1 Chronicles 7 – There is an unseen war of which we wage and battle every single day. Chapter 7 records interesting statements throughout”…
suffering
173 posts
Isaiah 40 – This life is a fleeting experience compared to the life of eternity that awaits. Sometimes we get so caught up in the mundane…
Isaiah 26 – Difficulties and turmoil bombard us from time to time. We struggle with physical illness. We have broken relationships that tear us apart. We wrestle with our…
Isaiah 24 – It’s known as Isaiah’s Apocalypse. For the following 4 chapters he is given words from God about the judgment of the entire world. This chapter is…
Judges 19 – In a horrifying scene of events, we get a picture for just how bad it has gotten within Israel. It would not be as surprising to…
Judges 13 – The cycle of sinfulness continued. The Israelites left God, followed their own terms, judgment came, they repented. This circular theme is found over and over again in the…
Judges 10 – There’s a phrase used describing a long journey or long period of time. Sometimes people say, “I’m in this for the long haul”. To me, there…
2 Thessalonians 1 – Tone and text are sometimes hard to differentiate. We receive a text or email that comes across saying one thing and we read…
1 Thessalonians 2 – There’s a saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” As a Believer in Christ, we…
Job 42 – We live in a fallen world.Believers andunbelievers are both inundated with the consequences of sin. Our God is not indifferent;Hes not uncaring…
Job 40 – Weve probably all done it. Things didnt go well. We didnt get our way. We lost the promotion. The sickness led to death. Finances turned downward….
Job 39 – Its almost like Dr. Doolittle, the old story originally written in the 1920s who as most of us remember, talked to the animals. Here God, begins…
Job 37 – For 37 chapters God allowed the storm to rage against Job. From the opening, as the curtains beyond our world into the heavenlies were cracked to…
Job 35 – Paul and Silas sat in the heart of the dark damp prison. They had arrived at Philippi and immediately gone to the river to meet with…
Job 34 – Weve heard the saying “You reap what you sow.” To state it another way in well known verse, “What goes around, comes around.” Paul wrote in…
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 25 – Sometimes theres nothing left to say. Sometimes conversations come to an impasse, a screaming halt. It seems the 3 friends of Job have done just that….
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 22 – The third and final round begins between Job and his friends. The first cycle his friends spoke in generalities, without making their doctrine specifically to Job…
Job 21 – Suffering reveals many things to us. It pulls back the reality of where our trust is. It shows how we cope. It breaks down and drives…
Job 19 – In ancient Israel, one who was called a redeemer was family member who bought and paid for a slaves freedom. As read in the book of…
Job 16 – What kind of friend are you when it comes to comforting another? Ive seen and experienced all kinds who have tried to be a comforter. There…
Job 14 – I remember sitting at a conference in a large stadium. The speaker at one point said to imagine a long wire stretched from one end of…
Job 13 – The absolute trust Job has in God despite the afflictions he continues to deal with, the friends that are off base in their advice, the unanswered…
Job 12 – Job has had enough. These so called friends of his have all taken their first round of criticizing. His rebuttal drips sarcasm. In essence, his words…
Job 9 – Back in college I used to have a roommate who told me when he was frustrated with God, would cuss Him out. Yes, you read that…
Job 8 – Bildad, Jobs second friend now speaks. Talk about a windbag. Hes blunt, unsympathetic, and has made up his mind as to why Job suffers. With friends…
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 5 – “I told you so…” Imagine sitting in the wreckage of some situation, where you are doing everything you can to keep your head up and a…
Job 4 – Its easy to weigh in on a matter from a distance. We look at the circumstances, the facts presented through word and observation and make decisions…
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…
Job 2 – Adversity shows where our faith truly lies and destroys the superficial. For others, it strengthens faith and pushes people to dig their feet deep in their…
Matthew 20 – We often live in the mindset – people get what they deserve. We think about this when it comes to the laws of the…
Matthew 16 – One of the deadliest enemies of the church is cheap grace. We cheapen the grace of Jesus that has been given so freely to…
Matthew 11 – The prison walls felt like they were closing in on him. The cold dampness they held seemingly, somehow began to creep into his mind…
Proverbs 12 – Correction is never easy. Discipline is harder. Both go hand in hand when a person acts stupid. Wow, a bold statement right? But ironically the Bible…
1 Peter 5 – Leadership. It’s always been interesting to me how there are some who long for leadership within the church but are not willing to…
2 Samuel 16 – The devastation David is hit with here seems never ending. He’s manipulated by one man, cursed by another. His own son rides into…
2 Samuel 12 – All was well, or so David thought. Nothing had been found out concerning the affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah;…
1 Samuel 6 – The Philistines knew they had to send the ark back to Israel. When it was first captured, it was put on display as…
1 Samuel 5 – Dagon was the chief god of many in the ancient world of whom the Philistines worshiped. He was responsible for the rain and the harvest or so they believed…
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 Kings 21 – It’s hard to imagine how an offspring of Hezekiah like Manasseh could be so polar opposite and evil. When Manasseh took to the…
2 Kings 20 – If you knew how long you had to live, would it make a difference in how you lived? Let’s set the stage here….
