Do Not Despise the Word

Read Revelation 22:12-17 … When one reads the Proverbs, the wisdom that is presented is often presented in contrasts, opposing thoughts that make the truth easier to understand. The proverb recorded at 10:11 is a perfect example – “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” The …

Calling on the Name of the Lord

Read Acts 2:16-21 … Long before the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the prophet Joel was looking forward to a time when the glorious reign of the Messiah would come to full flower in this world. Joel speaks of a time in the future when God will “pour out My Spirit on all …

That Which is Perfect

Read 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 … 1 Corinthians 13 is nestled between two chapters on the presence and use of spiritual gifts. In Chapter 12 Paul reminds the Corinthians that the Church is a body and as such, not all the parts have the same function or the same prominence, but the manifestations of the Spirit …

Miriam

Read Numbers 12:1-15 … Miriam has a prominent part in the OT record by being one of the two that stood by Moses – the other, of course, was Aaron. Often the women of the OT are somewhat subdued in the storyline, but Miriam is among those that stand out because of the part they …

A Question of Authority

Read Matthew 21:23-27 … The final week of Jesus’s life starts with His triumphal entry into Jerusalem – riding a donkey into the city to the cries of “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9). This is one of …

The Two-Drachma Tax

Read Matthew 17:24-27 … There is a paragraph at the end of Matthew 17 that describes an encounter between those that collect the temple-tax and Peter while in Capernaum. This tax was instituted long before Peter by Moses as a “ransom” for the lives of the Israelites that had come into the land of Canaan; …

Guilty or Not Guilty?

So, a while back I was sent a summons for Jury Duty. Yuck, right? Well, when I was finally selected to be considered for a jury and we were being examined by the Defense Attorney this question came up: “Do you think you could convict a man of murder knowing that the death penalty could …

The Wisdom Literature

“The Wisdom Literature,” written by Richard J. Clifford, is an examination of the wisdom literature that appears in both the typical Protestant canon of the Scriptures and the Apocrypha. The books that are classified as part of the wisdom genre are generally included because of their association with Solomon and the common themes and styles …