As I read this today, my attention was drawn to the first couple of verses of chapter four, where Paul talked about how believers, Christians, should walk in unity. The scripture says, “I beseech you…” Do you understand what “beseech” means? It means to ask someone urgently and fervently to do something; to implore; to…
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Why do you suppose Saul was hiding among the equipment when it was time for the people to see who it was that God had chosen to be their king? Doesn’t that strike you as an odd thing for Saul to do at this particular time? So get the picture. Samuel has already anointed Saul’s…
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At the end of our last reading in Ecclesiastes, the end of chapter 8, Solomon had said that after setting his mind on understanding wisdom, after watching what happens here on earth, he concluded that it is impossible for man to understand it all. And this is coming from the wisest man that ever lived….
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The first couple of chapters here in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians are a wonderful restating of the Good News, the Gospel, the message of how a loving God made a way to save his beloved creation from an eternity of separation from Him. If you are ever in doubt, come and read and reread…
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If you’ve been listening to my podcasts for any length of time, you know how how important I think grace is. What a marvelous and awesome (in the true sense of the word) gift is grace. To receive forgiveness and favor from a righteous and holy God, not through my efforts at all, but because…
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I think that what we can take from Solomon’s teaching here in Ecclesiastes is that wisdom, money, power and everything else that man strives for does not bring happiness or understanding or peace. Solomon had it all. But at the end of his life he realized that what God does is far beyond man’s understanding….
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Paul’s biggest concern with the Galatian church was that some believed the teaching of some false teachers that it was necessary to follow the Mosaic Law, and he said something in chapter five, verses two through four that was very important. Here are those verses again: “I, Paul, promise you that Christ won’t do you…
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Of course you’ve heard the phrase, “Be careful of what you wish for. You just might get it.” The Philistines wanted the Ark of the Covenant because it was known far and wide that the presence of the God of Israel was there. (Of course, from our perspective here in the 21st century, we know…
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These chapters, while not entirely inspiring, seem to be a *little* less hopeless sounding than the first two, don’t you think? There’s a lot here to think about, but in our limited time, I’d like to focus for just a moment on chapter four. Halfway through the chapter, Solomon talked about the man who works…
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Paul begins this chapter by telling the Galatians that they are foolish to listen to the false teachers who are telling them that they need to follow the Mosaic Law. And then he proceeds to tell them why God gave the Law. The Law was given, not as a way to earn a place in…
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