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Category Archives: hope
no reward
Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 The Preacher lives in a world where there are no guarantees of success, even if one does what is right. Rewards for righteous living are “in the hand of God” which means that they are out of … Continue reading
Posted in discipleship, hope, resurrection, sleep of death, Solomon, wisdom
Tagged Ecclesiastes 9
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relay race
Ecclesiastes 2:18-23 The preacher considered all his hard work and discovered a problem. Even if he built a great empire by forcing himself to work hard, he had no guarantee that his work would survive the generation. He could not … Continue reading
red barrens
Micah 7:1-13 When I lived in Maine, I enjoyed looking on the bright red blueberry barrens, after harvest. It was an awesome sight to see miles of crimson bushes. Yet, it meant that there was no fruit left. The berries … Continue reading
How can I give you up?
Hosea 11:1-11 The LORD felt the heartache of a parent who has to turn his back on his own child “for his own good.” Hosea expressed the anguish that the LORD was feeling over this action. He also expressed the … Continue reading
new heavens and new earth
Isaiah 65; Rev. 21-22:5. Both prophets see visions of a new heaven and a new earth. Isaiah condemns his listeners because they did not respond to God’s call, so they will experience judgment, not the promised blessing. Instead, the … Continue reading
Posted in conditional immortality, eternal life, faithfulness, hope, resurrection
Tagged Isaiah 65, Revelation 21, Revelation 22
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waiting for morning
Psalm 130 Theoretically, a night watchman’s job is to look out for possible threats to the field. Mostly, a night watchman just watches nothing, and waits until morning. The psalmist picks up on that reality to describe his hope for … Continue reading
false hope
Isaiah 19-20 It would have been embarrassing to see the great prophet walking around naked and barefoot for three years. The people probably thought that he had finally lost it – that he had gone utterly mad. All this time … Continue reading
Posted in confidence, dependence upon God, discernment, hope, Isaiah, trust, will of God
Tagged Isaiah 19, Isaiah 20
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no more Mondays
Psalm 63 There are times when our worship is so sweet, and our experience in God’s presence is so real, that we cannot imagine it getting any better than this. Then, Monday happens. Hang in there, believers. There will be … Continue reading
foolish atheism
Psalm 53 The kind of atheism that the psalmist decries here is the practical (or impractical) atheism that outwardly admits God’s existence, but refuses to call on him when times get bad. The psalmist calls on his people to rejoice … Continue reading
God will ransom
Psalm 49 Some see a contrast here between the wicked who go to Sheol when the die, and the faithful who go to God. But that is not what the psalmist declares. He states that “no man” can give to … Continue reading
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