When we get in touch with that kind of frustration over people we want to love, care for, and encourage but who respond only with rejection or manipulation, then we are able to understand God’s anguish over the nation Israel. Hosea 11 and 12 are two of the most moving, tender chapters in the Bible. … More A cord of compassion that slips around our wandering hearts
John Piper comments on Daniel 4:28-37 This is a story about a king, with a lesson for kings and presidents just as valid today as it was 25 centuries ago. But it’s also a story about every one of us. One way or the other we must learn this lesson or we will perish. And … More The Pathway from Pride of Self to Praise of God
Even when times were tough, God had not given up on His people. The book of Daniel is an encouragement that God has a future and a plan for His people, all His people. There are at least three statements in Daniel 1 which reveal the sovereignty of God (His control over men and creation). God … More Sovereignty of God in Daniel
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger on the second half of Job 9: Beginning in 9:25, Job describes his situation as a sign of God’s condemnation. “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy. They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey. If I say, … More If only there were someone to arbitrate between us….
John Piper, an Advent Poem from 1984 Ezekiel sat stunned and cold. The word that he had just been told Converted every large complaint He ever made into a faint Concern. No pain would be absurd, He thought, if this one word Of God could be withdrawn tonight, “I would engage in any fight For … More Ezekiel’s Wife
John 9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must … More Sovereign Sight
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger comments on Job 6 Job cannot take anymore. And so in 6:1-7:2, he responds to his friend. Eliphaz’s words do not bring Job comfort. Instead, they bring forth an emotional outbrust and protest from Job against the insinuation that there is some hidden sin in his life which has caused God … More Job Defends Himself
Exodus 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, [1] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s … More Are Exodus and Ezekiel in conflict?
What can we learn about God this month as we read through the book of Job? In chapter 1 we read: [Satan Allowed to Test Job] [6] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. [7] The LORD said to … More Learning about God from Job
Ray Stedman on Jeremiah 20-22: In our last study, in Jeremiah 20, we were, historically speaking, in the fourth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim in Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, for the first time brought his armies up against Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar made several expeditions against the city before it was finally overthrown … More Heavenly Genie or Sovereign Lord?
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 