The Two Wives of Esau Judith and Basemath only show up in one passage in the Bible. They are co-wives of Esau. First Esau marries Judith. She’s the daughter of a Hittite man named Beeri. Then Esau marries Basemath. She’s the daughter of another Hittite man, Elon. These marriages are a source of grief to […]
The Angel Gabriel Has Some Shocking News for Young Mary Luke 1:26–30 “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” (Luke 1:28) Back to Luke’s narrative, our story switches from foretelling the birth of John the Baptist to foretelling the birth of Jesus. Just as the angel Gabriel gave exciting news to Zechariah and Elizabeth, the angel […]
Apphia the Unknown In the second verse of the letter to Philemon, Paul mentions two obscure people, Apphia and Archippus. Some people speculate that because they are listed together they are marriage partners or ministry partners. While we don’t know for sure, what is clear is that Apphia is listed first. It would have been counter-cultural […]
The Mark of God Today’s passage: Revelation 7:1–8 Focus verse: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” (Revelation 7:3) Many people are familiar with the mark of the beast as revealed later in the book of Revelation, […]
From an Eternal Perspective, Few Beliefs are Nonnegotiable When it comes to what we believe, should we hold loosely our theology or grip it tightly? Our initial reaction may be that we need to maintain a firm grasp on the things we believe. But this may not be the best approach. When it comes to […]
When Paul writes to the church in the city of Colossi, he says he always gives God thanks when he prays for them. He doesn’t just give God thanks for them occasionally but always. This is because of their faith in Jesus and their love for all God’s people—not some of them or the ones […]
The Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1–13 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) Let’s start at the beginning. Jesus’s story doesn’t open with his birth. It doesn’t begin at the announcement of his conception. And it doesn’t […]
I enjoy nature and worship God through it, so a verse in Romans gives me pause. It talks about the error of worshiping created things instead of the Creator. I feel that I can worship God through my appreciation of nature, that I can better appreciate the intangible through the tangible. Yet this verse seems […]
Breaking the Seven Seals Today’s passage: Revelation 6 Focus verse: I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. (Revelation 6:1) Jesus has just been declared worthy to open God’s scroll, that is, to access the words on the sealed document. One by one, Jesus will break each of the seven seals that […]
The Simplicity of Jesus’s Salvation Message Seems Foolish and Offends Many It shouldn’t surprise us that the gospel is offensive, that the good news of Jesus offends people. Quoting God, the prophet Jeremiah writes that the word of the Lord is offensive to them (Jeremiah 6:10). Not only does this apply to the people in […]