J.C. Ryle on Mark 6:5-6 (today’s reading is Mark 6:1-13) And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Two remarkable expressions are used in teaching this lesson. One is, that our Lord “could do no mighty … More Ryle: Let us watch our own hearts
Sam Storms comments on Psalm 84 (our passage for today) and Psalm 63: Some people are terrified of appearing needy. Obsessed with their public image and how they are perceived, they put on a false front of self-sufficiency and self-reliance. Not David! That’s one of the things I admire most in the author of so many … More A relentless and chronic ache for joy
In our read through the Bible plan, today we come to Judges 6-7 and the story of Gideon. Here is a section from a sermon by John Piper: “The Gideon Venture,” when the church was considering a building project, sending out part of the congregation to plant a new church, and doing all of this without … More Piper: “God’s Gideon Plan”
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as … More “Life is not a game with no lasting consequences.”
In Mark 5:21-43 we read that Jesus healed two different women, one a young girl and one who had suffered for years with a disease that doctors could not cure. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” J.C. Ryle’s insightful comments: … More Ryle: Just the Savior that human nature needs
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. —Psalm 83:16-18 Charles H. Spurgeon, at The Treasury … More Humbled by His mercy
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord! “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. —Judges 5:1-3 … More Recounting His greatness and responding in praise
Bob Deffinbaugh, “When a Right May Be Wrong,” at Bible.org, helps us understand 1 Corinthians 9:1-12. Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 9 sheds new light on the matter of pleasing God. Pleasing God does not result from merely keeping the rules. Pleasing God comes from personal sacrifice, for the glory of God, the good of others, and … More Pleasing God vs following a rule book
And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains … More Tell them how much the Lord has done for you!
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue … More Even the judgments of our most impartial judges will be revised by the High Court of heaven
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 