Click for a PDF version Monday Amos 1:1 – 2:16 The Book of Amos (1:1) identifies Amos as an 8th century BC prophet, a contemporary of Isaiah. His message begins with comparing the LORD to a lion, roaring from Zion (v. 2). His roaring was directed toward Israel, the northern kingdom that had turned...
Click for a PDF version Monday Isaiah 13: 1-13 Joel is one of the few Old Testament prophetic books that contains no overt reference to its historical context. However, there are clues within the text that suggest it was written as early as the late 9th century BC and as late as the 5th...
Click for a PDF version Monday Hosea 9:1-3; Isaiah 1:16-21; 2 Kings 17:6-13 The Prodigal Son story is well-known, particularly in depicting the eagerness of the loving father (portraying God) to forgive and welcome the wayward son (representing repentant sinners turning to God) who had foolishly squandered his inheritance. As we anticipate Mother’s Day,...
Click for a PDF version Monday 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; 5:7 “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) How do you feel when a person tells you to “see your troubles as opportunities”? Paul was a man who constantly faced “opportunities” and wrote to the believers how he does not...
Click for a PDF version Monday Matthew 16:16-18; Ephesians 4:15-16; Revelation 19:7-8 Jesus is the reason for church. “I am building My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” —Jesus (Matt. 16:18) Paul said that Jesus’ Church is His Body with different members having different functions, working together to accomplish...
Click for a PDF version Monday 2 Timothy 1:1-7, 3:14-17; Acts 16:1-5 Paul’s last published epistle, 2 Timothy, was likely sent to his young protégé weeks before Paul’s Roman execution. This “swan song” encouraged Timothy to advance church-building and faithfully proclaim the Gospel. Timothy was grounded in biblical truth and right relationship with God—“from...
Click for a PDF version Monday Psalm 19:1-6; Job 9:5-10; Romans 1:20 My wife loves walks and hikes in the hills; so do my children and grandkids. I’ll join them periodically, sometimes begrudgingly. Given my wiring, however, I don’t always marvel in nature’s splendor and variety the way some do. I can overlook the...
Click for a PDF version Monday Luke 22:1-6 Judas | Betraying Christ It is difficult to not recall the events of Holy Week, the significance of the crucifixion, and the hope we have through the resurrection of Jesus Christ without contemplating His betrayal by Judas. That kiss recorded in three of the four gospels...
Click for a PDF version Monday 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 We are to “give thanks in all circumstances.” This includes the ordinary things of life which we so easily take for granted. For instance, I had two friends who were in good health who died in their sleep by heart attacks. Now, when I wake...
Click for a PDF version Solitude During the next week, set aside ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes a day for solitude at a time that works for you. It could be morning, over your lunch hour, during quiet moments after dinner or before you go to bed, or you might choose a more extended...
