In 1 Samuel 5, the Philistines took the ark of the covenant from Ebenezer to Ashdod and placed it in…
In 1 Samuel 1, a man named Elkanah from the hill country of Ephraim had two wives: Hannah (who was…
In Ruth 1, Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, leave Israel because of a famine…
In Judges 21, the Israelites mourned the desolation of the tribe of Benjamin and sought the Lord's guidance (Judges 21:1-4).…
In Judges 16, Samson visits Gaza and sleeps with a prostitute. The Philistines plan to ambush him, but Samson escapes…
In Judges 13, the Israelites did evil in God's sight yet again. God allowed the Philistines to oppress them for…
In Judges 12, the Ephraimites confronted Jephthah angrily for not calling them to battle, threatening to burn his house (Judges…
In Judges 11, Jephthah, a warrior from Gilead and the son of a prostitute, was driven away by his half-brothers…
In Judges 10, Tola from the tribe of Issachar led Israel for 23 years and was buried at Shamir. Jair…
In Judges 8, Gideon was criticized by the men of Ephraim for not including them in the battle against Midian,…
Judges 3 describes how the Lord left certain nations in Canaan to test Israel. These foreign nations would help determine…
Joshua 18 - Spiritually, Shiloh is an important landmark for worship during this time period. In both Judges and Samuel,…
Joshua 5 - There was a series of events that the Lord required of Joshua prior to conquering Jericho. Joshua…
Joshua 4 - In Joshua 4, after the entire nation finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord instructed Joshua to choose…
Joshua 3 - In Joshua 3, the Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan River under Joshua's leadership. Early in the…
Joshua 2 - It would not be an easy task to get a view of Jericho. Spies were sent by…
Deuteronomy 33 - Moses gives his final blessings to the tribes of Israel. I was drawn to the guidance given…
Ezekiel 20 - For a good part of my adult life, I chased after the hopes and dreams of man.…
Ezekiel 14 - After introducing His hand of judgment, God reveals four ways in which He will punish the rebellious…
Ezekiel 10 - Think for a moment about the devastation caused by sin. This was not just a "mistake" or…
Ezekiel 7 - The Babylonians invaded Judah twice but the people could not comprehend the severity of the destruction. It's…
Ezekiel 2 - It is intriguing to consider that God's Spirit entered Ezekiel in order to empower him to complete…
Acts 27 - It's interesting to me that Paul could have fallen by the wayside so many times in his…
Acts 22 - Paul never wastes an opportunity to talk about the Gospel. Whether he's imprisoned, being beaten, being interrogated,…
Acts 21 - This was a tough chapter for me. We read that the voice of the Holy Spirit is…
Acts 20 - In a bittersweet scene, Paul lays it all on the line for the leaders of Ephesus as…
Acts 19 - Paul in Ephesus is a great reminder for our churches today. From his investment, we know that…
Acts 15 - The first question we want to know is, who was right and who was wrong between Paul…
Acts 12 - King Herod never saw it coming. The grandson of the infamous Herod the Great was part of…
Acts 10 - Many people like to ask the question, can you be saved if you are a genuine seeker…
Acts 8 - It's an awesome thing when the Holy Spirit begins to transform lives and show himself in amazing…
Acts 2 - At the end of Acts 2, we read the three essentials that contributed to a fruitful body.…
Acts 1 - At the end of Chapter 1, the apostles have just witnessed the ascension of Jesus and are…
Lamentations 5 - We don't often think in terms of the comprehensive suffering that Judah endured during exile. It was…
Lamentations 1 - The mere existence of the book of Lamentations shows us that God takes seriously our need as…
Leviticus 24 - When I read the "eye for an eye" passage, I immediately think of the Sermon on the…
Leviticus 19 - We read some strange laws in this chapter that are not easily understood by our culture. Skeptics…
Leviticus 12 - After bearing a child, a woman was considered contagiously unclean for one to two weeks. One day…
Leviticus 1 - The book of Leviticus picks up right where Exodus left off. The opening verse begins with "Then…
Revelation 20 - If someone comes up and asks you, "How do you interpret Revelation?" most likely, they are referring…
Revelation 18 - Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is…
Revelation 16 - The continuity of the seals and the trumpets is broken up with the bowls as they move…
Revelation 14 - First question I asked myself... who is Babylon? John, again, is writing symbolically here. Literal Babylon was…
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…
Revelation 7 - God’s primary motive in our hearts has always been this: transformation. I think it's important to understand…
Revelation 6 - I grew up in Berne, Indiana which sits directly on top of the continental divide. If you…
Revelation 5 - The Scroll In ancient times, the Romans would seal their wills seven times. Each wax seal usually…
Revelation 4 - The Throne We just recently studied the book of Ezekiel and Leviticus which have some strong ties…
Revelation 3 - Lukewarm I remember several years ago going to a music festival in Kentucky called Ichthus. It was…
