July 4, 2020. Historically I have written posts inspired by the fourth of July on the topic of freedom. But this year feels different. There is so much tension in our society right now and the two main causes of this tension are each have deep roots in the lack of freedom. The country that…
Tag: spirit
A plea for unity.
September 18, 2016. Ramifications of the reformation. It is an understatement to say that there is a lot of division in the church today. Though it seems that people have been divisive from the beginning (see I Corinthians 1-3), today the amount of separation in the entirety of Christendom is both disheartening and damaging to…
Psalm 139-141: God and man.
December 23, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 139-141. Background: Psalm 136-138. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 139 God’s intimate knowledge of man: This psalm, attributed to David, is one that is fairly popular. It is a beautiful psalm that speaks to the knowledge of God and his intimate relationship with man. If anyone ever wondered if the…
Psalm 102-104: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
September 23, 2015. Daily Reading: Psalm 102-104. Background: Psalm 99-101. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 102 A cry of the afflicted: This psalm is a prayer of the afflicted who is pouring out his troubles and complaint before the Lord. The psalmist diligently seeks the audience of the Lord in the first stanza and asks for…
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…
John 3-4: A new birth and living water.
September 5, 2015. Daily Reading: John 3-4. Background: John 1-2. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 3 1. The man who came to Jesus by night: Chapter 3 of the book of John contains one of, if not the most quoted bible verse amongst Christians today, however the context of John 3:16 is often not highlighted as…
Ezekiel 31-36: Prophecies against the nations, and Israel’s renewal.
August 14, 2015. Daily Reading: Ezekiel 31-36. Background: Ezekiel 25-30. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 31 Prophecy against Pharaoh: In this chapter, the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel to give to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, on the things that will happen to him. Though the prophecy is directed towards Pharaoh, the oracle uses the…
Luke 11-12: Teachings of Christ.
June 20, 2015. Daily Reading: Luke 11-12. Background: Luke 9-10. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 11 1. Prayer: The opening of this chapter deals with Jesus’ teaching on prayer, as His disciples came and asked Him directly to teach them how to pray, just as John taught His disciples. Here Luke records the Lord’s prayer (see…
Isaiah 40-44: The Holy One of Israel.
February 27, 2015. Daily Reading: Isaiah 40-44. Background: Isaiah 34-39. Concepts and Connections. Chapter 40 1. A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Comfort was coming for the people of Israel, which is likely an immediate reference to the Babylonians (who had taken Judah captive) being defeated by the Medes and Persians. As chapter 40…
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…
Take hold of the victory.
August 4, 2014. “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin…
Hiding from God.
June 25, 2014. “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23-24) Can we hide from God? This may sound…
Twenty Eight Eighteen 