2 Kings 7-9 It is interesting to me how Israel could not keep a royal family. The ‘house of Ahab’ was the third that God cursed to utter destruction. Not one member of any of ...
Day 189 – 2 Kings 4-6; Jms 2Day 189 – 2 Kings 4-6; Jms 2
2 Kings 4-6 When God took Elijah, Elisha, his replacement, asked for a double measure of Elijah’s spirit. God granted him this when he saw Elijah taken away. The text then launches into a series ...
Day 188 – 2 Kings 1-3; Jms 1Day 188 – 2 Kings 1-3; Jms 1
2 Kings 1 The Bible is often harsh, and I don’t always understand it. There are a few examples of that in the first three chapters of 2 Kings. In chapter 1 Elijah called down ...
Day 187 – 1 kings 21-22; Acts 14Day 187 – 1 kings 21-22; Acts 14
1 Kings 21-22 Ahab was a real piece of work. After all that he saw of who God is, he still refused to let go of his selfish pride and to commit his ways to ...
Day 186 – 1 Kings 19-20; Acts 13:26-52Day 186 – 1 Kings 19-20; Acts 13:26-52
1 Kings 19-20 The Bible tells us a lot about the nature of God. It also tells us quite a bit about the nature of man. There are a few things in this passage that ...
Day 185 – 1 Kings 16-18; Acts 13:1-25Day 185 – 1 Kings 16-18; Acts 13:1-25
1 Kings 16 God’s word is true. The Bible shows that over and over. We find another example here in 1 Kings 16:34, when a man named Hiel of Bethel, under evil king Ahab’s rule, ...
Day 184 – 1 Kings 14-15; Acts 12Day 184 – 1 Kings 14-15; Acts 12
1 Kings 14-15 Why did God choose Jeroboam to rule Israel? Surely He knew what Jeroboam would do! Why not choose someone He knew would be faithful? One could fall down a rabbit hole of ...
Day 183 – 1 Kings 12-13; Acts 11Day 183 – 1 Kings 12-13; Acts 11
1 Kings 12-13 God promised Jeroboam the bulk of the kingdom of Israel – 10 of the 12 tribes – after Solomon’s death. And God fulfilled His promise, as He always does. God also promised ...
Day 182 – Eccl 10-12; Acts 10:24-48Day 182 – Eccl 10-12; Acts 10:24-48
Eccl. 10-12 Solomon launches into what seems to me to be a random string of Proverbs (wise sayings). I have no idea the connection or meaning in any of it, but I do like Ecclesiastes ...
Day 181 – Eccl 7-9; Acts 10:1-23Day 181 – Eccl 7-9; Acts 10:1-23
Eccl. 7-9 Solomon sounds tired to me. He has spent his whole life in great wisdom and riches, doing many great things. He no doubt had everything he ever wanted. We also know that Solomon ...
Day 180 – Eccl 4-6; Acts 9:23-43Day 180 – Eccl 4-6; Acts 9:23-43
Eccl. 4-6 “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor” (Eccl. 4:4a). This is an interesting statement to me. This speaks to the concept ...
Day 179 – Eccl 1-3; Acts 9:1-22Day 179 – Eccl 1-3; Acts 9:1-22
Eccl. 1-3 Why is it that the heart of man is never satisfied? I mentioned yesterday that Solomon, with all that he had and did, managed to be discontent with his life. The book of ...
Day 178 – 1 Kings 10-11; Acts 8:26-40Day 178 – 1 Kings 10-11; Acts 8:26-40
1 Kings 10-11 1 Kings Chapter 10 tells of how abundantly God blessed Solomon in all that he did and had. Solomon was more blessed than any king that ever lived before or after. Then, ...
Day 177 – 1 Kings 8-9; Acts 8:1-25Day 177 – 1 Kings 8-9; Acts 8:1-25
1 kings 8-9 What an awesome thing it must have been to see the presence of the LORD, our God, fill the house that Solomon had built for Him. This was no simple fog that ...
Day 176 – 1 Kings 5-7; Acts 7:44-60Day 176 – 1 Kings 5-7; Acts 7:44-60
1 Kings 5-7 After a trip through some Wisdom Literature of the Bible, we are back in Kings. This particular passage is a fairly detailed description of Solomon’s building of God’s house – the Temple. ...
