September 11, 2016. This weekend I had the opportunity to plan a men’s retreat with a couple of my good friends from church. We decided on the theme of “Service” or being a servant, and there was a particular lesson that I wanted to teach about serving one another in the church. I will admit…
Tag: help
I go a fishing.
July 24, 2016. “Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’” (John 21:3a) There is a phrase in the KJV rendition of this story that has resonated with me many times throughout the years, though I’m not quite sure that I have always known why….
Psalm 142-144: Refuge.
December 30, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 142-144. Background: Psalm 139-141. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 142 The Lord as refuge: This psalm, attributed to David, is a cry and prayer of mercy and protection from the Lord. Notice how the psalmist puts his faith and trust in the Lord, even when he finds little refuge here…
Psalm 123-125: The Lord and His people.
November 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 123-125. Background: Psalm 120-122. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 123 Looking to the Lord: Another psalm in the series of the songs of ascents (see psalm 120), this song gives focus to the Lord as the psalmist looks to Him in his people’s time of need. The Lord is glorified…
Psalm 120-122: Songs of Ascents.
November 11, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 120-122. Background: Psalm 119. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 120 A cry for deliverance: Psalm 120 begins a set of fifteen psalms (120-134) that are labeled as “Songs of Ascents,” a phrase of which different opinions have formed as to its meaning. Two notable views put forth that these psalms…
Obadiah: The oracle against Edom.
October 23, 2015. Daily Reading: Obadiah. Background: Few clues are given in the text of this prophet to estimate the date and time periods that Obadiah prophesied. Different dates have been discussed based on contextual clues (such as Edom’s future raiding when Jerusalem is attacked), the two main suggestions being c. 850 BC, which would make…
Psalm 108-110: Deliverance and the Messiah.
October 7, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 108-110. Background: Psalm 105-107. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 108 Deliverance over the foe: This psalm is ascribed to David and deals with the Lord’s power and loyalty to bring His people out victorious over their enemies. This psalm seems to be a combination of two other psalms of David,…
Numbers 9-12: The congregation in the wilderness.
September 21, 2015. Daily Reading: Numbers 9-12. Background: Numbers 5-8. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 9 1. Lessons from keeping the passover: At the beginning of this chapter, we find ourselves in the first month of the second year that the Lord had brought the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, and as it…
Psalm 72-74: Speaking to the Lord.
June 24, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 72-74. Background: Psalm 69-71. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 72 Justice for the king: This psalm which is attributed to Solomon (the final verse of this chapter is likely in reference to the ending of the second book of the psalms, which houses many of David’s psalms) is one that…
Psalm 69-71: Cries of despair and praise.
June 17, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 69-71. Background: Psalm 66-68. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 69 “Save me, O God!”: This psalm attributed to David is a cry of despair to the Lord when he was being afflicted by enemies that seemed to surround him at all times. The psalm itself could be split into three…
Psalm 45-47: The King.
April 22, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 45-47. Background: Psalm 42-44. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 45 A love song to the King: The 45th psalm is self named as a love song to the king, who tradition would tell us was king Solomon. However, this psalm has a much deeper and greater purpose nested within it than to simply…
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…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 