan, and David was a man of his word. So…
1 Samuel 31 - Let's do a quick recap. In desperation, Saul traveled to see a witch who brought back…
1 Samuel 18 - “Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands.” The wording here says that "all cities…
1 Samuel 11 - Nahash meant business. He threatened to humiliate and poke out the right eye of every man…
Romans 2 - When you hold up God as the standard, as you should, that standard is one that not…
2 Kings 1 - Same story, different chapter. After reading about all of Ahab's disastrous choices, we now move into…
1 Kings 22 - What's the deal with Ramoth-Gilead and why did they want it back? Ramoth was a Levitical…
1 Kings 21 - When Elijah finished speaking, Ahab tore his clothes, took them off, and put on sackcloth. He…
1 Kings 15 - If you are like me, you've read the last few chapters and been a little confused…
Genesis 41 - Joseph began as a shepherd of animals and become a shepherd of men. He, like Jesus, was…
Genesis 11 - Josephus wrote of how the Tower of Babel originated from the heart and mind of Nimrod. "Now…
Genesis 4 - I'll be honest, this story has always confused me. Why was Abel's offering acceptable to God but…
James 4 - Consider these questions... Does the indwelling Holy Spirit war against itself? Would a believer filled with the…
James 3 - "Name-It Claim-It" Theology - believers have the power to speak anything into existence. You just have to…
John 18 - "While human politics is based on the premise that society must be changed in order to change…
Nehemiah 10 - Cutting corners. To me, this is what the covenant was all about. The people vowed to obey…
Nehemiah 9 - Nehemiah 9 describes a scene of revival. God was working collectively and personally to bring about reflection,…
Nehemiah 1 - Back in the minor prophets, we learned that very few Jewish people left Babylon to return to…
Hebrews 5 - First, let's just point out that this chapter is deep! Here in Hebrews 5, we see two…
Zechariah 7 - What kind of motives do we have for the rituals and traditions we hold onto? by asking…
Zephaniah 2 - Urgency. Do you sense it? Are you living it? There are two massive truth bombs that come…
Nahum 3 - God has declared the condition of Nineveh unrepairable. They have gone too far. There is no chance…
Haggai 2 - The main event of Haggai is the rebuilding of the temple, however, there are other several other…
Micah 6 - Micah uses a sarcastic exaggeration to illustrate the hardness of the people's hearts. What shall I bring…
Hosea 8 - Here we see the consequences and punishments of Israel. It was one compromise after another as they…
Hosea 5 - "I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their…
Daniel 5 - "Though you knew all this..." It's a frightening statement. Consider the fact that Belshazzar didn't grow up…
Daniel 4 - What do we make of these 7 years when King Neb lost his mind? "There is, understandably,…
2 Corinthians 13 - When Paul first visited Corinth and established the church, he stayed a year and six months.…
2 Corinthians 11 - "A story is told about a dinner party where the guests were expected to stand after…
2 Corinthians 10 - Most likely, Paul was dealing with a false teacher or many false teachers who had infiltrated…
2 Corinthians 7 - "If one gives up easily, they can never walk in repentance, though they may perform acts…
2 Corinthians 4 - Why jars of clay? "The Greek word means "baked clay," and refers to clay pots. They…
1 Corinthians 4 - Paul doesn't mince words with the church at Corinth. They had a very obvious pride issue.…
Psalm 131 - “Here we find the description of a humble, a broken and contrite spirit. It has well been…
Psalm 111 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good…
Psalm 108 - Moab is My washbasin; I throw My sandal on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia." Psalms…
Psalm 95 - All worship is not equal. There are many today who bring false worship before the Father. Coming…
Psalm 83 - Psalm 83 is speaking directly to those of us who deal with arrogant and stubborn people. Some…
Psalm 79 - The Psalms continue to reveal the human struggle with control. When we have control (or think we…