2 Kings 21:1-22:2; 2 Chronicles 33:1-34:7; Jeremiah 1:1-2:22.  “How Bad is Your Past?”          How bad is your past?  Is it as ugly as Manasseh’s?  He led the nation of Judah to do more evil than even the pagan nations were guilty of.  He built pagan altars everywhere, even inside the Temple.  He worshipped everything from stars to idols.  He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and con...  Read More

2 Kings 20:20-21; 2 Chronicles 32:32-33; Isaiah 63:15-66:24. “Looking In”          “How ignorant can they be?”  I can read passages day after day that describe how people mess up, everyone from a king to a common Israelite.  Seemingly one minute they will see the hand of God in a powerful way and then two sentences later they have totally turned the wrong way.  There are two things I need to remi...  Read More

Isaiah 58:1-63:14. “The Right Time”          A sign over a clock in school read, “Time will pass.  Will you?”         Many of this week's passages have been providing us with unique perspectives on time, past and future.  Yet at the close of chapter 60 we have one of the best statements about time: “I, the LORD, will bring it all to pass at the right time.”  It’s not just the aspect of perfect ti...  Read More

Isaiah 52:13-57:21.  “Old Testament Gospel”          From 52:13 to the end of chapter 53 nearly every verse has a prophetic statement of Jesus Christ and the suffering He was to endure.  It is central to the passage from chapter 40 to the end.  The section is broken up into five stanzas of three verses each.  The passage is quoted more frequently in the New Testament than any other Old Testament p...  Read More

Isaiah 48:12-52:12. “Who’s Forsaking Who”          “Be strong and courageous! …the LORD your God will go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).  Joshua and the Hebrews who were about to enter the Promised Land found great comfort in those words.         After floating around in the ark for a year I would imagine Noah could have wondered if God had forgotten about t...  Read More

Isaiah 44:6-48:11. “What is Your I Focused On?”          “You can always recognize an egotist by the gleam in his I.”  That “I” can get us in a lot of trouble.  The center of pride is “I”.  Ignore begins with “I”.         We can get in trouble ignoring something pride keeps us from following.  In chapter 48, verse three, God tells the people, “Time and again I warned you about what was going to h...  Read More

“If a man had half as much foresight as he has twice as much hindsight, he’d be a lot better off.” –Robert J. Burdette         The theme of the week is primarily that of learning from the past, although there is a great deal of looking to the future as well.  As you explore what learning from the past really means, you will need to discover the place for proper perspectives and earnest application...  Read More

The theme of the week is primarily that of learning from the past, although there is a great deal of looking to the future as well.  As you explore what learning from the past really means, you will need to discover the place for proper perspectives and earnest applications.  It is truly a journey we are on, so may we learn as we go.  Read More

2 Kings 20:1-19; 2 Chronicles 32:24-31; Isaiah 38-39.  “Saved from the Presence of Sin”          “He will remove all their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever.” – Revelation 21:4         Hezekiah’s poem (Isaiah 38:10-20) is a beautiful response of praise to the healing that he experienced from the Lord.  In verse 1...  Read More

2 Kings 19; 2 Chronicles 32:9-23; Isaiah 37. “Saved from the Power of Sin”          “You have died with Christ, and He has set you free from the evil powers of this world.” – Colossians 2:20         Today we have read the magnificent account of how God responded to the faith of Hezekiah and Isaiah and delivered Jerusalem from the armies of the Assyrians.  While nothing is too difficult for God (J...  Read More

2 Kings 18:13-37; 2 Chronicles 32:1-8; Isaiah 36; Micah 6-7.  “Foolishness of the Cross”          Recently I watched an episode of Nightline, in which they moderated a debate between Christians and atheists.  The atheists in the debate worked hard at making the Christian gospel sound foolish.  Of course, this would come as no surprise to the Apostle Paul who declared in his own day that the messag...  Read More

