[The man born blind] replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:25) Personal experience is hard to disqualify. People may tell you that what you experienced wasn’t real, but deep down, you know what happened. You know what to believe. When it comes to faith, personal experience is of utmost ... [Continue Reading]
The Great U-Turn (Jeremiah 1-3)
They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ (Jeremiah 2:27) If you were heading down a road that suddenly led you into a bad part of town, you might think about turning around because of the danger that you were about to be ... [Continue Reading]
Setting the Direction (1 Kings 15:25-16:34; 2 Chronicles 17)
[Nadab] did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit. (1 Kings 15:26) If you have children, then you, as a parent, have the responsibility of setting the direction for your family. Your kids take their cues from you, and the future and legacy of your family depends on the direction ... [Continue Reading]
On the Throne (1 Samuel 7-9)
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. (1 Samuel 8:6-7) God allows us to have things that are outside of His plans for our lives. Though He's omnipotent, He allows ... [Continue Reading]
Legacy (Deuteronomy 31-32, 34)
Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. (Deuteronomy 34:4-5) The end of Deuteronomy is both depressing and ... [Continue Reading]
Being Near to God (Exodus 32-33)
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here." (Exodus 33:15) The point at which God was not going to move forward with Moses and the Israelites into the Promised Land was the point at which Moses no longer wanted to move forward. The sins of the Israelites were huge: they had fashioned a false god out of gold, and the Lord ... [Continue Reading]
Join Me On a Journey
Starting today (August 4, 2013), I am reading through the Bible chronologically and blogging through my journey each day. I'd love for you to join me in this! If you'd like to participate, all you need to do is download a copy of the reading plan and read along. I will post each evening in response to the day's reading. Please feel free to comment on my blog posts and ... [Continue Reading]
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