Tag: CONNECT THE TESTAMENTS

  • THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 7:48-89; John 15:1-16:4; Psalm 9:1-7 Jesus isn’t simply a high priority or even the highest priority of our lives. He is the source of life. In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches the disciples that they need to depend on Him for their very lives—both in the present and for eternal life.…

  • SIGNS AND SATIRE

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 6:1-27; John 13:21-38; Psalm 7:1-17 The images of judgment in Psa 7 are sometimes hard to take. We are so acquainted with a God of love that it’s difficult to understand a God who blinds eyes, hardens hearts, and “has indignation every day” (Psa 7:11). While these passages paint a picture of…

  • ODDITIES THAT MAKE SENSE

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 5:1-31; John 13:1-20; Psalm 6:1-10 Some of the Old Testament laws seem so odd they’re difficult to understand. It’s easy for us to see why, in a day before medicine, God would send people with “a rash … a fluid discharge, and everyone … [who had touched] a corpse” outside the tribe…

  • A PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 3:40-49; John 12:20-50; Psalm 5:1-12 When we feel downtrodden, it’s easy to lash out at those around us. Too often, caught in the injustice of our circumstances, we might begin to feel an unhealthy amount of self-justification. It’s difficult to see where the lines of right and wrong fall when anger and…

  • IT MAY SEEM BLAND

    Connect The TestamentsNumbers 3:1-39; John 12:1-19; Psalm 3-4 Let’s just admit it: genealogies and lists, like the one in Num 3:1–39, are the most boring elements of the Bible. But they do something for us that other formats cannot—they give us a sense of history and lineage. With a genealogy, we can do more than…

  • NEON GODS

    Connect The TestamentsLeviticus 26-27; John 10:22-42; Song of Solomon 8:10-14 Idolatry seems archaic. Who worships idols anymore? We all know that in other countries, traditional idol worship of gold and wooden statues still goes on, but we often forget about our own idols. What does all our furniture point toward? Why do we care who…

  • PATIENTLY WAITING

    Connect The TestamentsLeviticus 20:1-22:33; John 9:35-41; SONG OF SOLOMON 8:1-5 Delayed gratification is a foreign concept to our natural instincts. Our culture doesn’t encourage patience or contentment; we would prefer to have our desires met the moment they arise. The woman in Song of Solomon tells us that she is delighted in her beloved. She…

  • THE FEAR

    Connect The TestamentsLeviticus 17:1-19:37; John 9:13-34; Song of Solomon 7:10-13 We often don’t realize that we’re guilty of fearing others. At the time, it can feel definite and look legitimate. Fearing others can also take the form of a meticulous house, staying late at the office, or passing anxious, sleepless nights. When we hold someone…

  • THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

    Connect The TestamentsLeviticus 15-16; John 9:1-12; Song of Solomon 7:5-9 When it comes to the cost of sin, the average person probably thinks in terms of “What can I get away with?” rather than “What does this cost me and other people emotionally?” These calculations aren’t made in terms of life and death, but that…

  • GRACE AMONG THE GRAPHIC

    Connect The TestamentsLeviticus 9-11; John 7:53-8:11; Song of Solomon 6:6-10 “Then he slaughtered the burnt offering, and Aaron’s sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled it on the altar all around; and they brought the burnt offering to him by its pieces, as well as the head, and he burned them on the…