In our passage today we look at three parables of Jesus, and each parable contains a paradox about God’s Kingdom. A paradox is simply a statement or idea that appears to be contradictory. A Lamp (4:21-23) – Even though God’s kingdom came to our world concealed, God wan …
The city gate was where merchants and politicians conducted business, so the 25 men may have represented the nation’s rulers (vv. 1-4). Because of their leadership positions, they were responsible for leading the people astray. They had wrongly said they were secure from …
In this passage we have the most famous conversion story in history. We have reached a turning point in the Book of Acts. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who was the leading persecutor of Christians, was perhaps the greatest event in Church history after Pentecost. Here we find a man …
This is John’s approach in writing to Christians. Instead of listing the evil characteristics of Satan’s children, he gives us a clear description of God’s children. The title “sons of God” is an honor bestowed upon those who have a right relationship to God. This relat …
The people of Judah offered all the correct sacrifices, but they failed to obey God and to walk in His ways (vv. 21-29). Verse 22 is not to be understood as a denial that God commanded the sacrifices to be made. Rather it is an argument against substituting sacrifice for obedience …
Nobody can hope to have any real guidance unless he is willing to spend time in the Word of God (vv. 12-14). David says that the Lord rescues him from every trap (v. 15). When he is lonely and troubled the Lord has pity on him (v. 16). It is evident that as he is writing this psalm he is in …
We find in these verses a strong warning against taking advantage of the poor (vv. 22-23). The Lord is on the side of the weak and helpless and will bring judgment on those who take advantage of those who are needy. Next, we have a warning against being a friend or even associating with a …
Believer are called to suffer. We shouldn’t fear men or circumstances, but instead we should consider it a high privilege to suffer (vv. 13-14). God is working in our lives to teach us something. Just as parents discipline their children to teach them, so God sometimes disciplines believer …
The nation acknowledges that God has tested them with all kinds of burdens and oppressions, but He has finally brought them to a place of abundant blessing. Israel is a nation that has been hated and hunted but impossible to exterminate. For thousands of years the history of the …