Day 175 – SoS 6-8; Acts 7:22-43Day 175 – SoS 6-8; Acts 7:22-43
SoS 6-8 “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me” (SOS 7:10). Still trying to look at this book of love poetry through the lens of my relationship with God, and this is ...
Day 174 – SoS 4-5; Acts 7:1-21Day 174 – SoS 4-5; Acts 7:1-21
SoS 4-5 Sigh…this love poetry still is not really resonating with me. I can see that the two lovers are highly praising of and devoted to one another and I can see that the bride ...
Day 173 – SoS 1-3; Acts 6Day 173 – SoS 1-3; Acts 6
SoS 1-3 Now here is a book that I truly do not understand!! What does this book have to do with anything??? And so I sought some help. I would strongly encourage you to look ...
Day 172 – Prov 30-31; Acts 5:22-42Day 172 – Prov 30-31; Acts 5:22-42
Prov. 30 Proverbs 30 is a strange chapter to me. I should study it sometime to see if I can make any sense out of it. For this morning, I will make note of the ...
Day 171 – Prov 27-29; Acts 5:1-21Day 171 – Prov 27-29; Acts 5:1-21
Prov. 27 “Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing” (Prov. 27:14). An interesting verse to me, and I can see two applications of it ...
Day 170 – Prov 25-26; Acts 4:23-37Day 170 – Prov 25-26; Acts 4:23-37
Prov. 25-26 “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters” (Prov. 25:13). For some reason, when I ...
Day 169 – Prov 22-24; Acts 4:1-22Day 169 – Prov 22-24; Acts 4:1-22
Prov. 22 I have been struggling with discipline. Overall, I think most would say that I am a fairly disciplined person, with the self-motivation and self-control to mostly keep me out of trouble. But there ...
Day 168 – Prov 19-21; Acts 3Day 168 – Prov 19-21; Acts 3
Prov. 19 Proverbs 19 mentions quite a bit about how people are more inclined to befriend the wealthy than the poor. It is human nature to seek relationships from which one can benefit. But Proverbs ...
Day 167 – Prov 16-18; Acts 2:22-47Day 167 – Prov 16-18; Acts 2:22-47
Prov. 16 Plucking out a few random verses again…Prov. 16:3 – “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established”. I want to read this verse as, “If I pray that God ...
Day 166 – Prov 13-15; Acts 2:1-21Day 166 – Prov 13-15; Acts 2:1-21
Prov. 13-15 There is certainly a wealth of knowledge and good advice to be gleaned from the Proverbs – far too much to comment on in a single sitting! So I will just give some ...
Day 165 – Prov 10-12; Acts 1Day 165 – Prov 10-12; Acts 1
Prov. 10-12 These Proverbs can be a lot to take in, but there are some notable themes throughout. In Proverbs 10 and 12, I notice a lot of statements regarding speech and work ethic. The ...
Day 164 – Prov 8-9; John 21Day 164 – Prov 8-9; John 21
Prov. 8-9 These two Proverbs focus on wisdom – “her” characteristics, benefits, and source. We learn in Proverbs 9:10 how to get started on the path to wisdom. “The fear of the LORD is the ...
Day 163 – Prov 5-7; John 20Day 163 – Prov 5-7; John 20
Prov. 5-7 In all three of these chapters, Solomon warns against the adulterous woman. He addresses “my son” in these proverbs, so the warnings make sense. The temptation toward sexual impurity is very strong, especially ...
Day 162 – Prov 2-4; John 19:23-42Day 162 – Prov 2-4; John 19:23-42
Prov. 2-4 “Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path” (Prov. 2:9). Aren’t those words hot topics these days! It would be interesting to do a word study on “equity” and ...
Day 161 – 1 Kings 3-4; Prov 1; John 19:1-22Day 161 – 1 Kings 3-4; Prov 1; John 19:1-22
1 Kings 3-4 Solomon’s humility at the start of his reign impresses me. The Bible doesn’t say how old he was. The assumption, however, based on other information in scripture, is that he was likely ...