After his introduction, Paul begins to lay it all out on the parchment. But instead of starting with the good news of “salvation,” he actually starts with the bad news. Why? Because good news doesn’t sound so good unless you hear the bad news first. Here’s the bad news: People are and were refusing God.Continue reading “Romans (entry 2)”
Category Archives: Bible Commentary
Romans (entry 1)
Romans is arguably the best known letter of the New Testament. I’ve heard it takes some pastors years, almost decades to preach through it. I’ve seen commentaries on the letter that are bigger than the Bible itself. Why? Because some people are just crazy. But also because it’s the go-to letter for big doctrines, forContinue reading “Romans (entry 1)”
Acts (Entry 2)
I mentioned in the last post: I can’t help but feel sorry for Paul. Just like Joseph in Genesis, he’s left to sit and rot in prison. A man of tremendous accomplishment, with much more potential and talent to reach the masses, is sitting still in shackles. This situation reminds me of Nelson Mandela orContinue reading “Acts (Entry 2)”
Acts (Entry 1)
For Acts, I switched to recap posts, rather than chapter by chapter. I completed the book of Acts during the month of January. I am continually amazed at how stories slow down and speed up in the Bible. Here’s what I mean by that: The book starts slowly. The way I understand it, chapter 1Continue reading “Acts (Entry 1)”
GRAMMATEUS
GRAMMATEUS means scribe or writer in Greek. For us, GRAMMATEUS was a monthly publication that we created during the year of 2013. Each publication included a few articles and some artwork, by myself and a few of my friends. The articles fit in the following categories: biography, theology, technology, history, or art. The artwork, along withContinue reading “GRAMMATEUS”
Jeremiah 39-40
I am stuck on these two truths: The Lord punishes the wicked and upholds the righteous. The Lord does whatever He pleases. King Zedekiah watches the Chaldeans murder all of his sons. Then his eyes are poked out. The very last thing the man sees is his sons being murdered. Jeremiah, on the other hand,Continue reading “Jeremiah 39-40”
Jeremiah 38
And Jeremiah sank in the mud. … … Just let that ring in your ears and heart for a minute. This man, this prophet, this man of God, is being obedient, proclaiming the words the Lord tells him, living uprightly–and for all of this, he is thrown in a cistern. Thrown in a deep, dark,Continue reading “Jeremiah 38”
Jeremiah 37
Can you imagine being put in prison? In a dungeon? In solitary confinement? For speaking truth. Obviously Jeremiah comes out a little bit upset–at least that’s the way I read his tone when he asks questions of King Zedekiah. I don’t know what the court of the guard was that Jeremiah was placed in, butContinue reading “Jeremiah 37”
Jeremiah 36
God tells Jeremiah to write all these prophecies on a scroll. Jeremiah hires Baruch to scribe it all on the scroll. The scroll is read at the temple, read to the king’s officials, confiscated, read to the king, and burnt. God tells Jeremiah to write it all again. Baruch scribes it all again. Today, weContinue reading “Jeremiah 36”
Jeremiah 35
The Rechabites. First, there is an interesting summary statement about all the prophets in verse 15 of the chapter. There have been a few other times we have seen this statement in Jeremiah. It is a great way to remember the overall message of the book. Sometimes we get bogged down in details and wonderingContinue reading “Jeremiah 35”
Jeremiah 33-34
Judgment Restoration Repeat This is the message of the prophets. This is the message of these two chapters, in reverse order.
Jeremiah 30-32
“This is what the Lord says…” “…declares the Lord.” Over and again, we see this refrain, which is an attention grabber. Listen up! “Who is he who will devote himself to be close to Me?” declares the Lord. “May it be me,” I say. — Next chapter: you read this prophecy that goes on forContinue reading “Jeremiah 30-32”