There aren't many passages or events in the Bible which illustrate how seriously God takes worship than this one. Other than the time Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Holy Spirit and die on the spot, this event points to the reality of how God views worship. In our culture of touchy-feely, laid back, casual worship (I'm not referring to the ...

 Throughout 1 Samuel, we have seen the contrast between righteousness and unrighteousness. We see it clearly in the contrasting lives of Saul and David. When a person is sensitive to God and their conscience is sensitive to sin, their response to sin is much quicker. David's response to sin was quick. He did not want to allow sin to enslave ...

 Our team arrived in Budapest, Hungary on Monday afternoon in time to walk around a bit and eat supper with Sandor and Bela from HBA. Afterwords, our team met together to discuss the meeting we will all have with HBA today. We discussed many important details about the school for the Roma people. Many things we have prayed through and ...

What a wonderful time we have had with the Roma people here in Munkacs. Today (Friday) we toured two Roma camps to meet the people and for our first time pastors to get a sense of the culture. They were blown away at the extreme poverty of these wonderful people. The needs among the people are so great, yet the believers have a great sense of joy. ...

Joshua is a book of conquest. When you look this book with a microscope, you may get discouraged and dismayed at the violence Israel brought against the kingdoms once they crossed the Jordan River. However, you have to look at the events from the broader picture. God was bringing their people into a centralized location where all the peoples of the...

This week's blog contains some great commentary from writers throughout the Christian church who have invested most of their life to helping the church understand God's Word in a clear, applicable way.

16:18–17:20 LEADERSHIP DECISION-MAKING
All of the conditions of the law called for accurate judgment. The section 16:18–17:20 gives

The first 11 chapters of Deuteronomy is Moses recalling Israel's history. As Moses recounts the way God moved His people from Egypt through the Wilderness, we see how faithful God was to His people. The one area of greatest importance was the area of holiness. God desired for His people to enter the land without the idolatry and paganism that was ...

When you read about the wars in Numbers, you can get disturbed by the brutality and overwhelmed by the severity. I have talked to many people who have rejected hearing the Gospel solely on their reading of this part of the Bible. How do you read this section of the Bible with a proper understanding of what is really happening? Can all this killing ...

 As you read this passage, notice details that pont to preparations for entering the land: the census, the commissioning of a new leader, the struggle against paganism, and so forth. 

It is difficult to ad about the harshness of judgment on those who mixed with other people and embraced their religion, but meditate on what this reality...

Guthrie...

The reading from Numbers today begins and ends with accounts of rebellion against God. The refusal to enter the land and Korah's rebellion are key turning points in the story. Notice that the rebellion was against the Lord, but the people focused their anger on the Lord's leaders, Moses and Aaron. Korah's accuses "a very ...

We've made it through the laws and festivals of Leviticus to discover that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross made the difference for our redemption. Now we see Israel on the move. They are camping with God and gaining last minute instructions from the Lord concerning how they live once they are settled in the Promise Land. If there is one thing you ...

What is God after in all these regulations?

Is God after our fun? Does God want to squish all the excitement of life? Does He want to have us under His thumb and control every move we make like a puppeteer? Maybe God is trying to suppress our knowledge and keep us out of the loop of eternal knowledge (sound familiar?).

No.

God is after ...

Guthrie writes: Read Mark 5:24-34 in light of Leviticus 15:25-30. Think about the terrible social and religious implications for a woman who had this kind of physical illness. According to the law, what happened when the unclean woman touched Jesus? Yet power went out from Jesus, cleaning the woman and reversing the curse. Rather than being made ...

 God is SO good. These chapters spell out the food laws, unclean animals laws, cleanliness laws, and laws for the leper. What was God after giving the Jews all these regulations? When you do the research, you find that God was protecting His people. The food laws were in place to protect His people from eating harmful foods. The animal laws ...

Have you ever been to an ordination service for a pastor or deacon? There are the words given to the person to be ordained and then a group of men come by a pray over them, putting their hands on their head and speaking words, such as a prayer, in their ears. Ordination in the New Testament is implied through the laying on of hands to send people ...