Song of Solomon 7:10 KJVI am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.Song of Solomon is the book of marriage, but it is also allegory for our relationship with Christ. Once we have accepted Christ into our heart, we can be reassured, we ARE His! We should also view Him as our Beloved. If Christ isn’t the thing we love most, we have our priorities wrong.We are lucky given the history and complexi...  Read More

We often seek advice from friends, relatives, and neighbors, but do we get advice from God? The Word of God has wisdom on every aspect of our lives: friendship, money, marriage, work, parenting, education, and most importantly our spiritual relationship. The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, both written by King Solomon under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, give advice in all of these areas,...  Read More

Ecclesiastes 3:7-8 ESVa time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.Each of these pairings are opposites. Sewing and tearing, war and peace, love and hate… the wisest man save Jesus Christ, King Solomon, tells us that there is a time in life for each of these things; therefore, life is all about...  Read More

At the beginning of the book of Job, a portfolio snapshot of Job’s wealth was given:Job 1:2-3 ESVThere were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.Some important things to mention:◦ The first thing listed in Job’s wealth port...  Read More

Most people equate wisdom with knowledge, but they are two entirely different things. Knowledge is facts and figures, but wisdom is knowing what those facts and figures mean. Knowledge is rules and procedures, but wisdom is knowing how to apply those rules and procedures. Knowledge is dates and details of historical events, but wisdom is avoid ing the repetition of history.Most people think we rec...  Read More

The OT is Required to Understand the NTToo many Christians neglect the reading of the Old Testament. The OT has a purpose just the same as the NT. In fact, Paul admonished us to read the OT by saying:Romans 15:4 KJVFor whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.I want to have hope, and I also want t...  Read More

After Job faces more tragedy than any of us can possibly fathom, his “friends” come along. At first, his friends do the right thing, they just sit with Job in his sorrow. Sometimes there is no right thing to say, but just the presence of a friend can make grief and suffering better.Sadly, Job’s “friends” don’t stay silent. First, Eliphaz starts in on Job. He accuses him of secret sin, which has br...  Read More

It is not ironic at all that we were in the midst of reading Esther when Hamas brutally attacked the citizenry of Israel. From Pharoah to Haman to Hitler to Hamas. There have always been people influenced by Satan to destroy the Jews.The book of Esther tells us about Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews. God knows the end from the beginning. He knew Mordecai would be faithful to Him. He knew Haman wou...  Read More

In the final chapter of Nehemiah, we see his account of salesmen coming to Jerusalem on the sabbath day. Jews were not supposed to be buying and selling on the sabbath, but I assume because the salesmen were there, many did.Nehemiah banishes the salesmen and orders the gates of the city closed during the sabbath. This stopgap measure protected the Israelites from themselves. If they could not with...  Read More

Nehemiah 2:4-5 KJVThen the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. [5] And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.The first thought I had when reading these scriptures was that of silent prayer. I ...  Read More

The Solid RockUpon returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity, the very first thing the remnant that returns to Israel does is set up the altar for the sacrifices:Ezra 3:3 KJVAnd they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings morning and evening.Those sacrifi...  Read More

God wants you. He wants you to be in a right relationship with Him. He wants you to serve Him and only Him. Because of this great desire, He will use any means necessary to get your attention.Some people need to only hear the preaching of the Gospel a few times, and they will surrender their heart to their Lord. Others, it takes a traumatic experience to help them realize their need for God. And f...  Read More