3 John 1:9-10 Diotrephes is rarely mentioned in the church today, and rightly so. This is because he was a troublemaker. 3 John 9-10 says, “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading…
Jonah 1:1-3 Jonah was commanded to go to Nineveh to tell them of their sins and to repent. But Jonah went to Joppa where he boarded a ship to go to Tarshish. We do not know of any difficulties as he ran away in the beginning. In fact, it was more likely that he easily…
Deut. 15:10 Deuteronomy 15:1-11 tells the Israelites about the year of pardoning or cancelling debts. It also instructs them about helping the poor and the helpless among them and to give to them what they need. It clearly instructs them to do so “without a grudging heart” (Deut. 15:10). As I read this, I began…
What is repentance? Repentance, in common usage of the term, means (1) regret (in thoughts, action and behavior) and (2) to rue and turn away from what we were and what we did. It can also mean to stop what we used to do or think. Delving deeper, we can also understand it as turning…
Just the other day, my son took my phone and was playing with it without my knowledge. As I walked towards him, he hid my phone because he knew that I did not permit him to play with my phone. But I knew everything he did and I was annoyed and angry just because he…
Is. 6 The prophet Isaiah saw a vision of God and saw His glory and holiness. The Seraphs were saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is. 6:3). Then, Isaiah saw how unclean he was and lamented, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I…
While it is possible to go forward in big strides in the service of the LORD, many times, the LORD build up His people and teaches them in the art of waiting for Him and to be properly trained. Look at the life of Joseph: He was only 17 when God revealed to him of…
Neh. 13 When Nehemiah went to Jerusalem to build the wall, “Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab” (Neh. 2:19) created a lot of troubles. But, Nehemiah, knowing that they were just asking for trouble, continued his work and completed building it in just 52 days (Neh. 6:15). After they…
Deut. 11:31 Yesterday, we spoke a bit about the Promised Land. But how do we get into it? Deuteronomy 11:31 says, “When you cross the Jordan to go in to occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you…” By saying this, we know that the Jordan must be crossed, even if it…
Deut. 11:11-12 Moses told the Israelites about the land they are to occupy: “the land that you are crossing over to occupy is a land of hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky, a land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the…