2 Kings 23:1-20; 2 Chronicles 34:29-33; 2 Kings 23:21-28; 2 Chronicles 35:1-19; Nahum 1:1-3:19 One of the beautiful works of the Reformation was the emphasis on the fact that salvation comes through personal faith in Christ alone (sola fide). This is not something that reformers like Luther, Calvin and others fabricated but is found throughout the pages of Scripture. Israel has modeled for us king...  Read More

Jeremiah 5:20-6:30; 2 Kings 22:3-20; 2 Chronicles 34:8-28 We hear so many different sounds and words every day but many of them simply go in one ear and out the other. Today, we encounter three different ways we might respond to God's words when we hear them. The first possible response is to have “ears but do not hear” (Jeremiah 5:21) This is a common refrain throughout the Bible for those who he...  Read More

Jeremiah 2:23-5:19 When high schoolers apply to colleges, they often have a safety school. This is a college where they feel confident they will be accepted if all other options come to nothing. Judah began to treat God as a safety god. They had turned to a myriad of idols and only when those other options failed, they actually turn to God. Unlike a safety school that may be happy to still have th...  Read More

2 Kings 21:1-9; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9; 2 Kings 21:10-17; 2 Chronicles 33:10-19; 2 Kings 21:18; 2 Chronicles 33:20; 2 Kings 21:19-26; 2 Chronicles 33:21-25; 2 Kings 22:1-2; 2 Chronicles 34:1-7; Jeremiah 1:1-2:22 We probably all know someone who seems to be far from Christ. We may have been praying for this person for a long time, and even shared the gospel with them but were rejected. We may categori...  Read More

Isaiah 63:15-66:24; 2 Kings 20:20-21; 2 Chronicles 32:32-33 Who am I? This question of identity is central. If we had a stable family when we were young, we may have found our identity there, then after leaving home we may have tried to find it in a career or romantic relationship, but we were always trying to discover who we were. At the end of Isaiah we see where this issue of identity is addres...  Read More

Isaiah 58:1-63:14 One of the most common answers to how are you doing is, I'm fine. Literally, it is to feel that you are not bad or good, just okay. We, like Judah, may often find ourselves in this condition. If we think that we are fine, then we generally will not make any significant changes in our life. In the book of Isaiah, Judah had found itself unable to see the extent of their sin. They d...  Read More

Isaiah 52:13-57:21 What would you say if you were asked why Jesus is the Messiah? One of the key responses is that Jesus fulfilled prophecies in the Old Testament, many of which we read in Isaiah. Isaiah 52:14 tells us the servant's "appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness." Isaiah 53:3-5 "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man ...  Read More

Isaiah 48:12-52:12 There are several themes that stick out throughout today's reading: the sovereignty of God, the judgment of God, the suffering Servant, and the bounty of the Lord's favor—and not in that order. Israel, even during its captivity, remains God's chosen one—as we are reminded in the very first verse of today's reading. And who would not want to be the chosen one of the One whose "ha...  Read More

Isaiah 44:6-48:11 One of the things that proves God’ superiority is he knows the future. He is omniscient, so he knows all things. He also has foreknowledge, which means his omniscience includes events which have not yet happened. Often in Scripture we have God communicating through his prophets to reveal this foreknowledge. God says, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, w...  Read More

Isaiah 40:1-44:5 A conversation in a noisy restaurant can be an impossible task. You speak, the other person nods their head, but they probably do not understand. This must have been what the prophets felt, they spoke but nobody listened. Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah─not the glory days of Judah. Much of his ministry was to rebuke people for their idolat...  Read More

2 Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38:1-8; 2 Chronicles 32:24-31; Isaiah 38:9-22; 2 Kings 20:12-19; Isaiah 39:1-8 My heart seems to vacillate between a cry of, “O God, how I need you. Every hour I need you” to “I can handle this on my own.” This is ultimately a movement between humility and pride─the very same attitudes we see in Hezekiah's life. We saw humility in his prayer for salvation yesterday and his ...  Read More

2 Kings 19:1-19; Isaiah 37:1-20; 2 Chronicles 32:9-19; 2 Kings 19:20-37; Isaiah 37:21-38; 2 Chronicles 32:20-23 Hezekiah and Judah were surrounded by an army that was insurmountable. In the face of these overwhelming odds they turned to God. From their response I think we can learn two critical lessons. When we pray, we should remember we are praying to God. Hezekiah calls out to God and acknowled...  Read More