Fear gripped the heart of Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, when he heard of Joshua’s destruction of Ai and that the Gibeonites had entered an alliance with Israel (vv. 1-2). He knew that if the advances of Israel’s armies continued without challenge, Jerusalem would soon be surrounded and …
Chapter 11 is set around the same time as the events of Chapter 6. Daniel made a choice to support and strengthen King Darius the Mede in the first year of his reign (v. 1). This chapter contains detailed prophecy of events that were to take place in Israel for the next three hundred …
Thirteen qualifications are given for deacons (servants). The original intention for deacons was to help meet the physical needs of the church so that the pastors could "give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word†(Acts 6:1-4) …
Paul shares with Timothy three principles that will bring success in the ministry if they are followed …
Another shining example of Servanthood was Epaphroditus who also had a deep concern for his friends at Philippi (vv. 25-30). Since the church had sent Epaphroditus to bring gifts and money to Paul they probably intended for him to stay and assist Paul indefinitely. However, …
The question is asked, “Who is a wise man and equipped with knowledge among you†(v. 13)? Whoever is, will show that in his daily living that God is in control of His life. Godly wisdom produces meekness, which is power under God’s control. In this passage w …
The death of Stephen brought on a wave of persecution against the Jerusalem church (vv. 1-2). One of the chief perse¬cutors was Saul, from Tarsus (Acts 22:3), a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (II Corinthians 11:22), the “son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6) and a Roman citizen (Acts16:37). In fact …
It is interesting to note that people who deify human leaders often turn on them when those leaders do not submit and fit into the mold they have in mind for them. This is what happened as the crowd, which had just tried to make Paul and Barnabas gods, turned against them (vv. 19-20). They …
Earlier in Mark we saw the conflict of the Pharisees with Christ over the Sabbath. Now we see a clash over the traditional religious ceremonies. The scribes and Pharisees saw that Jesus and His disciples did not keep the traditions of the oral law in regard to washing their hands…
Peter wisely had taken some Hebrew Christians with him when he went to Cornelius’ house, because it was not long before he was to be confronted for ministering to Gentiles (vv. 1-3). When he returned to Jerusalem he was met by members of the strong legalistic party in the church of …