December 20, 2015. Daily Reading: Acts 19-20. Background: Acts 15-18. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 19 The third missionary journey: Paul’s third missionary, which began in verse 21 of the previous chapter, continues on here as he travels through Ephesus. Here he meets some disciples who had not been baptized in the name of Jesus, but…
Tag: daily devotion
II John: Support and opposition.
December 19, 2015. Daily Reading: III John. Background: This is the third epistle that we have that was written by the apostle John (see the intro to I John). Unlike the other two epistles, this one is addressed to a single person, Gaius, whom the apostle “love[s] in truth,” encouraging him to support the brethren…
Zechariah 1-14: Addressing the people of God.
December 11, 2015. Daily Reading: Zechariah 1-7. Background: Zechariah is one of the final Hebrew prophets and is a contemporary of Haggai (see Ezra 5:1) encouraging the returning exiles to continue rebuilding the house of the Lord. Though not much is known about the personal life of Zechariah, he does date his writings more specifically than…
Song of Songs 4-6: Drunk with love.
December 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Song of Songs 4-6. Background: Song of Songs 1-3. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 4 The consummation of marriage: The majority of this chapter is dedicated to Solomon’s admiration of his bride’s beauty. He describes her form in such detail that we still blush in parts of the poetry today. There…
Psalm 135-138: The steadfast love of the Lord.
December 16, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 135-138. Background: Psalm 132-134. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 135 Praising the Lord: This is a psalm about praising the Lord, calling all His servants into His praise. The psalmist calls for praise to the Lord because He is good and His name is pleasant. The Lord had chosen the…
Ezra 5-10: Finishing the temple and seeking the Lord.
December 15, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezra 5-10. Background: Ezra 1-4. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 5 The rebuilding begins again: After a long period of cessation due to persecution, Haggai and Zechariah, prophets of the Lord, stirred up the Jews who had returned to Judah and Jerusalem to begin again rebuilding the temple. The two strong leaders,…
Deuteronomy 16-19: Statues.
December 14, 2015. Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 16-19. Background: Deuteronomy 13-15. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 16 The Passover, Feast of Weeks and Feast of Booths: The main body of this passage deals with three feasts that the children of Israel were to hold each year as memorials and religious ceremonies to the Lord God. The first…
II John: Truth and love.
December 13, 2o15. Daily Reading: II John. Background: This is John’s second epistle written to those that he loved in truth, likely disciples of whom the aged apostle had some role of oversight (see background to I John). The elder expresses his love for them and his joy in finding some of them walking in…
Acts 15-18: The second missionary journey.
December 12, 2015. Daily reading: Acts 15-18. Background: Acts 13-14. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 15 1. The Jerusalem counsel: As Paul and Barnabas return from their first missionary journey and proceeded to tell the Jewish believers in Antioch all that God had done for the Gentiles through them, there were some men who were of…
Song of Songs 1-3: The courtship.
December 10, 2015. Daily Reading: Song of Songs 1-3. Background: Traditionally attributed to Solomon, the Song of Songs is very unique amongst the Hebrew scriptures as it is, in its base form, a celebration of romantic love between a husband and wife as we travel through their courtship and subsequent marriage. The courtship is described in…
Psalm 132-134: The last of the songs of ascents.
December 9, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 132-134. Background: Psalm 129-131. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 132 The Lord’s choice through David: Another psalm in the series of the songs of ascents (see psalm 120), this psalm speaks of the house of the Lord that David sought to build (see II Samuel 7 and I Chronicles 22, 28)…
Ezra 1-4: The beginning of rebuilding the temple.
December 8, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezra 1-4. Background: The book of Ezra was originally combined with the book of Nehemiah until it was divided into two books by Christians around the third century. The story records the story of the exile’s return from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple, as per Cyrus’ decree that is…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 