Simple Deliverance
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 1; 2 Chronicles 19-20; Psalm 20 Sometimes, as we read daily, the reading is so simple that we wonder what we will glean from it. But simple does not mean that it cannot be...
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Today's Reading: 2 Kings 2-3; Psalm 48 Again, we are struck by the smallest of phrases in our reading. Jehoram, the king of Israel sets out to go to battle against Moab, and he asks for help from...
View ArticleWhy These Miracles?
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 4-6 In today's reading, we find a number of miracles performed by God at the hand of Elisha the prophet. There is the abundance of oil which saves the widow of one of the...
View ArticleAn Evil Alliance
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 7-8; 2 Chronicles 21 Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat became king after his father's death. Though his reign was relatively short, he managed to do much evil, and when he died,...
View ArticleA Good Start Gone Awry
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 9-10; Psalm 49 The story of Jehu is an exciting one. Commander of the armies of Israel under Ahab, Jehu is anointed king by a prophet of God, and he is instructed to carry out...
View ArticleA Godly, Heroic Adoption
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 22-23; Psalm 131 The story of Judah immediately following the death of King Ahaziah is frightening. Remember that Ahaziah had been killed because of his...
View ArticleA Troubling Departure
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 24; Psalm 50 Joash became king at 7 years old, and reigned for 40 years. Most of that time, he reigned very well, including a repair project in the temple. But...
View ArticleA Great Loving Father
Today's Reading: Joel On first look, the writings of the prophet Joel do not seem very happy. Judah is suffering from drought and famine because they have forsaken God, and they are about to be carried...
View ArticleGod In the Story of Jonah
Today's Reading: Jonah Usually when we read the story of Jonah, we tend to focus on Jonah (Jonah was running from God/Jonah was running to God/Jonah was running with God/Jonah was running ahead of...
View ArticleA Great Failure
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 13-14; 2 Chronicles 25; Psalm 53 As we read in 2 Kings, we see Amaziah become king after his father Joash died. He does well, walking in the way of the Lord, even though he...
View ArticleGod: Patient, Powerful, Capable of Vengeance
Today's Reading: Amos 1-3 Amos is a prophet of judgment. He speaks of times when God will avenge Himself against nations that have acted wickedly, and he details both the sins of those nations and...
View ArticleLife Is Not Fair
Today's Reading: Amos 4-6 Amos is a scary book. Perhaps what is most scary about it is that we can see modern times in it. For instance, have you ever heard (or even said), "Life is not fair"? That is...
View ArticleRejection
Today's Reading: Amos 7-9 Amos has had some tough things to say about the house of Israel, because they had forsaken God. But in chapter 7, even Amos pleads for mercy on Israel (vv. 1-6). Despite his...
View ArticleThe Love of God
Today's Reading: Hosea 1-3 It is, quite possibly, the most stunning object lesson in all of scripture. God sends his prophet Hosea to take a wife from among the prostitutes, knowing that she will...
View ArticleAwful Leaders
Today's Reading: Hosea 4-6; Psalm 58 Our reading today is filled with more of the coming destruction, particularly for Israel. They were being judged by God, and that judgment was fierce. But in the...
View ArticleGod's Great Love
Today's Reading: Hosea 7-10 Today's reading contains a classic case of action and reaction. The people have done something, and God is reacting to it. "Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall...
View ArticleThe Folly of Sin
Today's Reading: Hosea 11-13 Most of Hosea's prophecy has been dedicated to the destruction that was coming to Israel. That destruction came about because they rejected God and served idols. At one...
View ArticleNot Learning the Hard Way
Trying To Catch Back Up: This Reading: Hosea 14; 2 Chronicles 26-27; Psalm 61 The Bible never offers humor for the sake of being funny. Still, there are some things that strike us as humorous, and the...
View ArticleA Failure To Heed
Trying To Catch Back Up: This Reading: 2 Kings 15-16 In these chapters, we have the exact opposite of the previous reading. While Jotham learned from his father's error, his own son Ahaz failed to...
View ArticleForgiveness
Trying To Catch Back Up: This Reading: Isaiah 1-3; Psalm 9 Two amazing things jump out at me in this reading, both qualities of our great and glorious God. First, as He discusses the fact that He hates...
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