1 Chronicles 4 – There is a 2 verse pause in the list of the tribes of Judah. A pause that gives a name most have never…
purpose
288 posts
1 Chronicles 3 – The royal line of David and house of Jesse is recorded here. I love how Ezra was led to record this in detail…
Ruth 4 – “God’s hand is all over history. God works out His purpose, generation after generation. Limited as we are to one lifetime, each of us sees so…
Ruth 3 – The blending of lives is a beautiful thing. We probably don’t think about that much with the relationships we hold. But all…
Isaiah 65 – The book of Judges sums up a people who did what they wanted, threw caution to the wind and reaped those benefits for generations. Story after…
Isaiah 56 – There are times we are dreamers. We think of what could be, where we could go, yet for many, their dreams simply stay right there. They…
Isaiah 55 – The invitation has been sent. All are asked to join our Lord of Hosts, God Almighty, the Redeemer Jesus. The invitation is for all but many…
Isaiah 46 – The weight of holding onto our idols can be unbearable. Like a backpack full of bricks, the straps pull on our shoulders, twisting our back as…
Isaiah 45 – 200 hundred years before the man was born, before the prophecy given – the Lord spoke to the prophet Isaiah concerning him. A pagan king, called…
Isaiah 41 – The mercy of God is undeserved and unreal. There is no way any of us should receive the extended hand of His grace, reaching…
Isaiah 35 – Restoration. After the barrage of judgment over evil against nations and wayward people, God speaks in beautiful terms of restoring His own. Although this prophetically speaks…
Isaiah 16 – We’ve all witnessed it. Maybe we ourselves did the same. God began putting a finger on some area of our life, revealing our…
Isaiah 15 – Burdens are tough as a bystander watching someone who has made poor choices reap what they’ve sown. This is particularly true when our hearts are sensitive…
Isaiah 12 – This calls for a celebration! This chapter is a song of gratitude to the Lord. Let us rejoice for what He is has done!
Isaiah 6 – It was a life changing vision. An encounter with the Holy God that changed the complete trajectory of Isaiah’s life. The vision revealed the greatness…
Philippians 2 – There were no auditions. Our resume was not looked over for a decision to be made to take the role. There was nothing in our…
Ephesians 6 – As Paul brings his final thoughts to a close within his letter, he has spoken of a deep calling upon every Believer’s life. He’s been…
Ephesians 3 – What do you long for? What are the prayers ever on your mind and whispered from your lips? Where do the burdens of your heart take…
Ephesians 1 – Paul wrote a letter. It was not to confront the church on issues, but to encourage. The church was born the day of Pentecost when the…
Galatians 6 – As Paul winds down his letter he makes tremendous statements that could be dissected and applied very easily. He is incredibly practical and encouraging while writes…
Exodus 40 – Over and over through this chapter we read, “… as the Lord had commanded.” Obedience plain and simple. For many chapters God laid out…
Exodus 39 – The details have been exact. Each area of the Tabernacle has been carefully instructed and laid out with care by God Himself. This went…
Exodus 37 – There are many key tabernacle pieces listed to be constructed under the direction of God and carried out by Bezalel. Each had specific purpose…
Exodus 35 – There are specifics I pray daily. Right before I close out my time with God, I pray directly for myself and go through the…
Exodus 28 – God had tremendous instructions for the people as to how they were to worship Him. This was detailed all the way down to what…
Exodus 27 – Most fascinating. The Hebrew word for altar is killing place. Just this fact alone struck me. Most churches have some form of an altar….
