Genesis 43 – The famine still raging, the family of Jacob was coming down to the last bit of grain they had received from the incognito…
The Renovation Blog
1162 posts
Genesis 42 – Some 20 years had passed since Joseph laid eyes on his brothers. The last he had seen them was under the barbaric attack…
Genesis 41 – From pit to the palace, it took 13 years for the strategic plan of God to happen. To many looking upon Joseph in that…
Genesis 40 – Joseph’s character is in full view. Here’s a man in prison for something he didn’t do; betrayed by family; living in a foreign land…
Genesis 39 – It went from bad to worse. Simply consider all Joseph has gone through. Favored by his father, his brothers physically attack…
Genesis 38 – The story of Judah and Tamar peel back the cultural life in ancient times. By no means is it a good story on the moral front…
Genesis 37 – Here begins one of the most amazing and remarkable stories of the Old Testament. The life of Joseph and all that came against…
Genesis 36 – After the passing of their father Isaac, Esau and Jacob separated. What follows is the lineage of Esau known as the Edomites…
Genesis 35 – “Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you…
Genesis 34 – It’s a terrible incident. The rape of Jacob’s daughter Dinah and slaughter of the men of the town by the hands of his 2 sons Levi…
Genesis 33 – From the very womb the 2 boys struggled. Their wrestling within their mother tumbled out into their lives. From their difference…
Genesis 32 – The last time Jacob saw Esau he vowed to kill him. Although 20 years had passed, going back to face his brother brought…
Genesis 31 – It was the last straw. Crooked Laban had made hardship after hardship for Jacob. He had labored 20 years and his wages…
Genesis 30 – It was an insane competition. Almost like a poker game, the 2 wives of Jacob negotiated who would sleep with him and upped…
Genesis 29 – God is forging Jacob’s character. Arriving in the land of his relatives, he not only finds them but falls in love. The convoluted…
Genesis 28 – It was a significant dream. It was a moment for Jacob that would set his course. It’s not hard to imagine the emotional difficulty…
Genesis 27 – It’s a house of deception. In his old age, Isaac decides it’s time to give his blessing to his eldest son, Esau. Mind you, in the…
Genesis 26 – “Now there was a famine in the land… The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of…
Genesis 25 – Genesis 25 reveals the death of Abraham, the barrenness of Rebekah, finally getting pregnant, carrying twins who would be…
Genesis 24 – The story of Isaac and Rebekah is truly remarkable and beautiful. God placed within Abraham that this only son of his must…
Genesis 23 – “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you.” Genesis 23:4 This world is not our home. We’re simply passing through on this…
Genesis 22 – Trust the Promiser, not the promise. This statement made by David Guzik speaks so boldly and truly goes to the core of this…
Genesis 21 – God is faithful. After repeated promises of the impossible from God to Abraham; after visits from angels; after a visit from God…
Genesis 20 – Abraham lies. God protects. Pulling up his stakes, Abraham took his entire clan and journeyed further south. Settling in Gerar it…
Genesis 19 – The slippery slope of compromise led Lot into an unraveling of a storyline that would place him in the infamous story of the
Genesis 18 – 2 stories, 1 overarching Truth: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”(Genesis 18:14) Story One has 3 visitors coming to visit…
Genesis 17 – “Abram was becoming a great man of faith, but you dont make a great man of faith overnight. It takes years of Gods work…
Genesis 16 – “God helps those who help themselves” – a statement nowhere found in scripture. Good old Benjamin Franklin made this…
Genesis 15 – Abraham’s doubts were legit. He had reason to fear retaliation from the people he had just overrun with his army of men in the rescue of…
Genesis 14 – In Abraham’s time most cities had their own kings. They ruled as they wanted and often would come against another town or…
Genesis 13 – Abraham’s nephew Lot was a character. While a young man his father died. Although he had strong role models of his grandfather…
Genesis 12 – It was a call to travel. “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s…
Genesis 11 – The Tower of Babel came about in man’s thinking as a rebellion to the one and true God. It was part of Nimrod’s Kingdom…
Genesis 10 – The lineage of Noah shows what happened and became of his sons and their descendants. What is interesting is these would…
Genesis 9 – The life of Noah is statement of being committed in obedience to the long term project of which God calls His people…
Genesis 8 – The storms of life blow in sometimes most unexpectedly. Sometimes the storms come by our own doing. And there are other…
Genesis 7 – Noah did everything he was asked to do. His obedience led to his deliverance. What began with a few raindrops…
Genesis 6 – Let’s stop and consider, Noah had no idea of what God was about to do. He was simply given instructions, mind you – crazy…
Genesis 5 – Chapter 5 of Genesis records the genealogy of Adam. The first of many recorded they are scattered throughout the old and even…
Genesis 4 – Confrontation is never easy especially when we’re on the receiving end. Usually, it’s due to an area we’ve overreacted or acted…
Genesis 3 – In the cool of the day, late afternoon, the Lord was walking in the garden. I’ve always looked upon this as a normal thing for Adam and Eve…
Genesis 2 – “You breathe in me and I’m alive with the power of your holiness. You breathe in me and You revive, feelings in my soul that I…
Genesis 1 – There is a sense of awe and wonder of the entire creation of the world. The details here are gripping as we read God meticulously working…
James 4 – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain…
James 3 – “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” What a load of bunk. Since when has this ever been true?…
James 2 – Salvation arrives by the amazing and most abundant grace given through Jesus. All of our faults, all of our struggles, and all of our sins do…
James 1 – Talk is cheap. Inundated with promises everywhere we look from commercials to presidential candidates it’s easy to make or hear…
John 21 – Peter had denied his friend and Lord. He had acted in his flesh and in fear. He had disappointed Jesus. Yet, Jesus met Peter…
