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…
Tag: lament
Hosea 1-7: The prophet who’s life was an allegory.
September 18, 2015. Daily Reading: Hosea 1-7. Background: The book of Hosea is one of the 12 prophets in the Hebrew scriptures, and is the first of the minor prophets in the Old Testament (unless you make an argument that Daniel is a minor prophet, however Daniel’s prophecies are much different in nature and they…
Luke 19-20: Jesus in Jerusalem.
July 18, 2015. Daily Reading: Luke 19-20. Background: Luke 17-18. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 19 1. Zacchaeus and the parable of ten minas: In the first half of this chapter, Jesus teaches two lessons in the house of Zacchaeus, a short man who was a rich, tax collector. Tax collectors in this day were considered to…
Lamentations 1-5: Hope in the midst of lament.
June 12, 2015. Daily Reading: Lamentations 1-5. Background: The book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems (corresponding to the five chapters) that are traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah, though there is no textual evidence that states this claim outright. The first four poems are acrostics, with each verse beginning with a successive letter of…
II Samuel 1-4: David becomes king.
April 28, 2015. Daily Reading: II Samuel 1-4. Background: I Samuel 26-31. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 1 1. A tragic lie: As we open up the book of II Samuel (picking up right where I Samuel leaves off), Saul and Jonathan have just died in battle and the news is about to be brought to David…
Jeremiah 1-6: The word of the Lord through Jeremiah.
April 3, 2015. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 1-6. Background: The book of Jeremiah is a compilation of the word of the Lord though the prophet Jeremiah that spans almost the full time of the prophet’s life. Jeremiah is called as a youth to be a prophet of the Lord, delivering a very unappealing message to the people….
Job 12-14: Many words that have caused frustration.
February 19, 2015. Daily Reading: Job 12-14. Background: Job 11. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 12 1. Laughing at the misfortune of others: Sometimes, though it will seem very wrong when said aloud, we get some internal satisfaction when we see the misfortune of others, especially when it comes on people that we don’t particularly like…
Job 3-5: Lament and blame.
January 15, 2014. Daily Reading: Job 3-5. Background: Job 1-2. Job has lost everything, even his health, because he was righteous and is being tested. In this section of the story of Job, there has been seven days of silence before Job begins his lament. Chapters 4 and 5 are Eliphaz the Temanite’s rebuttal to Job’s…
Lessons from a weeping prophet.
October 3, 2014. “What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they…
“Trust me, beloved child.”
July 18, 2014. Lord, I come before you now as a broken and run down soul. I lay it down before you as my out come was not your goal. I lie here weary from the road paved thin and cracked. Lord, you know where I’ve been and I want to make it back. The…
Here I am, Lord.
June 2, 2014. “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he…
Just a little talk with Jesus.
May 25, 2014. O Lord, my God, may you be glorified from all the earth. Let every knee bow, let every mouth confess and let all praise be given to the Almighty. O Lord, you are God and not man. Your ways are above our ways, your thoughts above our thoughts. Your steadfast love never…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 