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…
Tag: sin
Romans 7-8: Flesh versus Spirit.
January 25, 2015. Daily Reading: Romans 7-8. Background: Romans 5-6. Concepts and Connections: Chapter 7 1. Old Law and Christ: As we have seen from the previous chapters, Paul is making an argument of the difference between being under the Old Law given by Moses and being in Christ. Though the law in an of…
Romans 5-6: Justification and baptism.
January 18, 2014. Daily Reading: Romans 5-6. Background: Romans 3-4. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 5 1. Christian peace: Continuing on with his dialog of the differences between justification by faith and justification by works, Paul explains how the paradigm shift that the Jews needed would bring the peace of Christ. Under the idea that there…
Genesis 1-3: The Creation and the Fall.
January 5, 2015. This is day two of our journey together through the bible. If you are just getting here today, you still have ample opportunity to jump in the journey as we set out to read and study though the entire bible in one year. If you have not read yesterday’s post, I would…
The journey begins; Day 1: Romans 1-2.
January 4, 2015. And so it begins! If you are just joining today, great! We are about to start a 52 week journey through the entire bible, with daily background, summery and connection-based/practical lessons from each section. Last year I made a resolution to post a daily devotional throughout the course of the year on…
There is none, no not one.
December 22, 2014. “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none…
This is why intent matters.
December 16, 2014. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6) Just a few chapters after God created man, we find this condemning…
Hymnnotes: An Evening Prayer.
December 8, 2014. As another installment in my running, though intermittent, hymnnote series, today I would like to comment on the hymn entitled “An Evening Prayer.” This title is quite fitting, though these words never appear in the text, for it is a humble prayer to the Lord asking for forgiveness of the foolish sins…
4 Considerations about anger.
November 30, 2014. Today I would like to discuss something that is close to my heart, not the topic specifically, but the lack of it in a mature attitude in Christ. Anger is an emotion that so many people struggle with from time to time. I have been there, and I’m sure you have been…
When worship and prayer are abominations.
November 18, 2014. As I read through the wisdom literature in the Old Testament, there is a concept that keeps coming up that is a bit concerning me when I read it. This concept is not one that we usually talk about, nor is it one that would probably be acceptable to teach in larger…
5 Lessons from Psalm 51.
November 3, 2014. There are few more emotional psalms in my opinion than Psalm 51. As many of you may know, Psalm 51 is written by David in response to his infamous sting of sins that he committed as he sat on the throne of Israel and coveted Bathsheba, one of his mighty men’s wife….
Is drinking a sin?
October 31, 2014. When it comes to issues that drive huge wedges between Christians, the discussion over alcohol and whether or not it is sinful for a Christian to drink in moderation is probably one of the biggest wedges you can find. Some will say that any form of alcohol is bad in consumption while others…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 