In Isaiah 55:8&9 we read these words: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” says the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” We see the truth of these words most clearly in […]
Living the Kingdom on Earth
The opening of Mark’s Gospel has many intentional allusions to the story of Israel’s Exodus from slavery to Egypt. Mark portrays Jesus’ ministry as a second Exodus from the powers of darkness such as sin and the demonic. The first allusion to the Exodus are the opening words of the Gospel which is a combined […]
In Mathew 16 we have a real turning point in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus intentionally takes His disciples to one of the most pagan places in all of Israel – Caesarea Philippi (verse 13). In this area we have the blatant worship of pagan deities like Pan. It is in this very dark place that […]
The 4 Gospels were originally written to 4 different audiences. The most Jewish of these original recipients was the one that received the Gospel of Mathew. It should not surprise us, therefore, that it was Mathew’s Gospel which utilizes the greatest number of Old Testament direct quotations and allusions. For example, after Jesus performed some […]
The last two Books of the Old Testament, Zechariah and Malachi, address issues that were pressing for the post-exilic community as they set down roots again in the Promised Land of Canaan. Zechariah was raised up, along with his contemporary Haggai, to encourage the returning Jews to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple. The exiles had returned […]
At the close of yesterday’s reading, the Book of Nahum was covered. The messages of Nahum were specifically addressed to Judah and Nineveh. and were preached somewhere between 663 and 612 BC. In 612 BC, the city of Nineveh fell to the Babylonians, in fulfillment of Nahum’s prophesy. What is noteworthy is that in the […]
Our reading today covers the Books of Obadiah, Jonah, Micah and Nahum. As we read these Scriptures, God’s heart for the Gentiles is very evident. In the short Book of Obadiah, the prophet exclusively addresses the people of Edom. Even though it is a message of warning, the LORD cares about the Edoms enough to […]
In today’s blog I would like to focus on the Book Amos. He was a prophet who earned his living as a shepherd and tending sycamore trees (Amos 7:14). He was from the village of Tekoa which was located 12 miles south of Jerusalem. He was from the southern kingdom of Judah but was called […]
As we near the end of our readings in the prophetic Books of the Old Testament, our respect grows for the integrity and sacrifice of the true prophets of God. In Daniel 10 and 11, Daniel received a prophetic vision which left him mourning and unable to eat for 3 weeks (Dan. 10:2,3). In the […]
One of my favorite biblical characters is Daniel. This man not only loved the LORD but he also knew how to serve his God in the royal courts of a pagan nation. In fact, Daniel served both in the Babylonian and in the Medo-Persian kingdoms for approximately 60 years. Daniel and his 3 friends (Shadrach, […]