The Strategy of Abandonment

2 Corinthians 2:1 “I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you” (NIV). Observation: Much of 2 Corinthians 1 and the beginning of the second chapter seem to be travelogue. Paul wrote in 1:15 about having tried to arrange his itinerary so as to...

Saturday’s Dance

Psalm 42:2 “When can I go and meet with God?” (NIV). Observation: This psalm expresses the passionate cry of David’s heart to once again be in the presence of God. David was exiled from the house of Saul, hiding in a very small country with 3,000 soldiers in pursuit....

God’s Heartedness Scale

Jeremiah 29:11–13 “ ‘For I know the plans that I have for You.’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when...

Resistance Is a Bad Idea

Jeremiah 27:6–11 “And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant … It will be that the nation or the kingdom which will not … put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the...

Blessing and Fear

Psalm 67:6–7 “The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God blesses us. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.” Observation: This psalm of thanksgiving invokes God’s continued blessings upon Israel, that all the nations of the earth might see...

Fed by the Bread of Life

John 21:9 “So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.” Observation: Seven of the disciples, including some hard-core fishermen, had just spent a long night fishing without a single catch. These men were no...