1 Chronicles 12 – The story of David’s mighty men sounds a bit like a Hollywood blockbuster. In Chapter 11, we read the incredible stories of these…
The Renovation Blog
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1 Chronicles 11 – For 20 years David waited. As a young man, Samuel came to his household and anointed him the future king. These 20 years…
1 Chronicles 10 – For 9 chapters we have read of Israel’s genealogy from creation all the way through the Exile which took the rebellious people into…
1 Chronicles 9 – Let’s say you have an important meeting. It’s one you’ve anticipated with another about a project or even a heartfelt conversation. You’ve set…
1 Chronicles 8 – The tribe of Benjamin played an important role in the life of Israel. It would be from this tribe warriors rose, the first…
1 Chronicles 7 – There is an unseen war of which we wage and battle every single day. Chapter 7 records interesting statements throughout”…
1 Chronicles 6 – The list reads of heavy hitters in the work of God. The tribe of Levi was initially set a part to serve God…
1 Chronicles 5 – “They cried out to Him during the battle. He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.” (1 Chronicles 5:20) What a powerful…
1 Chronicles 4 – There is a 2 verse pause in the list of the tribes of Judah. A pause that gives a name most have never…
1 Chronicles 3 – The royal line of David and house of Jesse is recorded here. I love how Ezra was led to record this in detail…
1 Chronicles 2 – “Here lies good old Fred – A great big rock fell on his head.” “Here lies a man named Martin – The lights…
1 Chronicles 1 – The Workman clan descends upon Columbia City once a year. As many who can make it, New Year’s Day has been set aside…
Ruth 4 – “God’s hand is all over history. God works out His purpose, generation after generation. Limited as we are to one lifetime, each of us sees so…
Ruth 3 – The blending of lives is a beautiful thing. We probably don’t think about that much with the relationships we hold. But all…
Ruth 2 – The hand of God is always at work. There are no coincidences. When God is moving among His people, His hand is always leading and working…
Ruth 1 – It was during one of the darkest times of Israel. The book of Judges records countless stories of people who failed miserably in their devotion to…
Isaiah 66 – As the book of Isaiah comes to a close it ends with drama, hope, and sobering warnings. Throughout Isaiah’s writings, God has instructed him to return…
Isaiah 65 – The book of Judges sums up a people who did what they wanted, threw caution to the wind and reaped those benefits for generations. Story after…
Isaiah 64 – Waiting. We hate it. We hate to wait in traffic. We loathe waiting for an appointment. At the checkout line, if we find ourselves standing too…
Isaiah 63 – We have heard the term “Grieving the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes the word “quenching” is used as well. But what exactly does this mean? In simple terms,…
Isaiah 62 – “I will not keep silent. I will not stop praying…until…” – God (NLT) In the opening of this passage where God speaks toward His people, He…
Isaiah 61 – “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” – Jesus (Luke 4:21) Jesus had just come off the heels of His time in the desert…
Isaiah 60 – There will come a time when all darkness will dissipate. The desperate darkness that grips the heart and soul of humankind, the…
Isaiah 59 – Sin is offensive. There, I said it. We are so good at relegating our sins to the back burner of thought. We insanely justify behavior that…
Isaiah 58 – Apoptosis – this medical term (the definition found on Medicine.Net) is a form of cell death in which a programmed sequence of events leads to the…
Isaiah 57 – Spiritual Adultery. The term itself seems impossible really. It also stands as an offensive term. But this is what God addresses with the people of Israel…
Isaiah 56 – There are times we are dreamers. We think of what could be, where we could go, yet for many, their dreams simply stay right there. They…
Isaiah 55 – The invitation has been sent. All are asked to join our Lord of Hosts, God Almighty, the Redeemer Jesus. The invitation is for all but many…
Isaiah 54 – Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Try and suck all the sweetness that you can out of this chapter while we read it. The personal application of a promise…
Isaiah 53 – The opening verse grabs my attention. “Who has believed our message?” It’s a rhetorical question but one that was referenced twice in the New Testament. John…
Isaiah 52 – Awake from your slumber and believe! Awake from the sleepiness that has taken over your ways and thoughts and live in victory. Within this profound and…
Isaiah 51 – Have you ever stood in the waters of a lake or river where the ground beneath was not solid? The strange muck at the bottom acts…
Isaiah 50 – Courage. Imagery of a courageous person comes often times in scenes of battle. We think of a warrior who is on the battlefield moving forward against…
Isaiah 49 – His words were like a sharp arrow ready to pierce the heart. Israel would be his servant and he would be their master. But something was…
Isaiah 48 – There is no masquerade with God. He sees the hard hearts of people. He sees where they have refused to bring themselves before Him in submission. …
Isaiah 47 – We have heard and have spoken even that God is the God of the past, the present and the future. It’s a tremendous statement that can…
Isaiah 46 – The weight of holding onto our idols can be unbearable. Like a backpack full of bricks, the straps pull on our shoulders, twisting our back as…
Isaiah 45 – 200 hundred years before the man was born, before the prophecy given – the Lord spoke to the prophet Isaiah concerning him. A pagan king, called…
Isaiah 44 – We stand in the barren wilderness. The ground cracked and dried, our parched throats cry for water. Looking every direction there is nothing on the horizon….
