Background: Jacob (Joseph’s father) has just died. Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. Gen...
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it...
But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood – idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! Revelation 9:20 NLT Comment A report a few years ago by UNICEF concluded that...
A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Proverbs 15:1 Comment How would you rate your communication? Excellent/Poor/Could do better? One thing we are not good at is passing on messages to each other. Last night I forgot to tell my husband to pick up our daughter 15 minutes earlier than usual. She wasn’t very happy and...
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am...
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you....
Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.” Matthew 11:25-26 MSG Comment The phrase that struck me here is ‘Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer….’ He didn’t say, ‘Let me get...
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years…. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body...
I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. Hosea 11:4 NIV Comment Ever feel tied down, tied up? Limited by your limits? I do. I chafe against all the restrictions that come day by day as I try to get work done, spend time with family, deal with my latest tech crisis and have a bit...
“How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” John 5:44 Comment The Bible show us that things go horribly wrong when instead of being obedient to God we do things to please and impress one another, to get recognition; when we seek ‘the...
