Tag: CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

  • BEYOND MEASURE

    Connect The TestamentsZechariah 1:1–2:13; Acts 21:1–26; Job 28:12–28 When we say, “God is gracious; God is kind,” do we fully comprehend the extent of God’s graciousness and kindness toward us? We glimpse it in Zechariah: “You must say to them: ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return to me,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and I will…

  • THROWING CAUTION TO THE FLOOD

    Connect The TestamentsZephaniah 1:1–3:20; Acts 19:1–41; Job 27:1–23 Words are powerful. They can restore and heal; they can also be used as deadly weapons. When we interact with one another, we know to choose our words carefully to avoid being misinterpreted or inadvertently causing harm. But Yahweh speaks words of daunting ambiguity—proclamations that can easily…

  • MEASURING OUT GOD’S GOODNESS

    Connect The TestamentsHabakkuk 2:6–3:19; Acts 18:1–28; Job 26:1–14 Although we don’t usually question God’s goodness, we do make assumptions about how He should act in the world. We expect God to use us in His work and to intercede on our behalf—and rightfully so, since those promises come from Him. But when we find ourselves…

  • HONESTLY QUESTIONING GOD

    Connect The TestamentsHabakkuk 1:1–2:5; Acts 17:1–34; Job 25:1–6 Many people are afraid to be honest with God—which is odd, considering that He already knows what we’re thinking. The biblical authors certainly told God how they felt, and they did so eloquently and often. The prophet Habakkuk remarked, “O Yahweh, how long shall I cry for…

  • ANOTHER TAKE

    Connect The TestamentsNahum 1:1–3:19; Acts 16:6–40; Job 24:12–25 What do we risk when we know of God’s forgiveness and then become complacent and return to our sinful ways? What happens when we turn our back on God—treating Him like an insurance agent rather than a savior? The short, shocking book of Nahum shows what happens…

  • WHAT SHALL BE DONE?

    Connect The TestamentsMicah 7:1–20; Acts 15:22–16:5; Job 24:1–11 How should we respond when those around us seem to be not only falling short of the glory of God, but actually abandoning God’s work? What should we do when we witness neighbors or friends tolerating or even justifying acts of injustice, oppression, greed, or idolatry? We…

  • FREEDOM AND RESPONSE

    Connect The TestamentsMicah 4:1–6:16; Acts 14:8–15:21; Job 23:1–17 Freedom from sin gives us the power to love. But freedom from poverty or oppression or guilt sometimes makes us complacent. We forget our inclination to wander away from God’s will and pursue our own, and we overlook that God will eventually call us to account. Although…

  • THE PAIN OF IDOLATRY

    Connect The TestamentsMicah 1:1–3:12; Acts 13:13–14:7; Job 22:14–30 Idolatry causes pain. If this truth were present in our minds each time we placed something before God, we would make different decisions. Micah’s account of the sins of Samaria makes this fact painfully and dramatically clear: “So I [Yahweh] will make Samaria as a heap of…

  • GOING YOUR OWN WAY

    Connect The TestamentsJonah 1:1–4:11; Acts 13:1–12; Job 22:1–13 I work hard to make my disobedience socially acceptable: “I have a stubborn streak,” I explain, or “I’m just like my dad.” But the truth is that my weaknesses aren’t cute or transitory—and they’re not anyone else’s fault. Instead, my disobedience is a deep-rooted, rebellious tendency to…

  • WHO CAN BRING ME DOWN?

    Connect The TestamentsObadiah 1:1–21; Acts 11:19–12:25; Job 21:17–34 “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of a rock, the heights of its dwelling, you who say in your heart: ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ ” (Obad 3). Pride is an especially dangerous sin because it deludes…