Luke 10
Luke 10 - “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things...
The Renovation Blog
1186 posts
Luke 9
Luke 9 - It’s called the comfort zone. We all have one and if we’re honest live within its confines as much as possible. It’s the place where we...
Luke 8
Luke 8 - The ministry of Jesus continues to grow and expand. It’s noteworthy that as he went from one town and village to another the 12 were right...
Luke 7
Luke 7 - How many tears do you have to shed to wash someone’s feet? Luke 7 records several stories of Jesus from a remarkable Roman Centurion demonstrating faith...
Luke 6
Luke 6 - I stood there with my mouth open, blinking as his words hovered in the air. This was by far one of the strangest conversations I had...
Luke 5
Luke 5 - Here begins a turning point in Luke as we read of his many miracles, the calling of who would be his disciples and his ministry to...
Luke 4
Luke 4 - “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”– Hebrews...
Luke 3
Luke 3 - 400 years of silence had smothered the Israelites. For 400 years God had not spoken one word to His people. When the time came for His...
Luke 2
Luke 2 - “The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.” –...
Luke 1
Luke 1 - He’s the only author of the Gospels who was a Gentile. Luke was a physician and companion of Paul who traveled alongside on many of his...
Song of Solomon 8
Song of Solomon 8 - The Song of Solomon closes much the same way it opened - intense passionate love of Solomon and his wife. In so many ways,...
Song of Solomon 7
Song of Solomon 7 - It's a chapter that would cause one to blush. In intimate detail, Solomon describes his wife. This is the third time he has done...
Song of Solomon 6
Song of Solomon 6 - We are bombarded with imagery of what makes a marriage fulfilling. Often inundated with concepts of romantic love through book and film, what is...
Song of Solomon 5
Song of Solomon 5 - There's a saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." We've heard this statement many a time and indeed it does. But the flip side...
Song of Solomon 4
Song of Solomon 4 - The wedding procession and ceremony of the two lovers has taken place, now we look into the intimacy between them on their wedding night. ...
Song of Solomon 3
Song of Solomon 3 - The maiden longs for her lover. Still yet to be married, the next few chapters will unroll the engagement, marriage and consummation of the...
Song of Solomon 2
Song of Solomon 2 - Love. People have fallen in and out of it seemingly on a whim. Some have said when all is said and done they aren't...
Song of Solomon 1
Song of Solomon 1 - David's son Solomon took the throne after his father. Asking for wisdom and discernment to lead the people, God granted him these things and...
Ezekiel 48
Ezekiel 48 - The book of Ezekiel comes to a close. It opened with magnificent descriptions of the holiness of God. A holiness that the people of...
Ezekiel 47
Ezekiel 47 - It's such a fascinating picture. Ezekiel saw a river running from the temple. Going from ankle deep to eventually deep enough to...
Ezekiel 45
Ezekiel 45 - Greed, extortion, and usury were part of the culture. The darkness of man's heart hasn't changed much. There are various times in Scripture where God has...
Ezekiel 46
Ezekiel 46 - Worship services can be tremendous times of engaging with God and giving of ourselves to Him. They are expected to be part of our praise to...
Ezekiel 44
Ezekiel 44 - People wonder what will be theirs. Families fight over it. Men and women strain toward receiving the most they possibly can. An inheritance is something passed...
Ezekiel 43
Ezekiel 43 - We are a people who live in exile. Longing for a better place, a place where our residence of eternity awaits. This earth is not our...
Ezekiel 42
Ezekiel 42 - It was a direct instruction to the priests that spoke of not only their role but that ministering before God was not to be done flippantly....
Ezekiel 41
Ezekiel 41 - Ezekiel's vision continues with focus upon the Temple. When the tabernacle was planned out by God and given to Moses in Exodus 26, although so much...
Ezekiel 40
Ezekiel 40 - Sometimes the way and path of life leave us struggling. We are in the middle of disappointment, hardship and see nothing changing. Sometimes we've been brought...
Ezekiel 39
Ezekiel 39 - The battle continues where the overthrow of the enemy will be complete. It will be divine intervention that brings this about. God is victorious in the...
Ezekiel 38
Ezekiel 38 - Speculation on End Times abound. People look toward the scriptures of Daniel, Jesus' words, some of Paul's writings, the book of Revelation and here in Ezekiel...
Ezekiel 37
Ezekiel 37 - No matter where we are on our journey, God has the ability to breathe new life into us. Many times we find our feet have led...
Ezekiel 36
Ezekiel 36 - In a beautiful prophecy of promise, God speaks to Israel of restoration. Having been stripped of everything, which had come by...
Ezekiel 35
Ezekiel 35 - Edom was near Israel and also blood relation. Having come from Esau, the brother of Jacob, although a foreign nation, as cousins they had things in...
Ezekiel 34
Ezekiel 34 - They had only looked after their own interests. They neglected serving others, which was their calling. As there were broken people surrounding them, they focused too...
