Day 355: Love God and One Another
I have to say, John is my favorite writer in the New Testament. I love his style–it’s really beautiful. The first verse is so wonderful–we are children of God! I love that! If you know Him, you don’t live in sin–you don’t want to! Love one another is a continual theme of John’s. But, that [...]
Day 354: First Letter from John
The authorship of the letters from John are pretty well accepted as the same writer as the gospel of John. In other words, the apostle John. This reminds me of the beginning of the gospel of John. He refers to walking with God as walking in the light. We should stay in the light and [...]
Day 335: Colossians
I remember asking as a child why people kept talking about Paul so much at church. My grandmother said it was because he had a lot to say. Colossians is another letter written by Paul to fellow believers. These Christians lived in Colossae, about 120 miles from Ephesus, the location of another group of Christians. [...]
Day 316: Suffering and Reward
Jesus came to fulfill the law. Since through the law we cannot redeem ourselves–we can’t ever follow it perfectly–Jesus has set us free from sin(the thing that keeps us from keeping the law). Paul tells the believers in Rome they now have an obligation to live by the Spirit and not on their own. He [...]
Day 315: Slaves to Righteousness
While we were still sinners Christ dies for us. That’s the gist of the first part of chapter 5. What an amazing verse. Paul then points out that sin came to the world through Adam, one man. Then, one man came and offered us a way to forgiveness of sin. We should now die to [...]
Day 260: Israel Will Rise Again
God calls to Israel to stand up and hear the accusations against her. They will be punished according to their guilt. Given over to ruin and humiliation. Micah now speaks for all of Israel. He tells the nations not to gloat for Israel will rise again. Even though she has sinned and God is punishing [...]
Day 253: Do Not Be Complacent, Israel
In chapter 4, we hear of many of the things that God has done to bring Israel back to Him. Famine, plagues, fire and yet they still do not turn to God. He also mentions how they make their offerings and yet continue to sin. When an offering is made, when forgiveness is sought, if [...]
Day 249: Golden Calf of Samaria
Israel had turned against God and will be punished. Does this sound familiar? It seems to be an ongoing theme throughout the old testament. In chapter 8, we read about idols. A calf made by Samaria is specifically mentioned. He points out that the calf was made by man and will break apart. It is [...]
Day 241: Zadok the Faithful Priest
Yesterday, we read about Ezekial’s vision of a man measuring the Temple. Now, Ezekial sees the glory of the Lord returning to the Temple. He tells Ezekial to describe this Temple of his vision to the Israelites so that they will know and be ashamed of their sin that has separated them from God. He, [...]
Day 210: Punishment for Sin
God calls Jeremiah to speak to the people of Israel. God tells them to stop following other gods and living sinful lives and then coming to the Temple and thinking all is okay. He warns them that the places where they make these sacrifices against His will will one day become the valley of slaughter [...]
Day 205: Fasting
In chapter 58, Isaiah tells the people they can’t fast the way they do and expect God to listen to them. Fasting is a time to share your food, but they go about their day and argue. Instead of just going through the motions, they (we)should be clothing the naked, setting free the oppressed. When [...]
Day 129: Foreign Women
The beginning of chapter 8 is a list of the family heads who went with Ezra to Jerusalem. Ezra returns to Jerusalem with the Israelites. Along the way, they call a descendant of Levi to join them. The people return to the Temple with the gold and silver articles that had been taken when the [...]
Day 120: A Slow Decline
As we move further from Solomon’s death, the king’s seem to slowly move further from God. At first, the kings of Judah follow, mostly, David’s example. Yet, they leave the high places where the people worship other gods. It must have been so painful to watch this slow decline into sin. Fortunately for us, we [...]
Day 47: Moses sins
By chapter 20, we find the Israelites complaining yet again. They have no water and, instead of remembering all the times that God has provided, they begin to whine and complain to Moses and Aaron. God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will come out. The scripture doesn’t really say why Moses [...]
