17–23 June 2018. 2 Kings 13–14 (click to read). Suddenly in 2 Kings 13, in the middle of a lot of fairly dry lists of all the different kings of Israel and Judah, we find a strange little story about the prophet Elisha. King Joash of Israel hears news that Elisha is about to die, […]
10–16 June 2018. 1 Kings 21–22 (click to read). When we face temptations, it’s easy to tell ourselves that this temptation is such a little thing and won’t have a big impact on our lives. It’s only afterwards that we see the terrible results that small temptation led us to. When King David first looked […]
3–9 June 2018. 1 Kings 9–10 (click to read). There was a popular belief among the ancient Israelites that the exotic people of Southern Arabia and Ethiopia were especially blessed with wisdom. Other nations may have great warriors or great riches, but the people from Sheba were famous for their wisdom. In 1 Kings 10, […]
27 May – 2 June 2018. 2 Timothy 4 (click to read). With sadness we come to the end of Paul’s second letter to Timothy as well as the final phase of Paul’s own life. Paul is now imprisoned, his friends and coworkers have abandoned him, and he is facing his coming execution. But despite […]
20–26 May 2018. 1 Timothy 3 (click to read). One of the most common temptations we face is the temptation to grab hold of power. Sometimes we want power because our pride pushes us to want to stand above other people and make ourselves feel greater than them. We think having power over others makes us […]
13–19 May 2018. Deuteronomy 28 (click to read). For a long time in ancient Israel, the text of Deuteronomy 28 was lost. 2 Kings 22 tells us that when it was rediscovered and read to King Josiah, the text was so shocking the king tore his clothes in despair. Even though this text doesn’t apply […]
6–12 May 2018. Deuteronomy 17–18 (click to read). Our lives are full of temptations. Some of us are tempted by popularity, by possessions and money, by power, or countless other things. It doesn’t matter whether we are great or small, pastors or lay people, men or women or children, we all struggle with temptations. That’s […]
29 April – 5 May 2018. Deuteronomy 5–6 (click to read). Which is the most important law in the Bible? If we had to answer that question, I think many people would choose one of the so-called Ten Commandments. Most people know those commandments very well, and we even find them written out twice in […]
22–28 April 2018. Colossians 1 (click to read). A few years ago, a church pastor excitedly came to me and told me that there was an old man here in Taiwan who had the gift of prophecy and speaking revelations. This church pastor was planning a trip for himself and his church elders to go […]
15–21 April 2018. Psalm 72 (click to read). Every day when we read the news we are confronted with a world full of problems. No matter where we look we see injustices and suffering, evil, hatred and violence. We know that this world isn’t perfect. But is there any hope? Of course there is. As […]