Month: December 2024
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12/19/24 “Unfathomable Mercy” (Jonah 1-4)
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe short book of Jonah tells the story of God’s merciful dealings with a disobedient prophet and the horrid city of Nineveh. Nineveh was a city found within Assyria, the nation that would eventually destroy Israel and take them captive. Jonah, a prophet we know very little about, is commanded to go…
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12/18/24 “Rebuilding a Fallen Shelter” (Amos 8-9)
Reading Time: 2 minutesAfter countless hard truths concerning Israel’s sure judgment, Amos’s prophecy ends on a positive note. Judgment was sure to come (8:2-3) but so was blessing. This blessing was tied to the “booth” or “shelter” of David (Amos 9:11-12) which is a reference to the dilapidated condition of David’s dynasty in the present.[1]…
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12/17/24 “Hard Truth for Itching Ears” (Amos 4-7)
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe prophet Amos pronounces one of the most intense messages of judgment upon Israel in the bible, he certainly doesn’t pull any punches! After addressing other nations, we see his focus on the northern part of Israel and the message begins with a call for them to wake up. Their lives were…
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12/16/24 “Privilege Creates Responsibility” (Amos 1-3)
Reading Time: 3 minutesAs we turn the page to Amos’s prophecy, we see from the introduction that he’s largely a contemporary of the prophet Hosea who prophesied during the days of King Uzziah in Judah and King Jeroboam II of Israel (1:1). This means that he was one of those who served during the time…
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12/13/24 “Living Independently from God” (Hos. 8-12)
Reading Time: 2 minutesAfter beginning with the marriage illustration for Israel’s rejection of God, Hosea brings God’s words directly with massive condemnations of their sins. One of the problems in Israel was that they claimed to know God, when at the same time they, “spurned the good” (Hos. 8:2-3). Everything about their lives denounced God,…
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12/12/24 “Faithful to the Faithless” (Hos. 1-7)
Reading Time: 3 minutesHosea is the first in line of the “minor prophets” (12 shorter prophetic books that end the Old Testament). Chronologically, Hosea fits alongside Isaiah in his ministry during the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Hosea was a prophet sent to the north, Israel (frequently referred to as “Ephraim”) prior to their…
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12/11/24 “Trusting an Omniscient God” (Dan. 11-12)
Reading Time: 3 minutesDaniel’s prophecy ends with a foretelling of future events with warnings for the Jewish people and a call to remain steadfast in the face of suffering and hardship. Interestingly enough, the events of chapter 11 in Daniel are so perfectly predicted that critical bible scholars believe that these things must have been…
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12/10/24 “Taking God at His Word” (Dan. 9-10)
Reading Time: 2 minutesGod is presented on page after page of the Scripture as a promise-making and also a promise-keeping God. In Isaiah, the Lord states concerning His word, “it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it”…
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12/9/24 “An Everlasting Kingdom” (Dan. 7-8)
Reading Time: 3 minutesIn Daniel chapters seven and eight we see two visions that at first glance are incredibly confusing and definitely require some further study and knowledge of world history in addition to bible prophecy. If you ever read passages like these and find yourself lost, confused, and feeling hopeless you’re in good company.…
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12/6/24 “The One Who is Truly Great” (Dan. 4)
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn Daniel chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar has a second dream that proves to be much more unfortunate than the first. The first dream concerns kingdoms to come and things that wouldn’t really affect him. The second dream is God’s response to Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and His plan to humble him. The Scripture shows us…