Ezekiel 33
Ezekiel 33 - Bad news complied with worse news becomes something hard to bear. In real life, when we are hammered again and again with our faults or failures,...
Ezekiel 32
Ezekiel 32 - The world was running amok. Nations pressing in and attacking others. Domination of leaders rising to the top as other nations tumble. War, cruelty, death are...
Ezekiel 31
Ezekiel 31 - In an interesting living word picture, God compares Egypt to Assyria and what happened to them. Like Assyria, Egypt has followed on the same path of...
Ezekiel 30
Ezekiel 30 - Consider: “The word of the Lord came to me…” “…declares the Lord.” “This is what the Sovereign Lord says…” “I the Lord have spoken.” Throughout the...
Ezekiel 29
Ezekiel 29 - Egypt. A powerful nation during the ancient times. Self-sufficient, dominant, cruel – this marked this one-time world leader. But that chapter was about to come to...
Ezekiel 28
Ezekiel 28 - In one of the most intriguing chapters, the prophecy against Tyre moves from the city itself to the King. Where this becomes fascinating and commentators agree...
Ezekiel 27
Ezekiel 27 - It’s a funeral lament. Comparing the city of Tyre to a ship it speaks of trading partners and their response to what it will be like...
Ezekiel 26
Ezekiel 26 - For the next 3 chapters, there are prophecies against the capital of Phoenicia, the city of Tyre. This was located just north of Israel and is...
Ezekiel 25
Ezekiel 25 - For the next 7 chapters, Ezekiel will bring forth messages to Judah's surrounding nations of judgment. Some lengthy and some just a few sentences, God speaks...
Ezekiel 24
Ezekiel 24 - The timing of God is something none of us grasp. There are instances where He moves so quickly we're running to keep up. There are others...
Ezekiel 23
Ezekiel 23 - In an allegory rift with ribald sexuality, this chapter is shocking to us. Imagine the original audience who heard this from Ezekiel. A tale of two...
Ezekiel 22
Ezekiel 22 - The walls had a breach. What had been a strong fortress was now missing sections. This was not of absent physical stones but spiritual failure. The...
Ezekiel 21
Ezekiel 21 - One of the hardest things to watch is another succumb to sin and self. The destructive nature that follows leaves devastation. Relationships unravel, purpose is leveled,...
Ezekiel 20
Ezekiel 20 - Confrontation. We all hate it but is required in every walk of life. From your home to work, there are things that need to be addressed...
Ezekiel 19
Ezekiel 19 - Military might nor political powers could change the course of the nation for Judah. As we often stand and look upon the horizon of our rising...
Ezekiel 18
Ezekiel 18 - We each are individually accountable before God. When that time comes for each of us to stand before Him we will not be able to pass...
Ezekiel 17
Ezekiel 17 - God is over time and events. He is the ruler of history from the past to the present and what unfolds. These statements we know. But...
Ezekiel 16
Ezekiel 16 - It is a shocking allegory. In some of the most bold and at times offensive images God paints through His words of Jerusalem, the story is...
Ezekiel 15
Ezekiel 15 - It really is a harsh word God uses. The people of Israel are useless. Imagine God's opinion being the same of us. In these short 8...
Ezekiel 14
Ezekiel 14 - Are there idols in your heart? Have your decisions put stumbling blocks before your path of which you continue to tumble over? The word of God...
Ezekiel 13
Ezekiel 13 - False prophets are a dime a dozen. They pop up everywhere. These are the ones who claim to know God's words when He's not...
Ezekiel 12
Ezekiel 12 - False security is a dangerous thing. It's the feeling things are fine or good when they are not. In fact, sometimes this jettisons toward the reality...
Ezekiel 11
Ezekiel 11 - God knows everything. From our private thoughts to our conversations to our plans made, He is fully aware. The thought should be unsettling. It is. The...
Ezekiel 10
Ezekiel 10 - What would happen if the Holy Spirit would pull completely out of your life? Francis Chan posed this question once and it has always been a...
Ezekiel 9
Ezekiel 9 - During the days of the ancients, a common tool used was a writing kit. On a long narrow board was a place which held a reed...
Ezekiel 8
Ezekiel 8 - In a flicker, an instant of pictures, God revealed something very disturbing to Ezekiel. Bouncing from scene after scene, he saw men, important men, engaged in...
Ezekiel 7
Ezekiel 7 - The addict struggles. The addiction began with a one time experience that led to another and then another. Before they knew it, the vice was all...
Ezekiel 6
Ezekiel 6 - "I will stretch out my hand upon them... Then they will know that I am the Lord." This is that moment. A moment almost like a...
Ezekiel 5
Ezekiel 5 - The Law was clear: "You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard." - Leviticus 19:27 "They shall...
Ezekiel 4
Ezekiel 4 - The commands of God are dramatic. The action is bold. Ezekiel was called to live an object lesson before the people about something that had not...
Ezekiel 3
Ezekiel 3 - Standing firm on truth is nothing we can do on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us when facing opposition. We...
