Stumbling Over Jesus
Luke 7:23 “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.” Observation: John the Baptist is in prison and is about to be beheaded by evil King Herod and his wife Herodius. Knowing his life was nearing its end, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the one...
The Elusive Piñata
Acts 13:17, 19, 20–22 “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers … and with an uplifted arm He led them out from Egypt … He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan … He gave them judges … He gave them Saul … He raised up David to be their king.”...
No Longer Spectators
Leviticus 23:1 “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.” ’ ” Observation: All of Leviticus 23 is given to a description of the...
The God Who Never Blushes
Leviticus 14:14 “The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.” Observation: Leviticus 13 and 14 are unusually long...
White Hairs and Mildew
Leviticus 14:14 “The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.” Observation: Leviticus 13 and 14 are unusually long...
Burned to a Crisp
Leviticus 10:2 “So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (NIV). Observation: Aaron and all his sons had been ceremonially consecrated as priests before both the Lord and His people. They were in a new temple in a...
Moving Off Dead Center
Acts 14:27 “They gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (NIV). Observation: Paul and Barnabas have been on a preaching circuit, the fruit of which was anything but neutral....
Hot-Hearted Pursuit
Acts 10:33 “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us” (NIV). Observation: Cornelius was a Roman Centurion who loved God. Generous to the poor, faithful in his prayer life, he had been visited by an angel...
Masks
Exodus 33:15 “Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here’” (NIV). Observation: Moses had come off Mt. Sinai to the devastating scene of Hebrews worshiping a golden calf. In fury, God told Moses to lead the people away...
Paying My Own Ransom
Exodus 30:12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted” (NIV). Observation: God was in the midst of establishing patterns for the Hebrews’ spiritual lives. After much detail, the...
