Category: Genesis to Revelation

  • EXAMINE THYSELF

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 21:1-22:9; 2 Corinthians 13:1-10; Psalm 59:1-17 Before advising others on how they should act, self-examination is always necessary. When the Corinthians questioned the authenticity of Paul and his colleagues’ ministry (which is ironic, since he had planted their church), Paul says to them: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the…

  • WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS

    Reflections on Nehemiah “I’m leaving her; I’m getting a divorce.” I nearly dropped the phone. I knew things had been bad, but I had blindly assumed that they were working through their issues. After all, it was their first year of marriage. Everyone’s first year is tough. I had grossly miscalculated their relational progress, and…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. True, it is written in God’s Word, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;” and it is a great truth, that religion is calculated to give a man happiness below…

  • THE SUBTLE SINNER

    Connect The TestamentJoshua 19:10-20:9; 2 Corinthians 12:11-21; Psalm 57:1-58:11 Some sins slip through the cracks—the ones that emerge in hushed tones between like-minded Christians. Sometimes these sins seem respectable because they occur out of supposed concerns for the Church or others. But they can leave deep gashes in the life of a community because they…

  • GOD IS OUR SHELTER

    Reflections on Ezra The book of Ezra recounts the the return of God’s people from exile and the rebuilding of the temple; after decades of captivity, the Lord “moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation” allowing the exiles of Judah to return home—“in order to fulfill the words of the…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    Whatever your especial need may be, you may readily find some promise in the Bible suited to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise—“He giveth power to the faint.” When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and…

  • WALKING IN CIRCLES

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 18:1-19:9; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Psalm 56:1-13 I often wish things were more obvious. I ask God to help me understanding His timing so that I can easily act. I ask for everything to happen at the right moments. I ask Him to give me such clear directions that I can’t fail in…

  • CALLING DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN

    Reflections on 2 Chronicles I vividly remember an evening I spent worshiping with persecuted Christians. It was loud and full of words of truth and visions that were clearly from God. But it was also peaceful. For this group of Christians, I thought, worshiping God is the ultimate experience and desire. They went to God…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    It is strange how little use we make of the spiritual blessings which God gives us, but it is stranger still how little use we make of God himself. Though he is “our own God,” we apply ourselves but little to him, and ask but little of him. How seldom do we ask counsel at…

  • BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 14:1-15:63; 2 Corinthians 11:16-23; Psalm 54:1-7 Faith is not just about being faithful; it’s also about trusting in God’s faithfulness. For years God dealt with the confused and waning nature of His people while they were in the wilderness. They wondered, “Will God actually do what Moses has told us?” They had…