Posts with the tag “week-25”

Isaiah 8:1-11:16.  “No Fear” There is something about refusing to show fear that is a rite of passage for boys as they seek to become men.  I remember wanting to have a persona of having no fear in high school so badly that I wore shirts that even said “No Fear” on them.Isaiah was told in chapter 8:11-14 that he was to only fear the LORD Almighty.  This message holds true for us today as well.  If...  Read More

2 Kings 15:32-16:9; 2 Chronicles 27:1-28:15; Isaiah 7:1-25; Micah 1:1-16. “Testing God” “Do not test the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:7).While in the wilderness, Jesus quoted the above verse from Deuteronomy 6:16.  His purpose in quoting it was to fend off the temptation from Satan.  Satan wanted Jesus to test God’s promise of protection (Psalm 91:11-12).  In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz is in a similar situat...  Read More

2 Kings 14:28-29; 15:6-29; 2 Chronicles 26:22-23; Isaiah 6:1-13; Amos 7:1-9:15.  “Fear of Santa” Like many kids, my son had a paralyzing fear of Santa Clause when he was younger.  I find this phenomenon very curious since there is nothing about this character, even if he were real, that is to be truly feared.  The worst he could do would be to give you coal in your stocking instead of toys.The fea...  Read More

Amos 1-6. “Declared Righteous” I want you to think of that one person or that particular group of people that you know for certain deserves God’s judgment.  For God’s people that would have been the surrounding nations against whom Amos declared God’s judgment.  How popular Amos’ message must have been as he spoke of the very thing God’s people wanted to hear.  And then that all changed as God tu...  Read More

2 Kings 13:12-13; 14:1-27; 15:1-5; 2 Chronicles 25:1-26:21; Jonah 1-4. “Too Familiar” We are all very familiar with the story of Jonah; it is after all a whale of a tale.  Sorry, I know – bad joke.  But seriously, I encourage you to look at the story with a fresh perspective and consider for me, if you will, the use of irony in this historical story.Jonah, a prophet of God should model a proper f...  Read More

2 Kings 12:17-13:11, 14-25; 2 Chronicles 24:23-27.  “Why Fear God?” “Have no fear, have no fear, said the cat in the hat.”  I read that line today at lunch in the book I was reading to my daughter.  As I was reading it, I thought about our theme this week and the subsequent mess that the cat in the hat made.  Fortunately for the children in the story, the cat cleaned up his mess, but life doesn’t ...  Read More

  This week’s theme is the fear of the Lord.  This is an often puzzling subject and can be difficult to fully comprehend.  God loves us and we love Him in return, and yet we are also supposed to fear Him.  Sometimes this fear is a sense of awe and respect because of the holiness of God and the fact that He is so vastly different than we are.  Sometimes this fear of God is because, as the sovereign Lord, He is the one who judges our actions and thoughts and has the power and authority to save and to condemn at the same time.    Read More