Genesis 47 – Isaac and his clan have found safety and provision in Egypt through the hand of Joseph. It’s such an ironic twist to how things…
Genesis 45 – 20 years of sorrow, heartache, loneliness came tumbling out. Joseph had been through the ringer as he was rejected, kidnapped…
Genesis 41 – From pit to the palace, it took 13 years for the strategic plan of God to happen. To many looking upon Joseph in that…
Genesis 29 – God is forging Jacob’s character. Arriving in the land of his relatives, he not only finds them but falls in love. The convoluted…
Genesis 18 – 2 stories, 1 overarching Truth: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”(Genesis 18:14) Story One has 3 visitors coming to visit…
Genesis 8 – The storms of life blow in sometimes most unexpectedly. Sometimes the storms come by our own doing. And there are other…
Genesis 2 – “You breathe in me and I’m alive with the power of your holiness. You breathe in me and You revive, feelings in my soul that I…
James 1 – Talk is cheap. Inundated with promises everywhere we look from commercials to presidential candidates it’s easy to make or hear…
John 15 – We can’t do it on our own. Oh, we’ve tried countless times. We attempt to make things work in our own strength. We go down…
John 11 – Jesus delayed. He knew of the situation with Lazarus and purposely waited to go help. The reactions were expected…
Esther 7 – “Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion…
Esther 5 – “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you…” –Obadiah 3:3 Prayer and fasting led Esther to act. It was probably one of…
Nehemiah 5 – The work stopped. On the tail end of such a great victory when the people were motivated, working alongside one another to…
Hebrews 13 – The letter was addressed to first-century Believers but the effects of the words still resonate. The author has made one thing clear…
Hebrews 12 – The word ‘therefore’ is an adverb used to introduce a new line of thought as a conclusion to something previously stated…
Hebrews 11 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”– Hebrews 11:1 “By faith…
Hebrews 5 – A high priest according to the Law of Moses specific role was to bring the gifts and sacrifices before God for an individual’s and…
Hebrews 2 – The world is full of all kinds of spiritual teachings and thoughts. Sadly many of these have flowed within the faith. Due to the fact…
Malachi 3 – The Lord told Malachi he would send 2 messengers. The fulfillment of these was through John the Baptist who prepared the way…
Zechariah 12 – Some call it Armageddon. Others refer to it as the Great Final Battle. It is the time prophesied here and through other prophets…
Zechariah 8 – Small beginnings – we often tend to overlook things that are so small yet critical steps toward something being fulfilled…
Zechariah 7 – But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their…
Zechariah 1 – The future – we consider this very vast uncharted territory from time to time with somberness. Yes, we look toward our future…
Nahum 3 – The proud Nineveh is ripe for judgment here as the final chapter of Nahum speaks toward the demise and sins of this…
Micah 7 – “My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more…
Obadiah 1 – The shortest book of the Old Testament, Obadiah’s words go out against Edom, blood relatives of Israel from Esau…
Joel 2 – There is a warning, a bold call to repentance and promise found in this chapter. Joel foresees and speaks of the devastation coming to the land…
Joel 1 – In this short and powerful book, the prophet Joel calls the nation to repent. Only referenced one other time in Scripture by Peter during a sermon,…
Daniel 12 – “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel…
2 Corinthians 12 – We do not know what Paul’s thorn was. Many have speculated from malaria to epilepsy to loss of eyesight. Whatever it was, it…
2 Corinthians 11 – Paul charges his attack against the false teachers who were swaying minds left and right within the church. Through smooth talk and engaging…
2 Corinthians 6 – King Hezekiah was one of the good rulers of Israel. Working in tandem with the prophet Isaiah he reformed the land and cleaned…
2 Corinthians 4 – It’s easy to say, “Pick yourself up,” “Stop focusing on the negative,” “This too will pass”. These statements flow so easily from our…
2 Corinthians 1 – Between the first letter Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and this one much had happened. His first letter gave advice in…
1 Corinthians 13 – “People of little religion are always noisy; he who has not the love of God and man filling his heart is like an…
1 Corinthians 4 – “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” – 1 Corinthians 4:1…
Psalm 148 – Psalm 148 – We probably don’t think much of the greatness of all of creation giving praise and worship to our God. From the very heights to the depths,…
Psalm 144 – Psalm 144 – Spiritual warfare is part of our daily lives. As Believers in Jesus, when we made our allegiance to Him, the enemy put a bounty on our…
Psalm 138 – Psalm 138 – It’s a bold declaration: I will praise you with my whole heart. Let’s consider just this statement alone. There are many things about the heart found…
Psalm 132 – “Oh Lord, remember…” Have you ever prayed such words? Is this part of how you intercede over situations and struggles, “Oh Lord remember…” as you bring…
Psalm 128 – “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15 There are many thoughts about leadership out there. When a leader leads…
Psalm 126 – God has the ability to restore all things. From the wreckage of our lives to the exile and captivity we have been held in – our…
Psalm 123 – The waiting of God to move is not a passive act. It is coming before Him with the pleas of our hearts for His work and…
Psalm 119 – It is the longest psalm recorded. It is also the longest chapter in all of Scripture. The beauty of this Psalm is that it focuses solely…
Psalm 114 – It is a story of release from captivity. Israel were under 400 years of imprisonment to a nation that was not their own. Through forced labor…
Psalm 112 – There are many things God provides for His people who walk in obedience. Sometimes within the tangible but mostly in the emotional and strength to do…