Genesis 11:1-26; 1 Chronicles 1:24-27; Genesis 11:27-31, 12:1-14:24 God's plan seems to be consistently thwarted throughout the Bible. God choose to work through Adam and Eve and they rebelled. God worked through Noah and his lineage, but their righteousness was short-lived. Today we see God choose to work through Abram who would become the father of a great nation. He promised an old childless ma...  Read More

Genesis 7:1-10:5; 1 Chronicles 1:5-7; Genesis 10:6-20; 1 Chronicles 1:8-16; Genesis 10:21-30; 1 Chronicles 1:17-23; Genesis 10:31-32 We should ask these critical questions as we read: 1) What did my reading teach me about God? 2) What did my reading teach me about myself/humanity? Today we discover the grace and justice of God. His justice is seen in sending a flood to destroy/cleanse a sinful wor...  Read More

Genesis 4:1-5:32; 1 Chronicles 1:1-4; Genesis 6:1-22 It is not hard to imagine the hopeful expectation that Adam and Eve must have had at the birth of their first son. Would Cain be the one to crush the head of the serpent and be their savior? He not only failed to crush Satan's head but would actually crush his brother's head in an act of murder. By the time of Noah, God saw "how great the wicked...  Read More

Genesis 1:1-3:24 The first two chapters of Genesis are like the beginning of a traditional roller coaster ride. These chapters take you up, up, up to see the grand, beautiful world God has made. You see God's hand creating a very good world. Yet like the rest of a roller coaster, chapter 3 takes us down a steep drop. We find ourselves plummeting toward disaster as Adam and Eve rebel against God. S...  Read More

Malachi 3:1-4:6; Revelation 22:1-21; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 31:25-31 What are you looking forward to next year? Are there things you are anticipating and eagerly expecting to happen? Do you have certain dates circled on your calendar and are counting down the days until they happen? Both the Old and New Testaments end with a call for people to look to the future and live with anticipation for wha...  Read More

Malachi 1:1-2:17; Revelation 21:1-27; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 31:10-24 Do you ever find yourself asking questions of God? Why did you allow this to happen? Why did you not act in a particular situation? We all have questions of God and some of them will not be answered until eternity, but we can always ask God anything.The people in Malachi’s day had lost sight of God’s love and so even when God t...  Read More

Zechariah 14:1-21; Revelation 20:1-15; Psalm 148:1-14; Proverbs 31:8-9 The Bible ultimately tells one story. 66 books that all tell the same tale. They speak of a loving God who wants to dwell with and rule over his people. This is our hope and this is the future of God’s people to live with God forever.Zechariah points us to this reality when he speaks of the day when “The Lord will be king over ...  Read More

Zechariah 12:1-13:9; Revelation 19:1-21; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 31:1-7 Our culture talks a lot about purity, but it is mostly relegated to food and the environment. We have long ago discarded the ideas of moral purity and instead talk about whether a food is organic, whole, or pure, or has lots of ingredients and chemicals added to it. Yet God is not concerned about the foods we eat but about wh...  Read More

Zechariah 10:1-11:17; Revelation 18:1-24; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 30:33 Where do all the blessings in your life come from? Can you take the credit for where you are or is someone else to be acknowledged? Are you to give ultimate thanks to things of this world or God?Revelation 18 pictures the destruction of Babylon, the city pictured as a woman in Revelation 17. The nations of the world are sadde...  Read More

Zechariah 9:1-17; Revelation 17:1-18; Psalm 145:1-21; Proverbs 30:32 Have you ever been in the middle of a book and wondered how it was going to end? You were trying to make sense of multiple storylines and trying to see how they were all going to fit together.  Sometimes reading the Bible can feel like that.Zechariah along with most of the prophets focuses heavily on God’s judgment upon sin. Yet ...  Read More

Zechariah 8:1-23; Revelation 16:1-21; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 30:29-31 Merry Christmas. As we consider Jesus’ coming to Earth we remember why he did this. He came so that we could have a relationship with God the Father. This has always been God’s desire, to dwell with his people, and through Christ, it was made possible.Zechariah 8 speaks to God’s heart to dwell with his people when he says, “I ...  Read More

Zechariah 6:1-7:14; Revelation 15:1-8; Psalm 143:1-12; Proverbs 30:24-28 It is Christmas Eve. Many of us will gather at churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We will reflect on his incarnation, humility, and his birth in Bethlehem. Yet Jesus is far more than simply a baby.Zechariah over 500 years before Jesus gives a glimpse of who Jesus is. In a vision, he sees Joshua who is called a branch, ...  Read More