"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread." (Isaiah 8:12-13) These are distressing days, but this is nothing new. In 249, a plague broke out in the Roman Empire. It lasted for over 10 years. At one point,...

"In the path of your judgments,OLord, we wait for you; your name andremembranceare the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night;my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth,the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:8-9) In Isaiah 26, the faithful were encouraged to sing a song about how the LORD would...

"Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." (Romans 12:13) On June 13, 1525, Martin Luther and a former Catholic nun named Katherine von Bora married. On their wedding night, Andreas Karlstadta frequent adversary of Luther'sshowed up at their door. He had been fleeing a recent battle in the Peasants' War and was seeking shelter. What do you think...

"So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech." (Ruth 2:3) Ruth chapter 2 is a story focused on God's providence, even in the apparently mundane and insignificant. After returning to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Ruth told Naomi in chapter 2:2, ...

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'" (John 6:35) When I lived in Ukraine, my apartment was right down the street from a bakery. Every morning, I woke up to fresh, scrumptious bread. It was warm and soft, and it melted in your mouth. It was delicious, and it was a regular staple...

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you." (1 Peter 5:6) The Pax Romana was a period in Roman history beginning with Augustus Caesar in the 1st century BC. It was a time where regional wars subsided, the empire expanded, and there was a general improvement in the standard of living throughout the realm. This p...

"And he said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.'" (Mark 4:26-28) Parables can be described as earthly stories with heavenly messages. They include elements of e...

"After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged IsraelAfter him Elon the Zebulunite judged IsraelAfter him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel." (Judges 12:8, 11, 13) The judges of Israel were those raised up by God to deliver the nation, post-Joshua and pre-Saul. Many of these judges we know very well because so much of the book is devoted to them. In chapters 6-8...

"Blessed be the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer." (Ruth 4:14) "Life is hard." People like Katharine Hepburn, Bob Dylan, John Wayne, and Sigmund Freud all uttered these words. It is a fact we know too well. Sometimes life is hard because of the choices we've made. An ill-chosen word can bring strain to a relationship. A click on the mouse can lead us to become...

"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." (Ecclesiastes 7:2) This week, the Evangelical world mourned the death of Christian Apologist Dr. Ravi Zacharias. For decades, he faithfully contended "for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3). ...

"Do not love the world or the things in the world." (1 John 2:15) In John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Vanity Fair is described as an old place, but you wouldn't know this by how it looked. There was a lot of freshness and opulence. Merchandise and games filled the streets, but so did moral decay. Thievery, adultery, and deceit characterized it. It was where many weary tr...

"But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother." (Galatians 4:26) In 1515, when John Calvin was six years old, his mother passed away. However, during the few short years they had together, his mother's service and piety made a significant impression upon him. She was a woman of deep religious devotion who was committed to nourishing, comforting, and helping Calv...

"Say not, 'Why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.'" (Ecclesiastes 7:10) "What will life be like after COVID-19?" It is a question many have asked, and the answer is somewhat evasive. We simply don't know. Perhaps wearing face masks will become standard wear or handshakes and hugs will be less common. It could be that vario...

"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 12:3-4) Last time we considered the questions, "What do we do when we are weary? What do we do when we are spiritually sapped because hardship's heat is ...

"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Hebrews 12:3-4) Years ago, I ran the Peachtree Road Race. Everything was going well until "Cardiac Hill." It's a steep incline in front of Piedmont Hospital. It ...

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) When thinking about John Bunyan, we often remember him as the writer of Pilgrim's Progress or well-known Puritan preacher. However, did you know he was also a tinker? This means he traveled around fixing pots and pans. He carried 17th century kitchenware and tools, as well as a 60-pound anvil,...

"Casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 The Apostle Peter wrote these words to a struggling church. In addition to the difficulties of living in the first centuryplagues, barbarians, and recessionsbelievers also were being persecuted. Their anxieties were many. In the face of trying times and uncertain futures, what does Peter tell them t...