John 20 – The miracle of the empty tomb, the resurrection of Jesus brought shock and skepticism. John records that miraculous morning…
John 19 – “It is finished.” –John 19:30 It happened. The betrayal, the arrest, the denial, the disciples scattering like sheep had all taken place…
John 18 – Here stood 2 kingdoms in conflict. Pilate’s Kingdom was based upon his physical presence and ruling jurisdiction of Judea…
John 17 – There’s a beautiful prayer Jesus prayed that last night of His earthly life. It was a prayer for his disciples. He prayed over them…
John 16 – “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but…
John 15 – We can’t do it on our own. Oh, we’ve tried countless times. We attempt to make things work in our own strength. We go down…
John 14 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”John 14:6 Of the…
John 13 – It was the last night of his life. As John opens up this chapter he states Jesus “showed the full extent of His love.” (John13:1) In…
John 12 – “… But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away…
John 11 – Jesus delayed. He knew of the situation with Lazarus and purposely waited to go help. The reactions were expected…
John 10 – A shepherd’s job is quite a task. They have the responsibility of making sure their sheep are safe; must know how many they have…
John 9 – He had never seen the sunrise, witnessed a smile; never in his life had he been able to see the flowers of which he smelled…
John 8 – They set a trap. The teachers and Pharisees thought they had Jesus cornered as they first baited the woman to commit…
John 7 – There is a thirst within every human. There’s a drive and longing that is there beyond what we ourselves are capable of finding…
John 6 – It’s way too easy to get focused on the tangible things before us rather than the spiritual that God is doing in the middle of it…
John 5 – For 38 years the man wanted to be healed. He had joined many others who gathered around a pool of water in Bethesda day…
John 4 – The Gospel is for all people. No matter what their race, title, social position, identity, past sins may be – the redemptive work…
John 3 – I love, love, love this chapter. It is completely packed with unreal truths and conversations. We’re first introduced to Nicodemus…
John 2 – In ancient times, weddings were week-long events. Imagine. Now a day’s people put months and months into such planning…
John 1 – “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14 From timeless eternity, God was there. Jesus was there. The Trinity was…
Esther 10 – 3 short verses sum up this chapter and bring a close to an amazing story of Esther and God’s providence. It’s so encouraging to…
Esther 9 – The day arrived. The irreversible edict Haman connived and duped the king to sign had come. The edict King Xerxes approved…
Esther 8 – Haman impaled on the very gallows he’d built for Mordecai still left a problem. The edict of the slaughter of the Jews still stood…
Esther 7 – “Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion…
Esther 6 – “If the book of Esther shows us anything, it shows us that God manages the affairs of men, without their knowledge…
Esther 5 – “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you…” –Obadiah 3:3 Prayer and fasting led Esther to act. It was probably one of…
Esther 4 – Sometimes we are called to make hard decisions. Sometimes we are compelled to speak truth or confront where loss…
Esther 3 – Every story and needs a villain and here we have a doozy of an individual. Haman the Agagite, serves the king. He’s also a…
Esther 2 – “Exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and…
Esther 1 – The year is 483 BC. 100 and some years have passed since the Jewish people were taken into exile. The first wave of people had…
Nehemiah 13 – As the saying goes, “While the cats away…” The book of Nehemiah ends with quite a flurry of activity that is not only surprising…
Nehemiah 12 – “When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter…
Nehemiah 11 – Although the walls were complete around Jerusalem, the city itself was a ghost town. The exiles who had returned and settled…
Nehemiah 10 – Repair. Rebuild. Reinforce. Physically things had come together and were complete with the walls of Jerusalem. God was not…
Nehemiah 9 – “But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; and You did not…
Nehemiah 8 – With Ezra by his side, the people gathered as one and listened to the Word of God being read. It was the first in many…
Nehemiah 7 – “Then I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let…
Nehemiah 6 – Nehemiah is determined to fulfill the Lord’s work and rebuild the walls despite facing every obstacle imaginable thus far…
Nehemiah 5 – The work stopped. On the tail end of such a great victory when the people were motivated, working alongside one another to…
Nehemiah 4 – Discouragement is a terrible thing. The insidious feeling of being overrun and fighting defeat sinks to one’s bones…
Nehemiah 3 – Nehemiah made it to Jerusalem. At night he went out and inspected the walls to see what he was facing of this massive task that…
Nehemiah 2 – “So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king…” Smack in the middle of a conversation, Nehemiah prayed…
Nehemiah 1 – Brokenness surrounds us. Many times it is overwhelming. Marriages are in disarray. Addictions drive the addict to things they…
Hebrews 13 – The letter was addressed to first-century Believers but the effects of the words still resonate. The author has made one thing clear…
Hebrews 12 – The word ‘therefore’ is an adverb used to introduce a new line of thought as a conclusion to something previously stated…
Hebrews 11 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”– Hebrews 11:1 “By faith…
Hebrews 10 – Persevere in the life Christ has called you. Do not give up hope. Do not get lost in your struggle with sin. Do not become…
Hebrews 9 – “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect…
Hebrews 8 – Jesus became the New Covenant between man and God. His sacrifice took away our sin. He is a better mediator between us than…
Hebrews 7 – Genesis 14 has a mysterious individual make an appearance who only is mentioned within a few short verses. Melchizedek was a…
Hebrews 6 – An anchor is essential in the high waters and rough seas. Without it securely and deeply planted you’ll never stay where you intend…