Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.” So the Lord relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said. (Amos 7:2,3) Read: Amos 7:1-9:15, Revelation 3:7-22, Psalm 131:1-3, Proverbs 29:23 Relate: How do you display mercy without compromising justice? This is the problem Amos was confronted with in…
I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back to what you heard and believed at…
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the Lord’s blessing for those who fear him. (Psalm 128:3-4) Read: Joel 1:1 – 3:21, Revelation 1:1-20, Psalm 128:1-6, Proverbs 29:18 Relate: Twelve drummers drumming. That used to be my cup. Actually, on the earlier sets it was nine drummers drumming but that’s…
Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time,…
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. (Hosea 6:1-2) Read: Hosea 6:1-9:17, 3 John 1:1-14, Psalm 126:1-6, Proverbs 29:12-14 Relate: Rabbi Ken Spino…
I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7) Read: Hosea 4:1-5:15, 2 John 1:1-13, Psalm 125:1-5, Proverbs 29:9-11 Relate: I am half tempted to talk about gnosticism here and illustrate how an early form of…
When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” (Hosea 1:2) Read: Hosea 1:1 – 3:5, 1 John…
But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8) Read: Daniel 11:2-35, 1 John 3:7-24, Psalm 122:1-9, Proverbs 29:1 Relate: I would have to say that the worst Christmas in my memory was also the year I had the “biggest haul”. It was on election day in November that year when my father…
He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. (Psalm 121:3-5) Read: Daniel 9:1 – 11:1, 1 John 2:18 – 3:6, Psalm 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28 Relate: Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,…
This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:7-8) Read: Daniel 8:1-27, 1 John 2:1-17, Psalm 120:1-7, Proverbs 28:25-26 Relate: When you wake up…
THE RIVER WALK 