February 7, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 11-13. Background: Matthew 8-10. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 11 1. John the baptizer and the Messiah: John had come as the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah, a voice crying in the wilderness. As Jesus’ and John’s ministries begin to overlap, John sends messengers to Jesus to…
Category: Daily Devotions
Isaiah 23-28: The glory of the Lord.
February 6, 2015. Daily Reading: Isaiah 23-28. Background: Isaiah 18-22. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 23 Destruction of the proud: The city of Tyre has a somewhat interesting history in relation to the children of Israel. The first time the city is mentioned in the bible (besides as a reference point when Joshua was portioning out the…
Job 9-10: The difference between God and man.
February 5, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 9-10. Background: Job 8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 The difference between God and man: This chapter and the next are closely related (besides the fact that they are one speech made by Job) in that they show an evolution in Job’s response to Bildad, and ultimate his response…
Psalm 12-14: Strong words.
February 4, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 12-14. Background: Psalm 9-11. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 12 A smooth tongue: It is very true that a smooth tongue can get a person into a lot of trouble. James calls the tongue a fire, a world of unrighteousness that no man can tame (see James 3:2-12). In this…
Joshua 21-24: Wrapping up.
February 3, 2015. Daily Reading: Joshua 21-24. Background: Joshua 16-20. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 21 1. Referring to the word of God: Though the portions of the land of Canaan had been allotted out to the different tribes of Judah, completing the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12 about giving the land…
Genesis 15-19: Impatience, stubbornness and unrighteousness.
February 2, 2015. Daily Reading: Genesis 15-19. Background: Genesis 9-14. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 15 Re-telling the promise, established via covenant: At the beginning of this chapter, Abram has just returned form rescuing Lot from Chedorlaomer king of Elam and the kings that accompanied him in battle against Sodom and Gomorrah. After returning successfully, the word of…
Romans 9-11: The plan of God.
February 1, 2015. Daily Reading: Romans 9-11. Background: Romans 7-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 1. Israel, God’s chosen people: Sometimes in Christianity, we forget about the importance of Israel and where it all began. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham (at that time his name was Abram) out of his land to go into…
Matthew 8-10: Miracles and teaching.
January 31, 2015. Daily Reading: Matthew 8-10. Background: Matthew 5-7. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 8 1. Faith in Jesus’ power: This chapter focuses heavily on Jesus’ healing miracles after He came down off the mountain where He gave the sermon on the mount. In the next chapter we will see more of the purpose of…
Isaiah 18-22: Prophecy with the end in mind.
January 30, 2015. A note on the sections of Isaiah (and probably later prophecy), I would be lying if I said that prophecy in the middle of Isaiah is simple or that I have all the answers and can tell you exactly what is going on (there is much argument even amongst scholars as to…
Job 8: When we think we have all the answers.
January 29, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 8. Background: Job 6-7. After Job has given his response to Eliphaz, Bildad makes a plea to Job that he should repent. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 8 1. We have all the answers when we aren’t the one suffering: Sometimes when a friend or family member is suffering and…
Psalm 9-11: Righteousness and refuge.
January 28, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 9-11. Background: Psalm 6-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 The Lord’s Righteousness: A common motif throughout the psalms is praising God for His righteousness. The character of the Lord is shown throughout these praises as He gives judgement to the faithful and the wicked according to their lifestyle. This…
Joshua 16-20: Signs of trouble during the fulfilling of the promise.
January 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Joshua 16-20. Background: Joshua 11-15. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 16 Starting to slide: There is a phrase that comes up a couple of times in these chapters that indicates the beginning of the backslide of Israel. In Exodus 33:50-56, God gave the command to Moses to drive out all the inhabitants…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 