“And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it  with all his heart, and prospered.” (2Chronicles 31:21)   This is what Ezra, thought to be the writer of Chronicles, wrote about Hezekiah. Hezekiah who was the thirteenth king in the line of David, began to reign when he was twenty-five years old. His noted accomplishments were that he cleansed the temple and restored temple worship. He res

“But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot. And she returned to him into the ark, for the waters were  on the face of the whole earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and pulled her in to him into the ark.” (Genesis 8:9)   Everyone knows about Noah and the ark. “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle which were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. Also the fountains of the deep

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can  you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)   When the time was near for Jesus to suffer, He instituted the Lord’s supper and spoke many Truths to His apostles before taking them to the Garden of Gethsemane. John’s account is detailed and encompasses five chapters from the time after Judas left the group that had gathered for the Last Supper and the time Jesus too

“They shall be satisfied with the fatness of Your house; and You shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures.” (Psalms 36:8)   This is one of David’s psalms. He is talking of the “sons of men” who take refuge in the Lord from the wicked which he describes in verses 1-3. He is evidently speaking of himself. This was during a time of trial. From the first three verses we gather that evil men have listened to and have obeyed their temptations. “Sin speaks to the wicked

“...the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to the Word of Jehovah which He spoke by Elijah.” (1Kings 17:16)   The background of this event is that Elijah pronounced a drought in the land, but God provided for him. Ravens brought him food and he drank water from the brook Cherith before it dried up. (1Kings17:3-7) Led and obedient to God’s direction he went to the town of Zarephath where the Lord told him a widow would provide for him.

“Then the Angel of Jehovah answered and said, O Jehovah of Hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which You have cursed these seventy years? And Jehovah answered the angel who talked with me with  good words, comfortable words.” (Zechariah 1:12-13)   At first glance one is intrigued and puzzled by these verses. They need interpretation because it’s a vision that Zechariah saw. First we need to know who this Angel of Jehovah is.

“And Philip ran there to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Do you indeed understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30)   This incident happened to Philip. Philip was an apostle of Jesus and called by Jesus to follow Him. (John 1: 43) Philip then brings in Nathanael. (John 1:45-51) Philip is again mentioned when Jesus fed the five thousand. Jesus asks Philip how they were going to feed the multitude that followed them. (John 6:5-13) He is the one that asks J

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil.” (Matthew 4:1)   We read this Scripture. We accept it. But do we wonder at such a declaration? The Holy Spirit led Jesus. This was the Will of God at work. And Jesus complied. It was with the intention of being tempted by the devil that Jesus went into the wilderness. He showed us how to keep from falling into temptation. Temptations will come. It’s a certainty. And we all get tempted. “No t

“You also gave Your good Spirit to teach them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.” (Nehemiah 9:20)   This is part of the prayer of some of the Levites when they prayed to the Lord. Nehemiah had been allowed by King Artaxerxes to go to Jerusalem to repair the walls of the city, and he’d helped with supplies and letters of authority to do so. (Nehemiah 2) When they had repaired the wall, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacl

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever,” (John 14:16).   The word “and” connects this verse to the one before. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) So the Comforter is conditional on keeping what Jesus commands.  This is a foundational Truth and belief that the Holy Spirit only lives in those who have followed the commandment to believe in Jesus and to make Him Lord over our lives. To some it ma

“And she shall bear a son, and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)   These were the words spoken to Joseph by an angel in his dream. It was the exact thing he had said to Mary. This was the same angel. “And behold! You shall conceive in your  womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name JESUS.” (Luke 1:31) Mary didn’t seem perturbed about how this was going to play out with her intended husband Joseph. But God took

“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank You, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the sophisticated and cunning, and revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25)   This Scripture begins with the words, “at that time.” It seems important to note why it was necessary to write those words. Jesus was in Capernaum at the time. He prophesies over Capernaum along with other cities because they would not repent. “Then He began to upbraid t

“The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, from the house of Ashbea, and Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the rule over Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And these are  ancient things.” (1Chronicles 4:21-22)   In the first part of this chapter in Chronicles, we learn about the descendants of Judah.  The tribe of Judah settled across the dead

“But Mary kept all these sayings, meditating in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)   The Bible states in a few places where Mary heard something about Jesus and kept what she heard in her heart. It’s like saying “hmmm” when someone tells you something. You wonder about it, but maybe save it to think about or to pray about it at another time. This was what Mary did. There are a few things Mary knew about Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit so He was no ordinary child. God sent wis

“And all those who heard marveled about the things spoken to them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2:18)   This Scripture is the account of what happened when the shepherds out in the field, who had seen and heard angels proclaim to them the Good News, shared the message in the city. God’s greatest gift to mankind had been given right in their backyards and they had no inkling of it. This reminds me of a time when I was living in a little town just outside of Houston and I heard of a

“Draw me, we will run after You. The King has brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in You, we will remember Your love more than wine; the upright love You.” (Song of Solomon 1:4)   Before we dive into this Scripture we need to remember a few things. Solomon wrote about the love between a bride and a bridegroom. He inadvertently  prophesied about the Messiah. This book is cannon which means it’s considered and accepted as inspired by the Holy Spirit. Takin

“And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9)   The Bible tells us that satan is the accuser of the brethren and accuses us before God day and night. “And I heard a great voice saying in Heaven, Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10) He accused Job before God saying that th

“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27)   This passage in Luke occurred after the resurrection of Jesus when He joined Himself to two disciples walking to Emmaus. Jesus asks them questions. They were discussing all the things that had happened in Jerusalem and Jesus asks, in other words: What are you talking about that makes you so sad? They’re astounded that He’s not aware of what’s

“For my love they are my foes; but I am in prayer.” (Psalms 109:4)   It’s believed that David wrote this psalm when he was fleeing King Saul. He happened to go to Nob to meet with the priest, Ahimelech, to ask for food and for weapons. He had escaped King Saul with nothing. (1Samuel 21:1-3) Hesitantly Ahimelech gave him of the holy bread and the sword David had used to kill Goliath. King Saul lied to his men, telling them that David wanted to kill him. That’s when Doeg spoke

“And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and threw it  in there. And the iron swam.” (2Kings 6:6)   Throughout the books of Kings we read about the sons of the prophets. These were not biological sons, but spiritual young men which helped in various places like Bethel, Jericho and Gilgal in spiritual matters. They were the witnesses to what God was doing during Samuel, Elijah and Elisha’s time. In the previous verses we