Ezekiel 2
Ezekiel 2 - When God gives a task or a calling, how do you measure success? This question bombards me quite often as we look for tangible results. We...
Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel 1 - Babylon attacked Jerusalem in 597 BC and carried away 10,000 captives. This was the second invasion. There would be 3 waves when all was said and...
Acts 28
Acts 28 - For 3 months Paul and his companions stayed on the island of Malta after the shipwreck before they were able to complete the journey...
Acts 27
Acts 27 - A Nor'easter is a storm mixed with the collision of several weaker storms. As a parent storm, the polar jet stream mixes with the...
Acts 26
Acts 26 - His innocence stated many times, Paul remains a prisoner. Repeatedly facing unfair charges, Festus doesn't know what to do with him as the political...
Acts 25
Acts 25 - Paul has been in chains for 2 years. The hatred of the Jewish hierarchy had not cooled. Their plan was simple - request for...
Acts 24
Acts 24 - They traveled some 60 miles to the seat of the Roman government to bring their accusations against Paul. Their plot to murder him had...
Acts 23
Acts 23 - "I will bless the Lord forever. I will trust Him at all times. He has delivered me from all fear. He has set my...
Acts 22
Acts 22 - Little did Paul know that day on the Damascus Road of the twists and turns his life would take as he took the message...
Acts 21
Acts 21 - Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties we face is deciding what God's will is. In the quietness of our day finally coming to an...
Acts 20
Acts 20 - If you knew you had only 12 hours to live, who would you see? What would you say? What lasting remark would you want...
Acts 19
Acts 19 - There is a growing longing within me for a powerful movement of God among us. It's something I cannot escape as I desire so...
Acts 18
Acts 18 - Fast food is an interesting thing. We pull up to these establishments because, well, they're fast. It's definitely not as good as a home...
Acts 17
Acts 17 - What we need in this church are some troublemakers. What? Seriously. Just hear me out. We need some troublemakers. For this is what the...
Acts 16
Acts 16 - If there ever was a story showing God's perfect will, His ultimate plan, His bigger picture it is found in verses 6-10. Paul had...
Acts 15
Acts 15 - The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Conflict. We would rather run as far away as we could rather...
Acts 14
Acts 14 - Soren Kierkegaard tells a story, almost a parable of sorts about the geese who used to make their home on his childhood Danish farm. ...
Acts 13
Acts 13 - The church in Antioch was in the middle of worshiping God and fasting when the Holy Spirit spoke. It was a direct commission of...
Acts 12
Acts 12 - It's 44 AD. 11 years have passed since Jesus had been crucified and rose from the grave. Herod had begun a full frontal attack...
Acts 11
Acts 11 - The movement of God often requires adjustment not only physically but within our own mindsets and behavior. Much easier said than done, when God...
Acts 10
Acts 10 - God is the great interrupter. Just when we are content with life the way it is. Just when we think we have all things...
Acts 9
Acts 9 - Arrest – the action by which a person is stopped from his normal activities by virtue of a legal authority or sanction; to take...
Acts 8
Acts 8 - There are so many times that life takes a turn or a twist and it leaves us wondering what in the world God is...
Acts 7
Acts 7 - “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” – Tertullian As the 7 men were chosen by the disciples to meet...
Acts 6
Acts 6 - Have you ever had someone that comes across your path that makes you want to know God better? Someone who simply lives their life,...
Acts 5
Acts 5 - Never underestimate the tactics or lengths to which the enemy will go to derail the work God is doing. Never. When one thing doesn’t...
Acts 4
Acts 4 - What is God asking of you? What is He personally calling you to do? Where is He working and asking you to join? Depending...
Acts 3
Acts 3 - Chuck Swindoll tells a story about a man who went to see a psychiatrist because he was extremely depressed and the psychiatrist just could...
Acts 2
Acts 2 - “We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives...
Acts 1
Acts 1 - Over 2000 years ago a match was struck in Jerusalem. Initially, just a few were ignited, but the fire spread. The disciples were first...
Lamentations 5
Lamentations 5 - We don't often think in terms of the comprehensive suffering that Judah endured during exile. It was not just that their enemies came and put them...
Lamentations 4
Lamentations 4 - With graphic detail, Jeremiah describes all the ways in which his people suffered during the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem. Those who survived the siege lived under...
Lamentations 3
Lamentations 3 - The first 20 verses of chapter 3 recall the conditions that God has allowed to take place which has brought immense grief to Jeremiah's heart. He...
Lamentations 2
Lamentations 2 - In the second chapter of Lamentations, God expresses His hatred for sin. It's important for us to remember that although God hates sin, it does not...
Lamentations 1
Lamentations 1 - He's known as the weeping prophet. For 40 years Jeremiah served God faithfully with little to no success. By the world's standards, he was a failure...
Leviticus 27
Leviticus 27 - The book of Leviticus has been an eye-opener. Often avoided by many as it's law after law, it's been refreshing to dig in and consider the...