Priority

Jesus at the home of Mary and Martha

Lazarus probably died about the same time the messenger arrived to tell Jesus about his sickness (v. 17). Since Palestine is a warm climate and decomposition sets in quickly, a person was usually buried the same day he died. Therefore, Lazarus had been placed in a tomb. Since Bethany was …

The command to build God’s house

The opening verses of Haggai delivered a message by the prophet, from the Lord, to a nation who had failed to rebuild the temple. The Jews who had returned from Babylon in 538 B.C. to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem were not able to finish their job because they were hindered by …

Solomon Prepares to Build The Temple

Hiram, King of Tyre, located on the Mediterranean Sea north of Israel, sent his envoys to pay his respects to Solomon the new King. Hiram had been an ally and friend of King David and had supplied materials and laborers to build David’s palace (II Sam. 5:11). Now Solomo …

No Substitute For a Pure Heart For God

Beginning with verse 17, Jeremiah lists three separate pronouncements.: God called for the professional mourners (wailing women) to lament for Jerusalem. “The “skillful wailing women” refers to women wise or skillful at mourning. Jeremiah urges these women to wail …

Asa Continued His Reform Efforts

Asa was the fifth king of the House of David and the third of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the son of Abijah, and great-grandson of Solomon. Azariah the son of Obed, a prophet of the Lord went to meet Asa and challenged him to remain true to the Lord so he could continue to enjoy the …

IllustrationWhere’s Harry?

A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under an eight-point buck. “Where’s Harry?” he was asked. “Harry had a stroke of some kind. He’s a couple of miles back up the trail.&q …

IllustrationCarey – Six Faithful Partners

William Carey, the Father of modern missions told his churches, If you will hold the ropes, I will go down to look for the lost.” He started out with only six supporters but ended up staying 47 years in India and setting in motion the entire modern missionary movement …

IllustrationBill McCartney Evaluates His Priorities

Bill McCartney retired as the head coach of the Colorado football team several years ago. His reason for retirement was not because he was unsuccessful as a coach. His teams had won the national championship. They had been in the top 10 many times. McCartney said that he was re …

IllustrationD.L Moody Begins to Concentrate on Evangelism

It was in 1873, in Dublin that D. L. Moody heard British evangelist Henry Varley utter those life changing words: “The world has yet to see what God can do with, for and through a man who is …