THE WISDOM OF FLEEING

Read 1 Timothy 6:11–21 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.1 Timothy 6:11 There are times when running away is a mark of cowardice. “Should such a man as I flee?” asked Nehemiah (Neh. 6:11 KJV). But there are...

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HEIRS, APPARENTLY

Read Galatians 4:1–7 You are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:7 We do not enter God’s family by adoption the way a homeless child would enter a loving family in our own society. The...

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YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE?

Read Job 15 All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. Job 15:20 In his first speech, Eliphaz had described the blessings of the godly (Job 5:17–26), but now he describes the sufferings of the ungodly. The problem with Eliphaz’s...

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SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

Read 1 John 2:7–8 I am not writing you a new command but an old one.… Yet I am writing you a new command. 1 John 2:7–8 The Christian life—the life that is real—is a beautiful blending of “something old, something new.” The Holy Spirit never grows old! And He...

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THE GRAPES OF RESISTANCE

Read Isaiah 26—27 Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. I am not angry. Isaiah 27:2–4 In the day of the Lord, God will use suffering to purge His...

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THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Read Isaiah 34—35 A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way. Isaiah 35:8 Isaiah 35:8 expresses one of Isaiah’s favorite themes: the highway (11:16; 19:23; 40:3; 62:10). During...

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JOYFUL OBEDIENCE

Read 1 John 5:1–3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3 Everything in creation—except man—obeys the will of God. “Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds … do his bidding” (Ps. 148:8). In the book of Jonah, we...

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WINNING THE SAVED

Read James 5:13–20 Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:20 What are we to do when we see a fellow believer wandering from the truth? We should pray for him, to...

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SOUNDS OF SILENCE

Read Isaiah 52 So will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. Isaiah 52:15 The people who were astonished by the Servant’s humiliation and exaltation will shut their mouths in guilt when they hear His proclamation. Paul interprets this proclamation as the preaching of...

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THE SILENT LAMB

Read Isaiah 53 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 In this passage, the Servant is compared to...

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