Isaiah 19:1-21:17; Galatians 2:1-16; Psalm 59:1-17; Proverbs 23:13-14 When I was barely a teenager, a friend came over and negatively influenced me to prank someone through AOL instant messenger. I was soon caught. And since this broke a family rule with regard to appropriate internet usage, my mom took away my internet privileges for an entire week. I was outraged.  How dare my mother infringe on...  Read More

Isaiah 15:1-18:7; Galatians 1:1-24; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 23:12 Everyone needs salvation. No one is born saved, rather we are all separated from God and in need of the life that is only available in Jesus. Isaiah 15 begins to move from Israel, Babylon, and Assyria, to other places like Moab, Damascus, and Cush to show that everyone will ultimately fall under judgment. This is the same argument t...  Read More

Isaiah 12:1-14:32; 2 Corinthians 13:1-14; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 23:9-11 Isaiah's description of judgment uses the term "day of the Lord" (Is.13:9). This is a technical term for a specific day of judgment which is used 30 times in the Bible. In Isaiah 13 it speaks of the day God would bring judgment upon the nation of Babylon. He would come upon them for their sin and horrific treatment of Israel...  Read More

Isaiah 10:1-11:16; 2 Corinthians 12:11-21; Psalm 56:1-13; Proverbs 23:6-8 If we try to be the hero of our own story we will inevitably fail. Israel had distanced themselves from God and from an earthly perspective were doing well, but Isaiah asks them, “What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?” (Is. 10...  Read More

Isaiah 8:1-9:21; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 23:4-5 The most important thing for everyone to deal with in life is God. Our response to God determines not only our lives now but also our eternal destiny. Isaiah tells Israel that judgment in the form of an Assyrian invasion is coming upon them because of their sin. They have failed to look to God, so God will come against them in ...  Read More

Isaiah 6:1-7:25; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 23:1-3 Today’s passage in Isaiah destroys the popular notion there is merely a god in heaven who wants us to be happy and feel good about ourselves. Isaiah’s encounter with God utterly overwhelms him; entering the presence of the most holy God shatters his understanding of self. The only physical feature of the Lord Isaiah describ...  Read More

Isaiah 3:1-5:30; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 22:28-29 Can jealousy ever be a good thing? In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul speaks of the "godly jealousy" which he has for the church. This jealousy he compares to that of a marriage. As a wife should expect her husband to remain committed to her, so Paul says the church should remain committed to God.This language of jealousy is used for...  Read More

Isaiah 1:1-2:22; 2 Corinthians 10:1-18; Psalm 52:1-9; Proverbs 22:26-27Isaiah starts the portion of the Bible called the prophets. The prophets are typically divided into major and minor prophets.  This has nothing to do with their significance but rather the length of their books. The major prophets consist of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel; the minor are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, ...  Read More

Song of Solomon 5:1-8:14; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Psalm 51:1-19; Proverbs 22:24-25 Love is powerful. What we love shapes our hearts and our lives. The things we love draw our attention, energy, and time. So what is it that we love?Song of Songs describes the power of romantic love. We see the woman chasing after her man and longing for him. Similarly, we see a man who is willing to sacrifice everyth...  Read More

Song of Solomon 1:1-4:16; 2 Corinthians 8:16-24; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 22:22-23 We begin Song of Songs today. It is a book focused on the beauty of marital/romantic love.We have a tendency as individuals and as a culture to do one of two things with romantic love. The first and predominant view is the Disney perspective. It is to conceive of romance as the pinnacle of love. It is to think that o...  Read More

Ecclesiastes 10:1-12:14; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 22:20-21 What gives our lives meaning and value? Is it the number of our accomplishments, our many possessions, or the size of our bank account? Today’s scriptures challenge us to examine what gives our lives true meaning and significance.The writer of Ecclesiastes comes to the end of his quest to find true meaning and value ...  Read More

Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18; 2 Corinthians 7:8-16; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 22:17-19 Solomon continues in Ecclesiastes by looking at life from a strictly earthly perspective. Viewing life as only our eighty or so years on earth, there are certainly things which are more enjoyable than others. It is better to have a happy marriage than one filled with conflict, it is better to have money than to live in p...  Read More