Jeremiah 12:1-14:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 24:30-34 Waiting is not fun. Whether you are waiting for an upcoming vacation, birthday, celebration, Christmas, or something else it is hard to wait well. 1 Thessalonians is a book focused on waiting well for Christ's return. The ultimate hope of a Christian is grounded in the return of Jesus. As a part of his return, he will m...  Read More

Jeremiah 10:1-11:23; Colossians 3:18-4:18; Psalm 78:56-72; Proverbs 24:28-29 If we’re not careful, we conform to the ways of those around us. Their values become our values and their behavior becomes our actions. We see this again and again throughout the Scriptures and see it proclaimed in Jeremiah 10. Israel is told to “not learn the ways of the nations…for the customs of the peoples are worthle...  Read More

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26; Colossians 3:1-17; Psalm 78:32-55; Proverbs 24:27 We need to be honest about our situation in life. I was recently on a flight where a woman claimed to value God in her life but was traveling for the express purpose of committing sin. She said one thing, but her life revealed a different set of beliefs. It is therefore critical that we honestly assess where we are in life.Jeremi...  Read More

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7; Colossians 2:8-23; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 24:26 God functions like a GPS for our lives. When we navigate our cars in unfamiliar areas we often pull up directions on our smartphones so we can get to our destination. We follow the commands to turn right and then left at the next light and continue for 5 miles. Typically if we respond appropriately to the directions we will arrive...  Read More

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15; Colossians 1:18-2:7; Psalm 77:1-20; Proverbs 24:23-25 After so many years of enjoying God’s blessing and protection, the Jewish people have chosen to worship idols of wood and stone, forgetting to acknowledge God as the only true God.  Bad leadership and foreign influences combined with a deliberate choice to turn to other “gods” resulted in the people turning their backs on th...  Read More

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18; Colossians 1:1-17; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 24:21-22 We are forgetful people. When was the last time you misplaced your wallet, keys, or even a child as you were going about your day? Not only can we forget material things, but we can also forget God. Jeremiah tells Israel three times in this book that they have "forgotten" God. When Israel forgets God it is not that they don't ...  Read More

Jeremiah 1:1-2:30; Philippians 4:1-23; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 24:17-20 We are all good at making excuses. From a young age, we become extremely skilled at getting out of the work we have been told to do. Jeremiah tried this same path with God at the beginning of his book. When God calls him to be a prophet and speak to Judah, he replies by saying that he is not an effective communicator. He also ...  Read More

Isaiah 66:1-24; Philippians 3:4-21; Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 24:15-16 How easily we substitute religion for a relationship with God. Instead of seeking Christ and pursuing him, we can easily become consumed with religious practices. We think that church attendance, Bible reading, giving, or other external practices make us pleasing to God. We can easily believe that we can somehow earn God's love r...  Read More

Isaiah 62:6-65:25; Philippians 2:19-3:3; Psalm 73:1-28; Proverbs 24:13-14 A trip?  Who is going? Paul’s writing in this passage sounds similar to a travelogue of Timothy, Epaphroditus, and his future travel plans. However, this passage is much more than a trip.Paul commends Timothy and Epaphroditus for modeling self-sacrificing love to the Philippian church. Timothy had a genuine interest and unit...  Read More

Isaiah 60:1-62:5; Philippians 1:27-2:18; Psalm 72:1-20; Proverbs 24:11-12 Fast forward from Isaiah 61:1-2a to a Sabbath morning in the small village of Nazareth. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to the son of Joseph, the village carpenter. He unrolled it and read, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent ...  Read More

Isaiah 57:15-59:21; Philippians 1:1-26; Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 24:9-10 Today we begin the book of Philippians, a book centered on joy. This initially seems like a shocking central idea for a letter written by a man who is suffering in prison. Of all the circumstances that would seem to drain joy, being arrested and placed in chains would seem to be one that would kill joy. Yet throughout this let...  Read More

Isaiah 54:1-57:14; Ephesians 6:1-24; Psalm 70:1-5; Proverbs 24:8 We all run somewhere for comfort, peace, and rest when life gets crazy. For some of us we run to Netflix, to social media, to sports, to sleep, to shopping, to exercise, or any number of other things. Though these may provide us with momentary distractions (and are morally fine), they ultimately  cannot provide us with the true, last...  Read More