So, Moses receives ten commandments from God and teaches them to the people. God gives other directions and instructions, too, which Moses also passes on. But the people begin to disregard and forget God and what he told them to do. This displeases him, so eventually, he sends a series of wake-up calls, first in […]
God’s Promises to Us Reveal His Character The Bible talks a lot about covenants. In a generic sense a covenant is an agreement or compact. But in the Bible, it takes on an elevated meaning. In Scripture a covenant is a promise from God to his people. There are two types of covenants. One is […]
Discover How One Person Can Make a Difference In the book of Ezekiel, God said he looked for one person who could make a difference. One person who could build up the wall and stand in the gap for his people. But God could find no one. What if he had found someone? Instead of […]
God Won’t Strike Us Dead If We Question Him Many people in the Bible question God. These aren’t fringe malcontents. They’re some of our favorite Bible characters and, I suspect, some of God’s favorite people too. They include Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and even Jesus. I can’t recall a single verse where God strikes […]
Hezekiah and Moses Plead with God for a Different Outcome In Isaiah we read about King Hezekiah. The king is sick, and Isaiah comes to him with a dire message from God. Through Isaiah, God tells Hezekiah to put his affairs in order because his illness is fatal. Death looms. Though few of us would […]
God Makes a Similar Promise to Moses In the book of Genesis, we meet Abraham. God takes a special interest in Abraham and gives him a bold promise. He pledges to make Abraham “into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2, NIV). What makes this promise even more incredible is that Abraham is seventy-five years old and […]
A Personal Essay About Encountering God, Prayer, and Hiding in a Prayer Tower The afternoon assignment at a writers retreat is to take a walk and describe our observations. Leaving the rest of the group in search of some needed solitude, I come upon a sign that simply says, “Prayer Tower.” I can’t ignore the […]
The Root Cause of Conflict is Our Egos, Even When We Hide Our Agenda by Citing Scripture In Numbers 12 we see a story of sibling rivalry, one at a spiritual level. Moses, the leader of the Israelites, is confronted by his sister, Miriam, aided by his brother, Aaron. The two pair up to oppose […]
Telling the Truth May Not Be Absolute The descendants of Jacob (Israel) are enslaved in Egypt. They are prolific and their captors fear their growing numbers. To curb their population explosion the king of Egypt commands the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill every baby Hebrew boy as he is born. They do not. They […]
Look for Ways to Honor God In his letter to the Christians living in Rome, Paul talks about people who attempt to live life according to a bunch of religious rules, that is, the law. The result is that God is disrespected, not so much by the people themselves, but by those on the outside […]