Revelation 2 - Although these letters are addressed to specific congregations in the first century, I believe they are representative…
Jeremiah 49 - Next up - The Ammonites. The people are different but the message is the same. It's pride…
Jeremiah 45 - This is a flashback to the 4th year of Jehoiakim so it's not happening here alongside the…
Jeremiah 44 - Once again the people of Judah have hardened their hearts to God. It's unreal. To be honest,…
Jeremiah 41 - The scene here in chapter 41 is reminiscent of a Hollywood blockbuster action movie. The nation is…
Jeremiah 37 - If you have been following along in Jeremiah you may be confused at how the chapters skip…
Jeremiah 35 - What excuses are we giving for our lack of faithfulness to Jesus? Where are we settling for…
Jeremiah 28 - We get to see the incredible discernment of Jeremiah here in this chapter. He is challenged by…
Jeremiah 22 - God has a message and it will be delivered. It may not come the way we expected.…
Jeremiah 20 - Are you overwhelmed by Jesus right now? Yes, it's a convicting question, but it reveals so much.…
Jeremiah 17 - Does the Bible encourage us to "follow our heart?" What we find in chapter 17 of Jeremiah…
Jeremiah 16 - The loneliness of Jeremiah sets in as once again he looks around and sees what others have…
Jeremiah 15 - The insecurities of Jeremiah are starting to show. He's really stuck between a rock and hard place.…
Jeremiah 12 - We have all been in a situation like this before. We cry out to God over something…
Jeremiah 11 - The people of Judah and Jerusalem were not helpless. They continually chose their sin over God. The…
Jeremiah 8 - I love the Good News Bible translation of this chapter. The LORD told me to say to…
2 Chronicles 35 - Armchair Quarterback (noun) a person who offers advice or an opinion on something in which they…
2 Chronicles 34 - In this chapter, we have a brilliant example of what happens to us when we neglect…
2 Chronicles 31 - What we notice about the kings of the past two books (1 & 2 Chronicles) is…
2 Chronicles 28 - Wow. What a chapter. Where do we begin? There are times in Scripture where we read…
2 Chronicles 21 - There is a simple question with a simple answer. What's the cost? When you look at…
2 Chronicles 20 - Did God command his people to go into battle singing? I read this over and over…
2 Chronicles 18 - Would you rather be a well-liked king or a ridiculed prophet? In a bizarre revelation, God…
2 Chronicles 16 - There is so much in this chapter that is personal and meaningful for me. As someone…
2 Chronicles 9 - Jesus actually spoke of this encounter between the Queen of Sheba and Solomon. In Matthew 12…
2 Chronicles 1 - Solomon commanded the people to go to a high place of worship at Gibeon. This was…
1 Chronicles 28 - Loyalty of heart. I once had a pastor give me advice on how to preach a…
1 Chronicles 23 - David appoints Solomon king, then numbers the Levites for their special work. He made arrangements to…
1 Chronicles 21 - To David's credit, he takes responsibility for the error in judgment. He even asks God to…
1 Chronicles 18 - So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people.…
1 Chronicles 17 - I am drawn to David's actions over the second half of this chapter. As I read,…
1 Chronicles 15 - Chapter 16 ends with an interesting and dramatic detail. And as the ark of the covenant…
1 Chronicles 7 - God has used women to build, lead and change the world from the beginning of time.…
1 Chronicles 5 - For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived in their place until…
Isaiah 66 - As the book of Isaiah comes to a close, I am drawn to the writings of F.F.…
Isaiah 62 - *If you haven't read the Isaiah 61 blog entry, it would be helpful for context. Isaiah 62…
Isaiah 61 - Isaiah 61 is such an interesting chapter. In Luke 4, Jesus reads the first two verses of…
Isaiah 59 - In a beautiful example of what it is like for the Lord to work in a person's…
Isaiah 57 - And it will be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of…
Isaiah 55 - Faith in Jesus without a life filled with Jesus' attitude and behavior is no life of faith…
Isaiah 53 - The opening verse grabs my attention. "Who has believed our message?" It's a rhetorical question but one…
Isaiah 51 - In verse 9 of this chapter the writer appears to believe that the Lord is asleep. Awake,…
Isaiah 48 - We who know Christ understand that the Gospel message is not a one of mystery and mysticism.…
Isaiah 46 - The weight of holding onto our idols can be unbearable. Like a backpack full of bricks, the…
Isaiah 43 - Should we forget the past or remember it? This is a troubling question. On the surface, it…
Isaiah 40 - The theme of chapters 7-39 focuses directly on the punishment of God. It's easy to read this…
Isaiah 38 - Let's review what's happened thus far and what will happen in the future. Assyria has built the…
Isaiah 36 - The goal of the enemy is to render us hopeless in the face of our circumstances. The…
Isaiah 34 - The idea of this chapter is that the Lord will conquer all who oppose Him. There is…
Isaiah 27 - This chapter, as a whole, is about the destruction of Israel's enemies. The smaller story line, however,…