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

Isaiah 51:1-53:12; Ephesians 5:1-33; Psalm 69:19-36; Proverbs 24:7 Ephesians 5 tells us to be "imitators of God." Similarly, Romans 8:29 tells us to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. We can see some of the ways that should be exhibited in Ephesians 5 when we are told to love like him, pursue holiness like him, walk in the light like him, be wise like him, and even submit like him. Our lives ...  Read More

Isaiah 48:12-50:11; Ephesians 4:17-32; Psalm 69:1-18; Proverbs 24:5-6 Salvation. When the Bible speaks of God saving his people it can sometimes focus on immediate physical salvation from enemies like Babylon or Egypt and other times is focused on spiritual salvation from sin and judgment.In looking at salvation from sin, the Bible often zeroes in on the salvation that we have already experienced ...  Read More

Isaiah 45:11-48:11; Ephesians 4:1-16; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 24:3-4 In Isaiah 45 we are introduced to a person who will not live for another 100 years, yet the Bible calls him by name. King Cyrus will overthrow the Babylonian Empire and then allow some of the Jews in captivity to go back to Israel and rebuild Jerusalem. I tell our students that there are over 3,000 prophecies in the Bible, many ...  Read More

Isaiah 43:14-45:10; Ephesians 3:1-21;Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 24:1-2 Half of the uses of the word "redeemer" in the Bible are found in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah clearly wants us to see that God is the redeemer of Israel and, as seen through the rest of Scripture, he is our redeemer as well.The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology defines redemption as "the means by which salvation is achieved, namel...  Read More

Isaiah 41:17-43:13; Ephesians 2:1-22; Psalm 67:1-7; Proverbs 23:29-35 Advertisements are filled with before and after photos. They want to show you the transformation that can occur if you buy their product. Paul gives us this type of advertisement in Ephesians 2. He gives us the before picture of someone prior to coming to faith in Christ. They were dead, sinful, disobedient, deserving wrath, at ...  Read More

Isaiah 39:1-41:16; Ephesians 1:1-23; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 23:25-28 We are called to be different. Isaiah exhorts Israel to not be like everyone else. Those around them worship idols made of gold or wood, but Israel is called to worship the living, true God. They do not worship something their hands made; rather the One who made them. They are to be unique because of all that God has done for th...  Read More