Exodus 3 – “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” – Psalm 139:7 40 years of Moses’ life he was…
Judges 17 – It is the strangest of stories. Judges 17 sets the table for the remaining chapters with Israel’s moral decline and the people following their own ways…
Judges 14 – Samson saw with his eyes, wanted in his heart and in the end did what he wanted. To me, it’s interesting this is the first story…
Judges 8 – Warren Wiersbe observes, “Gideon’s choosing to avenge himself could have been the beginning of his backsliding.” Gideon’s story continues with interesting events that follow after the…
Judges 7 – “‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” – Zechariah 4:6 Size matters. We tend to look at numbers…
Judges 6 – The pattern continues. “Again Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord…” Once again they would need to hit rock bottom before they would cry…
Judges 3 – “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him…” Judges 3:10 This phrase is simply a powerful reminder of the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon…
1 Thessalonians 4 – The alarm went off earlier than usual. It was a new day even though pitch black out. I was meeting a friend to…
3 John 1 – Paul calls it a gift. Hospitality is right up there as one of the giftsthe Spirit gives out to Believer’s. EveryFollower has at…
Job 36 – Commentators point out there is a shift in Elihus words toward the end of this chapter. Yes, its possible hes running out of steam but there…
Job 33 – Elihu jumps in with full steam. Hes less formal than the others, even callingJob by name. We see coming through his words moments of sheer pride…
Job 32 – Jobs 3 friends have gone silent. It almost appears to have grown to a face off on the matter. Convinced he had some hidden sin and…
Job 30 – The emotional pain and rawness of Job is on full display. As he walked back into his past and what life had been like, he turns…
Job 24 – Weve all been there. We look upon those who are wicked, the people who seemingly get away with complete defiance to the ways of God; we…
Job 23 – In the book of Deuteronomy God is first called a Consuming Fire.” The book of Hebrews reiterates this phrase. Consider the phrase a moment – theres…
Job 7 – There is a strange phenomenon the older you get. It feels like time flies faster than it ever did. Like, its crazy actually. Years at times…
Job 6 – Eliphazs advice was as filling as the whites of an egg. Tasteless and devoid of flavor, his words certainly did not give him any strength. Almost…
Job 3 – Theres a childrens rhyme put to song that says: O be careful little eyes what you see O be careful little eyes what you see Theres…
Ezra 4 – Obstacles are a part of life. We run into many of these in every situation we face. When we are doing the work of God, fulfilling…
Ezra 3 – Where God calls, He will equip! This is something we must be reminded of again and again on this journey of ours. The plan of God…
Ezra 2 – Genealogies were very important to the Jewish people. For them, if they could prove they had descended from Abraham, they were considered true Jews and could…
Joshua 21 – “Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” – Joshua 21:45 What a…
Joshua 20 – God had preplanned many things and instructed Moses as to how the government of this new nation of Israel should function. One of these was the…
Joshua 19 – The final division of the land is done. All tribes have been given land to make their home. On some levels, the reading of the division…
Joshua 17 – There is an interesting comparison to be noted in the attitudes of the different tribes and the division of land. With Caleb, he took what was…
Joshua 14 – Caleb was one of the 12 men alongside Joshua when over 40 years before had gone into the land to spy out what awaited the people…
Joshua 13 – “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the…
Joshua 5 – The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert because they were terrified of the Canaanites. They foolishly doubted God’s ability to do for them what He…
Joshua 2 – Joshua was a man of strong leadership. He had been trained for this moment by God and through Moses. He had accompanied him partway up the…
Matthew 28 – “He is risen!” These are 3 words that have changed the very outlook and trajectory of all humankind. These 3 words are the key…
Matthew 24 – It began as a random observation by the disciples which turned into quite a teaching of end times and Jesus’ return in all His…
Matthew 9 – Human need is all around us. The question is do we see it completely with the heart of compassion or with a heart of…
Matthew 5 – The United States has the Declaration of Independence. The Communist regime operated under Karl Marx’s thoughts of the Communist Manifesto.
Matthew 3 – John the Baptist was one unique guy. Today we would say strange on many fronts. From his odd clothing to the wild look he…
Proverbs 31 – The readings of Proverbs come to a close. These have spoken of most practical and inspirational advice to walk uprightly before God. They have shown the…
Proverbs 29 – Stiff-necked – Inflexibly obstinate, haughty, stubborn. – Merriam Webster Within the Old and New Testaments, this word was used for those who were stubborn and unable…
Proverbs 26 – It’s hard to hold our tongue sometimes. We enter into a conversation where another may have an opposing view. We are dragged into a discussion where…
Proverbs 20 – Sometimes we have to pick our battles. So often within our relationships we have to weigh in if it is the right time to speak or…
Proverbs 19 – Sometimes we build a house of cards. We have plans we want to see accomplished. We have purposes we want to attain. We have goals we…
Proverbs 11 – “When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, and the hope of strong men perishes. The righteous is delivered from trouble, but the wicked takes…
Proverbs 6 – In chapter 6 Solomon pens 4 verses stating there are 6 things God hates, and 7 that are detestable to Him. Although they aren’t the only…
Proverbs 2 – “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her…
Titus 3 – Now isn’t this an interesting way to end a letter? Reading and rereading this final chapter of Paul’s letter to Titus it seems to be fitting though.
