April 20, 2015. Daily Reading: Exodus 9-12. Background: Exodus 5-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 1. The fifth plague- Death of Egyptian livestock: With the fifth plague, the Lord continues His distinction between Israel and the Egyptians, causing only the livestock of the Egyptians to die an not the livestock of the Israelites who dwelt in…
Category: Daily Devotions
II Corinthians 4-6: The glory of the gospel.
April 19, 2015. Daily Reading: II Corinthians 4-6. Background: II Corinthians 1-3. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 4 1. The light of the gospel: In the beginning, when all of the universe as we know it was nothing and there was no light, there was God, and God said “Let their be light,”- and light shined out…
Mark 9-10: Teachings of Jesus.
April 18, 2015. Daily Reading: Mark 9-10. Background: Mark 7-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 1. Times to come: Upon two occasions in the chapter, Jesus speaks of certain things that are to come. The first is about the kingdom of God, which would come with power before that generation died, which was fulfilled in Acts…
Jeremiah 12-16: Famine, sword and pestilence.
April 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 12-16. Background: Jeremiah 7-11. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 12 Jeremiah’s complaint and the Lord’s answer: Jeremiah looks out on the people in the land and sees the great evil that the leaders are involved in and complains to the Lord, asking why the wicked prosper and why the treacherous thrive. He…
Job 29-31: Job’s final defense.
April 16, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 29-31. Background: Job 27-28. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 29 Longing for the days of old: This chapter begins Job’s three chapter final defense of his position and situation, as a final rebuttal to everything his friends had accused him. Beginning his defense, Job longs for the days of old, back…
Psalm 42-44: Feeling abandoned.
April 15, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 42-44. Background: Psalm 39-41. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 42 A soul that thirsts for God: The psalmist here brings the imagery of a wild deer panting for water to describe his soul’s desire for the Lord, the presence of the Almighty. The psalmist is thirst for the living God, a…
I Samuel 21-25: Saul pursues David.
April 14, 2015. Daily Reading: I Samuel 21-25. Background: I Samuel 16-20. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 21 1. Learning from examples: As David begins his run from Saul, he comes in haste to Nob meet Ahimelech the priest, looking for something to eat for him and his men. The problem is, however, that the only bread that…
Exodus 5-8: Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh.
April 13, 2015. Daily Reading: Exodus 5-8. Background: Exodus 1-4. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 5 When it’s darkest before the dawn: Have you ever been in a position where it seemed like the more you tried to do the will of God, the harder your situation became? This was precisely what Moses and Aaron were…
II Corinthians 1-3: The follow-up.
April 12, 2015. Daily Reading: II Corinthians 1-3. Background: The book of II Corinthians is a subsequent letter from Paul (with Timothy) written to the Corinthian church, which was established by Paul on his second missionary journey, as a follow up to his previous letters. There is evidence that Paul wrote at least four letters to…
Mark 7-8: Missing the big picture.
April 11, 2015. Daily Reading: Mark 7-8. Background: Mark 5-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 1. Traditions of men: Jesus has had many run ins with the Pharisees, and this instance is not all that dissimilar to the other disputes they have had with Him. In this case, they attack His disciples for not washing their…
Jeremiah 7-11: No balm in Gilead.
April 10, 2015. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 7-11. Background: Jeremiah 1-6. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 7 1. False hope: In this chapter, Jeremiah beings a discourse that would last through the end of chapter 10, proclaiming the judgment and lament of God on His people for the transgressions they were committing against Him. It is not…
Job 27-28: Integrity and wisdom.
April 9, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 27-28. Background: Job 25-26. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 25 “I have held my integrity”: Time and again Job has heard from his friends, “You must have transgressed the Lord somewhere, just repent of your sin and everything will be alright.” He has told them multiple times that he has not…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 