The Blog

Read Jeremiah 28:1 through 30:24 Jeremiah actually witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He watched as thousands of his fellow citizens were taken into captivity by the cruel Babylonians. After they went into exile, Jeremiah sent a letter to the Babylonian captives. He told them their freedom wouldn’t come immediately, but after seventy years they would be able to …

Read John 6:1 through 7:53 Legendary coach John Wooden of UCLA fame used to tell the story of how a basketball team is similar to a car. Some players were incredible engines, like many of the Hall of Fame players he coached. Others were like wheels, and still others were like lug nuts. They weren’t all the same. Each player had …

Read John 4:1 through 5:47 One can only imagine the scandal in Jesus’ day. Here He was, a Jew, mingling with a Samaritan woman at a well. It went counter to the cultural norms of their times, and she told Him so. But Jesus didn’t always go where others thought He should go. He didn’t always behave like they thought He …

Read Isaiah 58:1 through 66:24 The Messiah’s mission is proclaimed in Isaiah 61. Jesus quoted these words in Luke 4:18–19. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness …

Read Isaiah 44:1 through 48:22 Isaiah began ministry in the year King Uzziah died, 739 BC. During Isaiah’s lifetime, Assyria was the main threat, not Babylon. No one had any idea that Jerusalem would be destroyed and its people hauled into captivity in Babylon. That would not happen for more than a century! Yet Isaiah prophesied that God would prepare …

Read Isaiah 28:1 through 30:33 Before the advent of global positioning system naviga­tional help, drivers relied on maps and road signs to get somewhere unfamiliar. Many times, a motorist will write down the verbal directions someone gives him, and off he goes. A little farther down the road, he may start to question whether or not he heard correctly or if …

Read Isaiah 5:8 through 7:25; 2 Corinthians 8:1–24 Walking down the street, Mandy passed several strangers. At an outdoor café, an elderly couple sat sipping coffee as they watched passersby. Coming out of a store, a young mother balanced a crying toddler and her recent purchases. Stopping at a red light, a carload of teenagers screamed lyrics with the blaring …

Read Amos 1:1 through 4:13 “What’s in a name?” Shakespeare posed that question in his tragedy Romeo and Juliet. As it turns out, names can be important. In business and social circles, it often matters who you are—and who you know. He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to …

Read Philippians 1:1–30 It has been suggested that Philippians was Paul’s love letter to the Philippian church. Although he was a prisoner at the time it was written, his letter radiates his personal joy in the Lord as well as his love and appreciation for the Philippian believers. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy …

Read Ecclesiastes 1:1 through 4:16 Gabe worked hard every day, enduring the unreason able demands of his boss. Gabe’s family had what many considered the American essentials: a house, two cars, a computer, smartphones, plenty of playthings, and an annual vacation. They also had ongoing bills and increasing dissatisfaction with life. No matter what new gadget or experience they acquired, they …