Isaiah 34-35; Micah 2-5.  “License to Sin?”          “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” – Romans 6:1-2         In the days that Micah prophesied, Israel was proud and arrogant of their standing before the Lord.  They had ignored the need for obedience a...  Read More

Isaiah 30-33.  “Salvation is in Christ Alone”          “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” – John 14:6         In today’s reading, Isaiah warns God’s people about relying on outside help for their salvation.  Israel as a small nation was weak at this point in history because of civil war and rebelliousness toward God.  It was...  Read More

Isaiah 24-27; 29.  “Free Gift of Salvation”          “God saved you by His special favor when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” – Ephesians 2:8-9         I was once asked how I respond to God for His gift of salvation, considering that not everyone will receive tha...  Read More

Isaiah 18-23. “Saved from the Penalty of Sin”          Our theme for the week is salvation.  There are a number of different topics related to salvation that we are going to look at.  My prayer is that, by the end of the week, you will be rejoicing even more in the salvation that we have in Christ.           Judgment, Judgment, Judgment.  Five chapters of judgment.  Judgment is not a pretty thing...  Read More

 Our theme for the week is salvation.  There are a number of different topics related to salvation that we are going to look at.  My prayer is that, by the end of the week, you will be rejoicing even more in the salvation that we have in Christ.    Read More

Psalms 136, 146-150.  “For Who He Is”          This is a great collection of psalms to conclude this week’s theme of praise with. Recognizing God for who He is and what He has done and will do is cause for worshipping Him with an attitude of gratitude, humility, and awe.         Psalm 136 urges us to continually give thanks to God for who He is and what He has done.         Psalm 146 encourages us...  Read More

Psalms 128-130, 132, 134-135.  “Beyond Our Ability to Fully Understand”          Today’s psalms provide us yet more reasons to praise God for who He is and what He does for His people. Psalm 135:6 reminds us that His power is unlimited, and He can use it as He chooses according to His holy character.         But there may be seasons in our life when we read the first line of this verse, “The LORD ...  Read More

Psalms 120-121, 123, 125-126.  “Look Around You”          Today’s selection of psalms is one that I pray you can enjoy and find peace and encouragement in. They speak of why we can trust God, why we can praise Him, and why we can know He cares for us.         I have always loved the way Psalm 121 begins, that if anyone questions where our help comes from, we can respond with, “My help comes from t...  Read More

Psalm 119.  “Shaped by the Word of God”          Psalm 119 is the longest psalm, and an acrostic where every eight verses begin with each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Out of nearly 200 verses, all but two do not directly or by inference refer to the word of God. Its emphasis is clearly on the value of the word of God in the life of believers, and it is this psalm that helped change th...  Read More

Psalm 115-118.  “The Center of Praise”          You have made it to the middle of the Bible, Psalm 118:8–9 (the 15,587th and 15,588th verses of the 31,174 verses in the Bible). The verses assure us that, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (NKJV). That is obvious cause for worship and praise, but the...  Read More

Psalm 107, 111-114. “Praise God”          How might God describe how you praise Him?  Maybe God says, “Well, she praises Me every Sunday morning, and not much beyond that.”  Or, “He praises Me in the songs he sings, and that’s about it.  Well, come to think of it, he really doesn’t even do that, because the words coming out of his mouth are not the words he really means or wants to say.  What he i...  Read More

         The theme for this week is worship and praise. This week will finish off our time in the Psalms (except for Psalm 137).  The focus of each psalm this week will be that of praising God for who He is and all He does. A variety of aspects of worship will also be discussed in the various psalms.   Psalm 105-106. “God is Always Faithful”          Psalm 103 and 104 pair up nicely as they both o...  Read More

The theme for this week is worship and praise. This week will finish off our time in the Psalms (except for Psalm 137).  The focus of each psalm this week will be that of praising God for who He is and all He does. A variety of aspects of worship will also be discussed in the various psalms.  Read More