Category: CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

  • IT’S SIMPLE

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 7:66-8:18; 1 John 5:6-12; Psalm 110:1-7 I tend to complicate matters. Determined to understand the nuances of a problem, I spend more time constructing a solution than I need to. Often, delaying a simple solution is my way of avoiding action that requires me to be courageous, intentional, or perhaps admit I’m…

  • DISCERNMENT AND PRAYER

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 6:1-7:65; 1 John 5:1-5; Psalm 109:16-31 “For all of them sought to frighten us.… And now, God, strengthen my hands” (Neh 6:9). While God calls us to “love [our] enemies and pray for those who persecute [us]” (Matt 5:44), he also calls us to act with discernment and prayer. Loving others doesn’t…

  • LOVE AND PEACE

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 4:1-5:19; 1 John 4:16-21; Psalm 109:1-15 “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in you.” Augustine’s prayer, spoken so many years ago, is still poignant for us today. It appeals to our created purpose: bringing glory to God. When we’re living outside of that…

  • POSITION, PRAYER, AND STRATEGY

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 1:1-3:32; 1 John 4:13-15; Psalm 108:1-13 Trying to make a difference in the world can be disheartening; it’s easy to feel like merely a drop in the bucket. When Nehemiah first heard about the suffering of His people, he could have been discouraged. When he learned that the returned exiles were “in…

  • MAN VS. NATURE

    Connect The TestamentEzra 9:1-10:44; 1 John 4:7-12; Psalm 107:23-43 As a teenager, I devoured stories about men and women at odds with nature. These man vs. nature struggles always told of a battle of wills. Nature was always at its most magnificent and most frightening: untamed, unwieldy, and heartless. The characters seemed to be living…

  • THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

    Connect The TestamentsEzra 7:1-8:36; 1 John 4:1-6; Psalm 107:1-22 The Bible is full of unexpected moments. Some events seem almost coincidental, where people are in the right place at the right time. This is exactly the case with Ezra. In ancient times, it was unusual for a king to honor a foreigner with a decree.…

  • WHAT IS LOVE?

    Connect The TestamentsEzra 5:1-6:22; 1 John 3:19-24; Psalm 106:30-48 I find it easy to talk about myself. I like to get to the root of why I act the way I do. Sometimes this is helpful—it helps me nail down where I struggle. But this tendency also reminds me that I’m geared inward. The danger…

  • LEARNING FROM ENEMIES

    Connect The TestamentsEzra 3:1-4:24; 1 John 3:11-18; Psalm 106:16-29 If a new venture is really worth pursuing, it will probably be opposed. Some people will refuse to get on board, and others will intentionally get in the way. While these people may be trying protect their own interests, it’s more likely that they don’t like…

  • NOT PERFECT?

    Connect The TestamentsEzra1:1-2:70; 1 John 3:5-10; Psalm 106:1-15 Sometimes sin can discourage us to the point that we loathe ourselves. At first glance, John’s letter seems to encourage this. Addressing a struggling church community, John seems to call for perfection: “And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away…

  • ENCOURAGEMENT AND POSITIVITY

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23; 1 John 2:28-3:4; Psalm 105:23-45 If we were to make encouragement one of our main strategies, we’d see positive results in most situations. If we made providing for others one of our goals, the world would be a kinder place. King Josiah epitomizes both of these attributes in 2 Chr…