Who made David do what he did?

Late in David’s life, he make a foolish and sinful decision. You would expect a man to mature with age and his decision-making to become more God-honoring the older he gets, and in some regards, that was the way David lived. But not on this day. As David prepared to transition the kingdom of Israel […]

Founded on the gospel

I almost missed it. This morning, my Bible reading began in 2 Chronicles. And there, tucked into the account of the construction of the Temple in Israel was a little gem of grace that I just about skipped past. And then my rememberer worked. Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in […]

Humbled by grace

Followed relentlessly by police officer Javert, Jean Valjean finds himself with a unique opportunity: another man has been accused of his crimes and is about to be convicted. And if the innocent man is convicted, Valjean will be free. The dilemma is, can he allow another man to be unjustly accused and imprisoned for the […]

Two thoughts while reading Chronicles

This morning I began reading the two books of the Chronicles again. When reading these books, it’s easy to have your eyes become glassy and your mind distracted as you read name after name of unknown people. How can I read these verses in fresh ways so that the Lord uses this morning in redemptive […]

Reading Chronicles

This morning we begin reading the book of 1 Chronicles. Often this book is pointed to as one of the more difficult to read because of its lengthy genealogies; moreover, many fail to see the relevance of both books of Chronicles. Even while reading these lengthy lists of names, we do well to remember that […]

Too much success

He had all the trappings of 21st century, American success. He was a master builder — massive revitalization projects produced much income and resources for a struggling city. He was a motivating leader — thousands of men served underneath him and gladly followed him. He was a successful soldier — he led his nation out […]

One more thought about genealogies and history…

In writing the previous post about genealogies, I came across the following statement from John Piper. It is a reminder not only of the sovereignty of God over the course of our individual lives (our genealogies), but over the course of all history: The past is a record of setbacks and how people coped with […]

Why genealogies?

We are in the midst of about 10 days of reading through the book of First Chronicles. Reading through endless lists of names that are difficult to pronounce for the English-speaking tongue and without having any references to any story to the majority of those names makes one wonder: just why does God list these […]