You’ll remember that a couple of episodes ago, Peter had the vision of the cloth bearing previously considered unclean foods brought down from heaven. And angel of the Lord told him that these were now considered clean because whatever God creates is good. (My translation.) And then the Roman centurion sent messengers to bring Peter…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
In verse one of chapter 12 we read that King Herod had arrested some of the Christians in order to persecute them. And in verse two we read that Herod had James, the brother of John put to death with the sword. That’s all that is said about James. The narrative moves quickly to the…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
Chapter 15 spoke of the destruction of Moab. When Isaiah was given this message, Moab was fairly small, but it was a productive nation. You may remember from our reading of the book of Ruth that this is where Naomi went when there was a famine in Canaan. And yet, Isaiah says that it shall…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
In chapter 10 we read of a Roman centurion. A centurion commanded 100 soldiers, hence the title, centurion. This was not your average centurion. He loved God, as did his entire family. Most Romans worshipped a variety of gods, so this man was unusual, although he probably did not face much if any persecution, because…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
These two chapters are the prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. God gave this message to Isaiah about two hundred years before the events actually happened. It’s interesting to note that the Medes, who were the main instrument that God used to accomplish Babylon’s destruction, were not a great power…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
We started the reading today where we left off the last time we were in Acts. Stephen had been stoned to death because of his plain truth speaking to the religious leaders. Present at that stoning was Saul, and we’re told that he approved of Stephen’s punishment. Isn’t amazing how Jesus can change a person…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
There are several prophecies about the Messiah in the book of Isaiah, and chapter 11, verses 1 through 5 is one example of that. Verse one says, “The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
Remember that I told you a few episodes back that we should be bold and strong, and that we should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit when He tells us to speak up? Well, that’s what Stephen did, and he became the first Christian martyr. He spoke the truth. In answering the religious leaders,…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download
Ok, I’m all for modern English translations as long as the new translation makes the text easy to understand. But in the beginning of chapter 8 we have, what is to me, an excellent example of why we need to keep the older translations around. At the beginning of chapter 8, God tells Isaiah to…
Read MorePodcast: Play in new window | Download