For what do you wait?

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” (Ps. 39:7; NASB) The plight of Merhan “Alfred” Nasseri was an unusual one, to say the least. In 1988 he arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on a two-day trip, but without a visa. Apparently his Iranian passport was confiscated […]

Ready to worship?

“O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1; NASB) It was a simple question. We do not know the circumstances under which it was asked, but we do know the heart from which it came. David, the man whose life was patterned after the heart of […]

Day and night meditation

I am neither a farmer nor a rancher. Yet for at least two weeks during a couple of summers in my youth, I became a “temp” farmer, working on my uncle’s dairy farm. It was a time not only for a “city-slicker” to be exposed to some life realities, but also a fun time with […]

Look to the matter of your meditation

Transformation in the life of the believer begins with a renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:22-24). So what kinds of things should be the focus of the believer’s meditation so that his mind is daily transformed to the image of Christ? Stephen Charnock provides some answers [I’ve formatted this in a block paragraph […]

Understanding 1 Samuel

Recently we began reading 1 Samuel in our daily Bible reading plan. Here are a couple of charts that you may find helpful in understanding the book. The first provides an overview to the flow and theme of the book and the second offers a perspective of the relationships of the three kings of the […]

Understanding Joshua

Yesterday we began reading the book of Joshua. Here is a chart I produced a few years ago that may help you understand the theme and flow of the book:

It’s good to be hungry

“And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut. 8:3; NASB) […]

Understanding Deuteronomy

This week we began reading the book of Deuteronomy. In this book, Moses recounts for Israel the giving of the Law and recites the history of the nation in living Egypt so that they will not forget the truth that obedience to God is their singular priority (4:9, 23, 31; 6:12, 13-15; 8:11, 14, 19; […]

Understanding Numbers

The last couple of weeks, we have been reading the book of Numbers, which is one of the Old Testament books that people are prone to skipping or skimming because it is not readily understood. Because of that, I thought a chart of the book might be helpful to comprehending the contents and flow of […]

Your motive matters

Almost three decades ago, when I was a first or second-year seminary student, a retired pastor in our congregation pulled me to the side in the foyer one Sunday morning. “I have a question for you,” he said. And pointing his finger somewhat aggressively towards me, he asked, “why do you do what you do?” […]

Who decides?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been collecting articles that indicate moral dilemmas and debates in our culture. The spectrum of articles I’ve seen is broad. In January, the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision was marked. Those on either side of the debate are seemingly becoming more entrenched in their positions. The […]

Reading the Pentateuch

This year our church is following an Old Testament reading plan — reading through the entire Old Testament chronologically, along with two of the Gospels. So these first months of the year, we are in the first five books of the Old Testament — the Pentateuch. For many books of the Bible, I have put […]

Just as the Lord commanded

Obedience is hard. We tend to do “kind-of obedience” — the kind of obedience that moves towards fulfilling the spirit of the law, but not the letter. Full obedience? That’s rare. Obedience that is complete, exact, to-the-letter, joyful, and non-resistant is unusual. We cut corners — “that’s close enough.” So driving 73 (or 75 or […]

“I don’t do blood”

I don’t do blood. Those real-life operating shows on TV? You’ve never seen anyone flip channels so fast! Dissections in my high school and college biology labs? Someone else had to do them. Emergency room and intensive care visitations? They better be quick — I’ve had more than one hospital room start “spinning” on me! […]

Passover and communion

This morning I read again the account of the first Passover in Exodus 12. As Jesus makes clear (Mt. 26:2, 18-19; Lk. 22:15; see also 1 Cor. 5:7), there are obvious connections between the Jewish festival and the Christian church’s ordinance of communion. After reading the biblical account, I further refreshed my mind about the […]