While coming across Texas, I was given a ride by a Seventh Day Adventist. I said, “My friend, do you know why God gave the law?’ He looked at me a little puzzled. “First I want to read Romans 3:19, “We know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the […]
“In all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another.” —John Ruskin As we travel through the Psalms with devotional comments along the way, we’ll notice some helpful tools to make the most of our study. Right at the start, we want to ask: What are some components that distinguish […]
“We…do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, […]
Christian Science: founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879, now lists 2,000 congregations in 80 countries. Eddy was raised Congregationalist but reacted against the Calvinistic view of predestination. In 1866, she fell on ice and reportedly was severely injured (denied by her doctor under oath), but attributed her recovery to “spiritual healing.” She determined to […]
Like the future remnant of Judah (“Praise”), may we all “take root downward, and bear fruit upward” (Isa 37:31). Does it encourage you that, whatever lies ahead in this book, the first word we meet is “Blessed”? In its plural construction, it’s often used as an exclamation. We might translate Psalm 1:1 as, “O the happinesses of the man […]
“Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes” (Ps 119:12). What would our private Bible studies be like if, every time we opened the Scriptures, this request was both prayed and realized? Our own personal Tutor—and to think He is the Author and Subject of the Book as well! He reads us like a […]
In the beginning God made man in His own image, so close is grandeur to our dust. Before the beginning of the Christian era, minds like Plato’s felt that man was made to be intimate with God. But Jesus revealed a move from the other side. He expressed God’s great desire to be intimate with […]
Like varied threads that traverse a weaving, these five themes appear time and again in the Psalms. It’s helpful, especially on a long journey, to watch for important landmarks. They make the trip more interesting and mark our progress on the way. As we begin our study of the Psalms, let’s anticipate the themes that […]
“The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory” (1 Sam 2:7-8). Britain’s Queen Mary was known for her touch of humanity. On […]