Category: CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

  • CONFLICT AND CERTAINTY

    Connect The Testaments1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; James 1:9-18; Psalm 119:17-32 Conflict drives fiction and riveting movies, but if we had it our way, we’d live stable, stress-free lives. We might crave the excitement or change of a vacation, but we rarely welcome an unexpected complication. So when James says to “count it all joy … when…

  • GOD MAKES GOOD OUT OF TROUBLE

    Connect The Testament1 Samuel 1:1-2:21; James 1:1-8; Psalm 119:1-16 God often shows His goodness to us through trials, making good out of human error. We see this principle in the lives of Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah was prone to make mistakes. His first mistake was to marry two wives (1 Sam 1:1–4); his second blunder…

  • BY YOUR EXAMPLE

    Connect The TestamentsEsther 8:1-10:3; 3 John 5-15; Psalm 118:17-29 By nature, we are creatures of imitation. Children mimic the traits of their parents, and even in later life we are influenced by the habits of our friends. People naturally imitate, even if they don’t realize it or intend to. This is one reason why “lead…

  • BEHIND THE SCENES

    Connect The TestamentsEsther 3:1-7:10; 3 John 1:1-4; Psalm 117:1-118:16 Sometimes life can look so bleak that it seems as if all hope is gone. This was the situation for Esther and Mordecai: “Letters were sent by couriers to all the provinces of the king to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both…

  • MEET AND GREET

    “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not speak a greeting to him, because the one who speaks a greeting to him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 9–11). This passage is sometimes used as support for forming exclusive communities—ones that…

  • THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 12:1-13:31; 2 John 1-6; Psalm 115:1-18 John the Evangelist’s letter to the “elect lady” presents a picture of joy and hope, as he “rejoiced greatly to find some of [her] children walking in truth, just as we were commanded by the father” (2 John 4). One word keeps reappearing in John’s letter,…

  • A FAMOUS GOD

    Connect The TestamentNehemiah 10:28-11:36; 1 John 5:17-21; Psalm 113:1-114:18 Fame can have startling effects on people. Those who attain power and influence suddenly become less available: They’re selective with the phone calls they take, the emails they answer, and the people they associate with. Those who receive their attention tend to feel special. When we…

  • FROM CONCERN TO ACTION

    Connect The TestamentsNehemiah 9:1-10:27; 1 John 5:13-16; Psalm 111:1-112:10 When I approach God, I often try to persuade Him that I am worthy of something or that He should act on my behalf. But there is no reason God should act on our behalf—none is worthy of His intercession. When we pray, we often need…

  • 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…