Tag: CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

  • DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH

    Connect The TestamentsAmos 8:1–9:15; Acts 10:34–11:18; Job 21:1–16 In our comfortable and familiar church homes, we sometimes fail to see the Church as a community of ethnic and cultural diversity. When I returned from a year in South Korea, I was surprised when my family and friends made thoughtless generalizations about people I had come…

  • BAD THINGS, GOOD PEOPLE AND GRACE

    Connect The TestamentsAmos 6:1–7:17; Acts 10:1–33; Job 20:12–29 We often wonder why God allows bad things to happen. We’re not unique in this; people have asked this same question since the beginning of time. Job struggled with this question after he lost everything. Job’s friends strove to answer it as they sought to prove that…

  • GOD DOESN’T PROMISE EASE OR INVISIBILITY

    Connect The TestamentsAmos 4:6–5:27; Acts 9:20–43; Job 20:1–11 As Christians, we might be tempted by the lure of invisibility—the fabled cloak or ring that gives us the power to walk undetected among our friends or enemies. Although it is true that “making much of God” means making little of ourselves, we sometimes use this truth…

  • AS THE LION ROARS

    Connect The TestamentsAmos 1:1–4:5; Acts 8:26–9:19; Job 19:13–29 “Surely my Lord does not do anything unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? My Lord Yahweh has spoken, who will not prophesy? Proclaim to the citadel fortresses in Ashdod and the citadel fortresses in…

  • RESILIENT HOPE AND RED HERRINGS

    Connect The TestamentsJoel 3:1–21; Acts 7:54–8:25; Job 19:1–12 The death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, must have crushed and discouraged the early church. But in this event Luke shows us glimmers of hope. He reminds us that God is working behind the scenes. Facing death, Stephen prayed for his persecutors, asking that God “not…

  • GOD RIDES TO BATTLE

    Connect The TestamentsJoel 1:1–2:21; Acts 7:1–53; Job 18:1–21 God is good, but in the words of C.S. Lewis, “He is not tame.” When it comes time for evil to be purged from the world, He is not timid, and when He acts, He rarely holds back. We see such a scene prophesied concerning the Day…

  • FAITH FOR EVERY MOMENT

    Connect The TestamentsHosea 13:1–14:9; Acts 6:1–15; Job 17:1–16 Sometimes it’s tempting to imagine ourselves as the hero of a dramatic scene where we’re called upon to give an account of our faith. But in real life, every action and every moment of our lives is a witness—even the ordinary ones. Stephen, a leader in the…

  • 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…