In Isaiah Chapter 33 we find a marvelous prayer from the lips of the prophet:
:2 “O YHWH, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their (our) strength every morning.”
When we break this verse down into phrases we see several things that can help guide us to pray for a personal prayer request, or for someone we know who needs God’s grace in a particular situation: Continue reading
Isaiah 30:18 must be one of the most encouraging verses in all of the word of God:
“Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.”
God had spent the first part of Isaiah 30 rebuking His people for ignoring Him, and seeking refuge in men. He told them of the discipline which was coming upon them for their sin. But then He immediately followed that up, in the same chapter, with this most encouraging word: that He “longed” to be gracious to them. What a picture this gives us of God’s nature: Continue reading
“Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel …” (Isaiah 30:12)
In one of the most ironic interchanges in scripture, Isaiah had quoted the people of Israel in Isaiah 30:11 as saying, “Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” Evidently, Isaiah had used this term for God repeatedly in his messages to the sinful people of Israel, but they were tired of hearing it. It is not hard to imagine them groaning: “Not THAT term again!” They wanted no more of it. “Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
And no wonder. They did not have much of a spiritual appetite. Continue reading
“O LORD, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it …”. (Isaiah 26:11)
The prophet Isaiah spoke a terrifying here to his generation. God was about to judge them for their sin. Verse 10 had just lamented how “Though the wicked is shown favor, he does not learn righteousness; he deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, and does not perceive the majesty of the LORD.” God is gracious; He had “shown favor” to these who were disobeying Him. But they did not turn to Him as they should have. Now the time of of His grace was over, and Isaiah solemnly proclaimed: “O Lord, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it.” Continue reading
ACTS 8:25-38 “This Is My Story: The Ethiopian Treasurer”
Cheryl & I love Stefan Berci (our Romanian pastor) and his family. They did a Facetime chat with us yesterday, and we had a great visit. One of the things I appreciate about Stefan is that he has such a balanced ministry. They have an outreach to the gypsy village, to the “down and out”, you might say — but he also has a heart for the intellectuals of the area, and ministers to them as well.
The salvation “story” that we are studying this morning reminds us of the need that everyone has for the Lord. You may be “down and out” today, and in desperate need of God — or you may also be very successful — but just as much in need of salvation, whether you realize it or not. Let’s look together at some truths we learn from the “story” of the Ethiopian Treasurer: Continue reading
“And they began to implore Him to leave their region.” (Mark 5:17)
Seriously? What kind of people would ask Jesus to leave their midst? Actually it might be much more common than we might first think! Continue reading
“To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless” (I Corinthians 4:11)
Verses like this assure us that the Apostle Paul (as well as other New Testament writers) would not recognize the “gospel” that the purveyors of today’s “prosperity gospel” are selling. Continue reading
“For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present.” (I Corinthians 5:3)
It should be instructive to us that Paul says here that he has “already judged him.” (Context tells us that this man was living in immorality with his father’s wife.) Obviously Paul didn’t “get the memo” from Jesus that we are not to judge, right? Or perhaps that is not what Jesus meant?! Continue reading
When we were serving in Louisiana, our church sent a mission team to Suriname, South America, where one of our members was a missionary. The first team we sent went to teach Bible stories in a local school, and they also built a playground for the village. When they finished it, they posted above the playground a sign, written in the native language, which read: “Jesus loves ALL the children”!
And that is true! Jesus does love all of the children — and not only all the children, but all people of our world: from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Our “story” for today reminds us of that. It is the story of Cornelius the Centurion. His story reminds us that Jesus loves everyone, whatever their background, and that each of us can have a salvation story if we come to God not by works, but by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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