The House You're Building

[8] Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof [9] and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. [10] For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. [11] And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. ( Joshua 2:8–11  ESV) Scripture: Read Joshua chapter 2 Devotional:  Do you remember as a child, playing hide and seek? When a friend was counting down, you ran around in a panic looking for a place you could fit that would not be too obvious.  Someone always counted too fast and you were left with a not so good ...

        Orient   John 15:18-16:15 This section of Scripture contains more final words from Jesus to His followers after the Passover meal and before His arrest.  The content also outlines challenges we can expect as believers and how the Holy Spirit counters those situations, strengthening us for the hardship to come.  Jesus uses this opportunity to explain why it’s better He leaves to return to the Father.    Introduction It is an exciting scenario to imagine being one of the disciples.  What would it have been like to walk with Jesus, hear His teaching that isn’t recorded in Scripture, hang out with Him and share a private joke or two. Like the apostles, we would be a first-hand witness to all his miracles and see with our own eyes the people He healed and taught.  Every day would be a spiritual high; there would be no limit to the imagination of what God could do. What could bring them down in their fervo...

    When you study the bible verse-by-verse you don’t get to skip the tricky parts.  For ladies, who make up the majority of my blog following, the group of verses in this section of 1 st  Peter [1]  are a counter-cultural revolution. I was fascinated by this passage and have so much I can say about it, but I’m going to try and boil my points down to one clear theme.  Beauty is vulnerability.  When I first studied this in the ESV translation, I came across verse 3:6 and the wording of it was very strange….  Don’t fear anything that is frightening .  In our humanity, a common response to things that are frightening is fear. That seems pretty intuitive and people who don’t respond in fear might not be living in reality.  And that my friends is the key!  It is not in our nature to confront what the world fears and display a different response.  It is other-worldly, of the divine nature, the cultural p...

In whom do you trust?   If you wonder, ask yourself where you turn when life becomes stressful or you feel threatened.   Do you eat?   Do you work hard to avoid pain?   Do you try to make all things perfect in your life and never fail so you can stay safe? Do you lean on others’ sympathy, advice, or help instead of turning to God?   Do you rely on money to bail you out or to buy things to distract you when you are hurting?   As you study these psalms, find ways that God is more worthy and powerful and truly able to save other than the false things that you put your hope in.   Key Verse:          I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,                                 and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:3 ESV)   Psalm 18 ...

This week we read Zophar’s perspective on Job’s suffering.   Like the others, Zophar tells him to repent of his hidden sin so that he can be saved from his suffering.   Like the others, Zophar fundamentally misunderstands what repentance means and what it does for us.   True repentance (Gr. “Metanoia”) means a change of mind and purpose and life.   It can mean forsaking sin (Ezekiel 14:6), confessing sin (Luke 15:17-19), and sometimes making restitution for our sin (Luke 19:8).   But, contrary to what Zophar tells Job, repentance of sin will not end suffering.   It will, however, draw us closer to God and allow us to have a full relationship with Him.   Key Verse:   “ Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”   Job 13:15a   Read Job 11-14   ·          Make a chart comparing Zophar’s accusations and Job’s response.   ·         ...