5–11 July 2015. Proverbs 7–8 (click to read). There are so many voices in today’s culture that encourage people simply to follow their heart. So many songs and movies tell us that the heart never lies, so we can depend on our hearts, depend on our feelings to guide us. While sometimes that can be […]
28 June – 4 July 2015. Proverbs 1:20–33 (click to read). When young Jewish boys turned 13, it was time for them to begin their religious studies, and Proverbs was one of their first text books. Written for children, it offered simple ideas to guide them through childhood, and presented the world in a simple […]
21–27 June 2015. Psalm 145 (click to read). Psalm 145 continues the theme of the universal praise of God that we have seen in many previous psalms. Here God is the royal and majestic king, the ruler of all things, and so he must be praised by all things forever, throughout all time. In verse […]
14–20 June 2015. Psalm 138 (click to read). Psalm 138 launches into a great hymn of praise to God, thanking and worshipping him for his wonderful love and faithfulness. Like many of the other psalms of universal praise (like Psalm 65 or Psalm 117), this psalm tells how the whole earth will join together in […]
7–13 June 2015. Psalm 131 (click to read). Augustine, one of the great fathers of the church, taught us that the root of all evil is pride. In the church, pride is certainly a danger for many Christians. This is especially so when we talk about knowing God. It is very tempting for us to […]
31 May – 6 June 2015. Psalm 124 (click to read). When we go through troubles and hard times in life, it’s so common for us to feel alone. How many times have you been facing difficult problems, and have just felt like there is no one who can understand what you are going through, […]
24–30 May 2015. Psalm 119:153–160 (click to read). As Psalm 119 comes to a close, the writer cries out to God, asking for his help. Like the writer, we too know that God loves and cares for us, and that he answers our prayers. But here the writer still reflects an older, Jewish understanding of […]
17–23 May 2015. Psalm 119:97–104 (click to read). Can you believe it? – we are still reading through Ps 119, through this writer’s incredibly long song of praise about the law! How can he love the law so much that he goes on for 176 verses about how great it is! It confuses us, because […]
10–16 May 2015. Psalm 119:41–48 (click to read). Psalm 119 offers a beautiful mix of prayer, testimony, and lesson. We listen in on the writer’s call for God’s help. But in his lament the writer also gives witness to God’s faithfulness, his “steadfast love” (v. 41), and he declares his intention to hold true to […]
3–9 May 2015. Psalm 117 (click to read). Even though Psalm 117 is the Bible’s shortest psalm, it deals with an immensely important topic: the universal praise God or, for us Christians, of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This praise must be universal because God is not just the God of tiny Israel; he is […]