What is the Context Around Psalm 46? Else Is Happening? Commentators diverge on whether the phrase “of the sons of Korah,” which precedes this Psalm, means that they were the authors or that the Psalm was dedicated to them. Scripture tells us that King David appointed the sons of Korah to serve in the tabernacle as gatekeepers and musicians (1 Chro

Why Did Jesus Mean When He Said: "Physician, Heal Thyself?" In Luke 4, the Scripture shares about the temptation of Jesus. He was led by the Spirit into the desert, where Jesus stayed for 40 days. During that time, Jesus was tempted by the devil. At the end of those days, Jesus was hungry. As the devil tries to persuade Jesus to turn a stone into b

But none of it was enough. Over and over again, the people returned to sin. And no amount of blood from animal sacrifice could even begin to cover it.Adam’s curse was unavoidable, an intrinsic part of humanity. It would take a perfect man, a perfect sacrifice, something far greater than all of us, to overcome this curse.Enter Jesus.Jesus’ TriumphFo

It can be difficult to know if a certain decision is within God’s will. We can take one step at a time praying for direction. Isaiah 42:16 says, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them.” God will walk with us, taking our hand and leading us through the wilderness and to our own promised land.How

What is Happening in This Verse? The Prophet Isaiah directed this book to the nation of Judah. Written between 700 and 681 B.C., it was a plea to the people who had strayed from God. It contained a warning of disaster that God planned for His people if they remained unfaithful. The second section of the book is a hopeful prophecy about the restorat

What Is Noah's Ark? When we picture Noah’s ark, we often think of the nursery décor version – a tiny, round boat bobbing along with giraffe heads poking out the top. God’s blueprints for the ark, laid out in Genesis 6:14-16, describe something a bit different.The Lord told Noah to build a 3-story wooden ark with rooms inside and to coat it with pit

4. God Hears Our Worries“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1-2).God does not dismiss our worries or concerns, but He also does not want our anxieties to consume or overtake us. When we pray, God listens. God already knows

“And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.” (Acts 5:11)3. John: A Man Returned from the DeadHere’s an image that sends a chill down the spine: a man, dead three days and wrapped in cloths, rising from the dead and walking.This man, named Lazarus, happened to be a close friend of Jesus. Lazarus fell ill. Thoug

A final passage is in Romans 8:20-21. In this passage Paul says that the whole creation was subjected to frustration. This was done in hope that the creation itself would be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Many see this as referring to the created order being directly impacted by Adam

1. Choose Your Favorite Time and Place to Spend with God Read Psalm 1:2To strengthen your devotional time during the summer, I encourage you to find a time and place that works best for you. I am a morning person and I enjoy the stillness of the morning before my household wakes up and my day begins. If you have a limited amount of time, pick a tim

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. – Jude 1:23-24You are the bride of Christ and the Holy Spirit will help you until

1. A Prayer to Thank God for Being with Us “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).Gracious and loving Lord,Thank you for the seasons we can count on, find routine in, and that will never cease while the earth remains. As we enter into autumn, when the cooler w

Who Was Jeremiah? Jeremiah ministered for 40 years under Judah’s last five kings. The last king, Zedekiah, had Jeremiah thrown in a muddy cistern at the request of his officials (or princes.) They did not like Jeremiah’s prediction of Judah’s fall to Babylon and requested that Zedekiah have the prophet put to death. King Zedekiah, who had previousl

The Context of ‘The Lord Is My Banner’ in Battle To understand the concept of the banner let’s go to the first place in scripture where God is identified as “Jehovah Nissi,” which means, “The LORD is my banner.”The children of Israel were wandering through the wilderness on their way to the promised land when the Amalekites attacked (Exodus 17:8).

Through Elijah’s example, we can know what it looks like to faithfully serve God, even in wicked places.David Jeremiah also gives some examples of how we can learn from Elijah’s example on how to trust in God when faced with opposition. In the example of the prophets of Baal, he was outnumbered by the hundreds. Still, he exercised faith and his God

1. You Forget the Purpose of Prayer Too often people view prayer as drudgery. It’s something you have to do. It’s not that you really want to do it, but it’s part of the discipline of being a Christian. If you are in this place, I know how you feel. However, this is the wrong approach and the wrong understanding to bring into prayer.Prayer is all a

What Does Atonement Mean? Looking through the eyes and understanding of the world, the true meaning of atonement becomes somewhat diluted. One of the most basic definitions of this word can be found in the Cambridge Dictionary, which states simply that atonement is, “something that you do to show that you are sorry for something you did.”According

Living in a Fallen World How would you describe this present world? Scripture paints for us a very clear picture of its ominous and dire condition. Aside from being fallen, as we explained from Genesis, this world is also corrupt. “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the di

It can be difficult to say why God chose to use certain numbers more than others. Why twelve? Why seven? Humans can only make informed assumptions and hypothesize on this side of Heaven. Part of it is certainly that God is the first Scientist, the first Builder, and the first Architect. He is a God of logic, building a universe of certain rules and

Who Was King Saul? 1 Samuel 9 introduces Saul, at this point still living and working in his father’s household. Saul was the son of Kish, a Benjamite from, as Saul says, “the smallest of the tribes of Israel,” and the least of those clans (1 Samuel 9:21). Physically, he was “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and a head