Category: CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

  • I LOVED YOU, I LOVE YOU NOW

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 11:1–12:14; Acts 5:1–42; Job 16:10–22 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1). This line is beautiful if read alone, but it is sad when read in context: “When I called them, they went from my face. They sacrificed to the Baals,…

  • UTOPIAN TRUTH FOR TODAY

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 8:1–10:15; Acts 4:1–37; Job 16:1–9 Wealth often tempts us to materialism, as our possessions make us feel secure, valued, and comfortable. But sometimes the lack of these assets allows this temptation to exert even more power over us, driving us to spend our lives chasing the higher salary, the bigger house, or…

  • THE DISCOMFORT OF SCRIPTURE

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 6:1–7:16; Acts 2:42–3:26; Job 15:21–35 Most of the Western world operates in the spirit of individualism. Christianity does not, though we often attempt to adapt it and make it more comfortable. It’s much easier to think about “God’s role in my life” than to reflect on “my role in God’s plan” to…

  • ONLY THE VERY BEGINNING

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 3:1–5:15; Acts 2:1–41; Job 15:10–20 Beginnings are exciting. The freshness of a new project or a new relationship sharpens our senses. When that novelty diminishes, though, it’s difficult to maintain the same level of excitement. Acts 2 is all about beginnings. In this passage we get an inside view of how God…

  • AN UNUSUAL PORTRAIT

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 1:1–2:23; Acts 1:1–26; Job 15:1–9 “At the beginning when Yahweh spoke through Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, ‘Go, take for yourself a wife and children of whoredom, because the land commits great whoredom forsaking Yahweh.’ So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son”…

  • WALKING WITH JESUS

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 65:1–66:24; Luke 24:13–53; Job 14:11–22 Imagine encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It would be a surreal experience. You’re walking to the next town, and you start a conversation with a man beside you, only to find out later that you’ve been talking with the resurrected Son of God. Even more…

  • DAWNING OF A NEW ERA

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 63:1–64:12; Luke 23:26–24:12; Job 14:1–10 Jesus’ resurrection brings a new era. Although Jesus told His disciples and loved ones that He would suffer, die, and be raised on the third day (Luke 9:22), they didn’t fully comprehend His promise. The women preparing fragrant spices and perfumes for a burial ritual fully expected…

  • BECOMING A SAVED PEOPLE

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 60:1–62:12; Luke 22:63–23:25; Job 13:13–28 For Luke, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s message. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, according to Luke, Jesus opened the Isaiah scroll in a synagogue and proclaimed that the words in Isa 61 are about Him (Luke 4:17–19): “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh…

  • MEANINGLESS MAXIMS

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 58:1–59:21; Luke 22:24–62; Job 13:1–12 “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay” (Job 13:12). There were bits of truth in the words spoken by Jobs’ friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Between their blundering interpretations were words that expressed God’s majesty, justice, and sovereignty. Unfortunately, they pieced together…

  • MY MOMMA DONE TOL’ ME

    Connect The TestamentsIsaiah 55:1–57:21; Luke 21:25–22:23; Job 12:13–25 I went through a phase when I was obsessed with the blues. Something about the soul was at work in the music—a genre created late at night while reflecting on hard times. The music was written more for the songwriter than the audience because the audience had…