2 Samuel 23 – When we think of a Last Will and Testament being read it is usually after the passing of someone. Family members gather to…
2 Samuel 22 – It’s good and right to look back at God’s faithfulness. We forget that too often. It seems that for many of us, when…
2 Samuel 17 – “You can run, but you can’t hide…” the famous statement goes. I’m not sure who coined this phrase but it plays deeply…
2 Samuel 10 – Rejection is a terrible thing. In particular it’s a hard pill to swallow when you did the right thing, or tried to show…
2 Samuel 4 – “For just $19.99 you can find all the essentials in discovering the will of God,” states one televangelist. “You too, can find the…
2 Samuel 2 – As reality settles in of Saul’s death, David is crowned King over Judah. The remaining 11 tribes do not acknowledge this crown and…
2 Samuel 1 – I love a good cup of coffee. In fact, putting a pot of Joe on in the morning is the first thing of…
1 Samuel 15 – I will tell you, this is one of the saddest chapters. It truly brought pain to my heart on so many different levels….
1 Samuel 11 – We see the making of Saul as a leader within this chapter as when taking the role of king, crisis hits. Isn’t that…
1 Samuel 10 – Samuel boldly speaks to Saul of his calling and role he is about to play for Israel. He anoints him king. He tells…
1 Samuel 1 – The ache of sorrow finds its ways to the deepest parts of our hearts. When it comes, we feel it as we breathe…
2 Timothy 2 – Paul sat in chains writing to Timothy whom he loved deeply as a son. From behind bars, he continued to encourage and call…
2 Timothy 1 – This second letter to Timothy was written 2 years after the first about 66 or 67 AD. Paul had been released from prison…
1 Timothy 1 – Timothy became as a son to Paul. His mother and grandmother were Jewish believers who shaped his life as a young man…
Romans 16 – As the letter of Romans closes, Paul turns personal. From the beginning of this remarkable and outstanding work inspired by the Holy Spirit concerning solid truth,…
Romans 15 – Gosh, selfishness drives us. Choices we make are usually based on our wants. Decisions to follow through usually come with the question of ‘What will it…
Romans 11 – “It’s you, the outsiders that I’m concerned with now. Because my personal assignment is focused on the so-called outsiders…
Romans 9 – They missed the boat. The Israelites, those who knew the Scripture, awaited the promise of the coming Messiah had waited for generations…
Romans 7 – The ways of God hold many paradoxes. If you want to be great, you must become a servant. Stories throughout show God called people to lead…
Romans 3 – Paul paints a very hopeless and depressing picture through these chapters. As he hammers against those who use the Law to justify their behavior, lists specific…
Romans 1 – Paul had never been to Rome; neither had the church leaders of Jerusalem. It’s widely believed the church was started from people who were in…
2 Kings 24 – It finally happened. Judah was invaded and taken into captivity. Babylon was the new world leader. They’d overthrown the mighty Assyrians and taken…
2 Kings 12 – Throughout the reigns of the kings we read of something called the high places. In fact, these are mentioned 117 times…
2 Kings 9 – Elijah had prophesied years before that Ahab, his family and dynasty would be destroyed. This prophecy was about to be fulfilled…
2 Kings 2 – It is a story of amazing commitment and determination in a relationship. Elijah was about to be taken to heaven and his…
1 Kings 21 – Her name is synonymous with the most evil woman in all of Scripture. In fact, her name is mentioned in Revelation as an…
1 Kings 19 – “Elijah failed in the very point at which he was strongest, and that is where most men fail. In Scripture, it is the…
1 Kings 17 – It would be 41 years of spiritual darkness coming from the Throne Room of Israel. With Ahab reigning, the only light that would…
1 Kings 16 – He would reign for 41 years. 41 years of sheer evil would be doled out to the people of Israel as they themselves…