August 21, 2016. This week a group of us got together to do a bible study, and we talked about the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (I know, I keep using my past week as prompts, but I’ve just gotten some good ideas from these discussions!), and during the discussion, someone brought…
Tag: plea
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…
Hosea 8-14: The love and the wrath of God.
September 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Hosea 8-14. Background: Hosea 1-7. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 8 Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind: In this oracle, it becomes apparent that you will reap what you sow. The Lord, through Hosea, beings with a warning blast, to call Israel to attention that they might see their folly and turn…
Psalm 84-86: Talking to God.
August 11, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 84-86. Background: Psalm 81-83. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 84 The dwelling place of the Lord: This psalm is a psalm of the sons of Korah and addresses the lovely dwelling place of the Lord. The psalmist’s soul longs to be in the Lord’s dwelling place, in the court of…
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…
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…
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…
Psalm 39-41: Cries to the Lord.
April 8, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 39-41. Background: Psalm 36-38. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 39 Life is short: In this psalm, David beings with a held tongue and a muzzled spirit, not asking the Lord how many were the number of his days on the earth. But when he could not hold his peace for any…
Psalm 33-35: Shout to the Lord.
March 25, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 33-35. Background: Psalm 30-32. Chapter 33 Shout to the Lord: Psalm 33 is a wonderful psalm of praise that recaps the steadfast love and works that the Lord has done in all the earth. The praise of the Lord begins of the skill of the player praising the righteousness of…
Psalm 27-29: The Lord’s glory.
March 11, 2015. Today’s Reading: Psalm 27-29. Background: Psalm 24-26. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 27 “Whom shall I fear?”: As in many of the psalms, David directs our minds here to the power and protection of the Lord when we are in His fold. Since the Lord is his light, salvation and stronghold, David assures all…
Isaiah 29-33: Downfall, complacency and hope.
February 13, 2015. Daily Reading: Isaiah 29-33. Background: Isaiah 23-28. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 29 1. A spirit of deep sleep from the Lord: As with times before, this is yet another prophecy against Jerusalem for their disobedience and apostasy, foretelling of the calamity that was in store for them if they would not repent and…
Psalms 6-8: Deliverance by God.
January 21, 2014. Daily Reading: Psalms 6-8. Background: Psalm 3-5. All three of these Psalms are attributed to David, a man after God’s own heart (ref. I Samuel 13:14). David was well in tune with the Spirit of God and he often expressed his emotion in the form of a psalm. These have been recorded…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 