Isaiah 43 – Sink or swim. Drown or float. Two pretty stark options when the floods come, the hardship prevails. Waves crashing upon, the…
Isaiah 42 – It’s known as the Servant Song. The verses found in this passage of Isaiah are remarkably beautiful. Speaking toward Jesus the…
Isaiah 41 – The mercy of God is undeserved and unreal. There is no way any of us should receive the extended hand of His grace, reaching…
Isaiah 40 – This life is a fleeting experience compared to the life of eternity that awaits. Sometimes we get so caught up in the mundane…
Isaiah 39 – Foolishness. Just because we are Believers does not mean we will not make foolish decisions sometimes. It’s an unfortunate thing for sure when this takes place,…
Isaiah 38 – “Set your house in order. You are going to die.” The scene is dramatic. Isaiah was instructed to relay an important message to King Hezekiah. The…
Isaiah 37 – “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7 The Assyrian field commander’s words sent shock waves throughout the people…
Isaiah 36 – Deception. The enemy of our souls has used this tactic with God’s creation since the beginning of time. His deception takes that of half truths or…
Isaiah 35 – Restoration. After the barrage of judgment over evil against nations and wayward people, God speaks in beautiful terms of restoring His own. Although this prophetically speaks…
Isaiah 34 – The stage is set. The return of Jesus has been spoken of by Himself, the prophets of Old that there would be great hardship and absolutely…
Isaiah 33 – The sting of betrayal burns deep. We’ve all experienced this on some level. Betrayal shatters trust. It brings extreme caution…
Isaiah 32 – The Spirit of God is what makes a difference in our lives. Through the tough times, the hardship, the questioning even, it is the…
Isaiah 31 – Where’s your trust? No, I’m serious. Stop and look at your life at the moment. The areas that have spun completely out of control. The relationships…
Isaiah 30 – We are people who see a problem and resolve to fix it. We’re often those who weigh in on some situation and in our own thinking…
Isaiah 29 – We’re all guilty of it from time to time. Going through the motions with anything we’ve become accustomed to doing can be a deadly careless action….
Isaiah 28 – Remember those days back in elementary school when a teacher would correct you? You had done something wrong, had acted out or whatever would warrant their…
Isaiah 27 – “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with me.” – Isaiah 27:5 This King James translation is awesome! Chapter 27 speaks…
Isaiah 26 – Difficulties and turmoil bombard us from time to time. We struggle with physical illness. We have broken relationships that tear us apart. We wrestle with our…
Isaiah 25 – Following a chapter on the destruction and judgment of God, we read a deeply personal appeal to His faithfulness. It almost…
Isaiah 24 – It’s known as Isaiah’s Apocalypse. For the following 4 chapters he is given words from God about the judgment of the entire world. This chapter is…
Isaiah 23 – To the north of Israel lay the port city of Tyre. Of the ancient world, it was one of the most famous. Known as the Babylon…
Isaiah 22 – How do you handle the immense spiritual burdens of others? Isaiah wept over Israel. You can feel his raw emotion in verse 4. He refuses…
Isaiah 21 – A shared truth sticks out over the past few chapters of Isaiah. All the main players surrounding Judah (Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and Ethiopia) are under…
Isaiah 20 – Many years ago while in Cyprus a friend of mine told a story how God asked him to do something which seemed illogical. He was back…
Isaiah 19 – It’s strange how sometimes we get the mindset that some people are unreachable. Let’s be honest, many times we have those thoughts. We believe they are…
Isaiah 18 – It’s one of the briefest chapters in Isaiah and according to commentators, the most difficult to understand. Chapter 18 is obscure but there is a truth…
Isaiah 16 – We’ve all witnessed it. Maybe we ourselves did the same. God began putting a finger on some area of our life, revealing our…
Isaiah 15 – Burdens are tough as a bystander watching someone who has made poor choices reap what they’ve sown. This is particularly true when our hearts are sensitive…
Isaiah 14 – Jesus said, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” (Luke 10:18) Tucked in the prophecy against Babylon, are 5 verses giving insight toward this…
Isaiah 13 – Babylon. Within prophecy this ancient city is always equated to the hedonistic people who are antagonistic toward God. Old…
Isaiah 12 – This calls for a celebration! This chapter is a song of gratitude to the Lord. Let us rejoice for what He is has done!
