The Bible in a Year “Thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” — Jeremiah 4:3 If you have ever watched a farmer prepare a field that has been sitting untouched for a while, you know that planting does not begin withContinue reading “When God Plows the Heart”
Category Archives: The Bible in a Year
Why Drink from a Broken Cistern?
The Bible in a Year “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” — Jeremiah 2:13 Jeremiah gives us an image his original audience understood immediately. In the dry climate of ancient Judah, a flowing springContinue reading “Why Drink from a Broken Cistern?”
When Our Best Is Not Enough
The Bible in a Year “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” —Isaiah 64:6 Most of us do not mind going to a doctor as long as the doctorContinue reading “When Our Best Is Not Enough”
THE NEWS THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS
The Bible in a Year “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’” —Luke 2:10 Some messages change a moment. Others change a lifetime. The announcement given to the shepherds outside Bethlehem changed the course of human history. TheContinue reading “THE NEWS THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS”
When the Soul Cannot Find Rest
The Bible in a Year “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” —Isaiah 57:20 There is something unsettling about watching a storm-driven sea. The surface never settles. One wave crashes into another, the water churns beneath itself, and debris that had been hiddenContinue reading “When the Soul Cannot Find Rest”
WHEN OUR WAY BECAME HIS BURDEN
The Bible in a Year “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” —Isaiah 53:6 Isaiah 53:6 places the whole gospel into a single verse. It tells us what humanity has done, what our wanderingContinue reading “WHEN OUR WAY BECAME HIS BURDEN”
THE PEACE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
The Bible in a Year “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” —Isaiah 48:18 Some of the saddest words we can speak are, “It did not have to be this way.” We say them when looking backContinue reading “THE PEACE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN”
WHEN THE WATERS RISE, GOD DOES NOT LEAVE
The Bible in a Year “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” — Isaiah 43:2 Isaiah 43:2 is one of those verses that becomesContinue reading “WHEN THE WATERS RISE, GOD DOES NOT LEAVE”
THE STRENGTH THAT COMES WHILE YOU WAIT
The Bible in a Year “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31 Waiting is one of the hardest disciplines of faith because waiting exposes how littleContinue reading “THE STRENGTH THAT COMES WHILE YOU WAIT”
WHEN GOD PUTS SIN BEHIND HIS BACK
The Bible in a Year “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” — Isaiah 38:17 Isaiah 38 gives us one of those moments in Scripture where personal crisis opens theContinue reading “WHEN GOD PUTS SIN BEHIND HIS BACK”