Isaiah 11 – We stand in a sea of need. Most times that need is overwhelming. Over the past several months we as a staff have really buckled down…
Isaiah 10 – ‘Woe” is a dangerous word in Scripture. Chapter 10 kicks off with God using this word as a warning of the severe consequences to come. …
Isaiah 8 – Where’s your trust when it comes to things of this political world? Headlines bombard us every single day…
Isaiah 7 – Houston, we have a problem. The year was 734 BC. King Ahaz was on the throne and one of the worst in Judah’s history…
Isaiah 6 – It was a life changing vision. An encounter with the Holy God that changed the complete trajectory of Isaiah’s life. The vision revealed the greatness…
Isaiah 5 – They say tending to a vineyard is tedious and time-consuming.That stressful work is a top priority of vineyard owners. God uses this springboard of…
Isaiah 4 – “Sin is the excrement of the soul, the superfluity or garbage of naughtiness, the devil’s vomit. From this abominable filth Christ has ‘loved and washed His…
Isaiah 3 – On many fronts, Isaiah 3 is a parade of sin. The people proud of their choices and personal behavior, they were no longer ashamed but put…
Isaiah 2 – We long for days when there are no more wars. It seems everyday there are headlines stating a war or faction or uprising that is affecting…
Isaiah 1 – He is known as the greatest prophet. Raised in an aristocratic home he was married to a prophetess. When he first started off he was well…
Colossians 4 – “Devote yourselves in prayer, being watchful and thankful.” “Epaphras… he is always wrestling in prayer for you…” Prayer is an essential aspect of our spiritual life….
Colossians 3 – We are walking miracles. God has taken the dead and raised them to life. Through Jesus Christ, the grave clothes that wrapped us so tightly are…
Colossians 2 – Paul is struggling. His struggle not personal but for the people of Colossae as well as those in Laodicea. His concern goes far deeper than just…
Colossians 1 – There is reason to believe Paul never visited the church in Colossi. It was a church more than likely founded by his friend Epaphras and other…
Philippians 4 – He sits in a cell. His freedom is gone and his future uncertain. His dreams possibly smashed as he considers what he could be doing at…
Philippians 3 – I had a friend who used to say, “If you’re green, you’ll grow. If you’re ripe, you’ll rot.” I am sometimes baffled by a lack of…
Philippians 2 – There were no auditions. Our resume was not looked over for a decision to be made to take the role. There was nothing in our…
Philippians 1 – It’s known as Paul’s letter of joy. It speaks personally to the people but also of his own circumstances. Circumstances he has not…
Ephesians 6 – As Paul brings his final thoughts to a close within his letter, he has spoken of a deep calling upon every Believer’s life. He’s been…
Ephesians 5 – There is a subtle downward slope that can happen to any Believer who is not standing firm and working on their relationship with Jesus daily. It…
Ephesians 4 – There is a deep calling on each of our lives. We who are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ have a mission. This mission does not…
Ephesians 3 – What do you long for? What are the prayers ever on your mind and whispered from your lips? Where do the burdens of your heart take…
Ephesians 2 – Identity. The dictionary defines identity as the sameness of essential or generic character in different instances; a distinguishing character or personality…
Ephesians 1 – Paul wrote a letter. It was not to confront the church on issues, but to encourage. The church was born the day of Pentecost when the…
Galatians 6 – As Paul winds down his letter he makes tremendous statements that could be dissected and applied very easily. He is incredibly practical and encouraging while writes…
Galatians 5 – Sometimes inventories are good. This is particularly true in those quiet moments when we take the time to think about our spiritual life. These can be…
Galatians 4 – I admit that sometimes I get so caught up in my own wants and needs that I miss the bigger picture. We all tend to gravitate…
Galatians 3 – False teachings tickle the ears. Many times they play upon our senses. Often they stir an excitement from the mundane even and prompt us toward the…