Monthly Archives: October 2011

Week 8 Read:  Judges 2:11 The world God intends falls apart when people do what is right in their own eyes.  But that’s the way the Book of Judges summarizes Israel when the nation was at its lowest point. The … Continue reading →

Week 8 Read:  Joshua 24:25 It’s all about Covenant.  God is faithful to it, and asks us to be also. I agree with Stott’s summary.  The covenant is God saying, “I will be your God, and you shall be my … Continue reading →

Week 8 Read:  Joshua 21:43 Today, we have been “shot from a cannon.”  Stott’s desire to get us to the birth of Jesus on time, forces him to move through the rest of the Old Testament, leaving more out than … Continue reading →

Week 7 Read:  Exodus 20:15 and 20:17 I believe that Stott combines the 8th and 10th commandments in a good way, but I am not sure whether doing so is in keeping with the intention for the original list.  I … Continue reading →

Week 7 Read:  Exodus 20:16 After establishing the foundation of human life—reverence for the one true God, the commandments then build upon that foundation with commitments to the things that make for a strong society: the family unit, humanity at-large, … Continue reading →

Week 7 Read:  Exodus 20:14 In a sex-saturated culture, where sexual activity is put on virtually the same level as a recreational event, it’s difficult to grasp the significance of the seventh commandment. God’s prohibition of adultery is not to … Continue reading →

Week 7 Read: Exodus 20:13 In the last meditation on the commandments, I made a connection between the first four and the Lord’s Prayer. But I also see them following a similar pattern to that described in the creation narratives.  … Continue reading →

Week 7 Read: Exodus 20:12 Stott notes that some make a division between commandments 1-4 and 5-10.  He believes, however, that commandment 5 goes with the first four. I happen to believe that all ten go together.  They all reveal … Continue reading →

Week 7 Read:  Exodus 20: 7-8 If God is the supreme influence, it only stands to reason that we will reverence God.  The next two commandments call us to do this in two ways:  (1) by the way we use … Continue reading →

Week 7:  John Stott underscores the importance of the Ten Commandments by devoting an entire week to them. Read:  Exodus 20:3-5 The Bible does not teach there is only one God; it teaches there is only one true God.  We … Continue reading →

Week 6 Read:  Numbers 10:29 Stott hits the nail on the head today:  a “journey” can become a “wandering” for lack of obedience. God is our guide, but we must follow Him.  God alone knows the way.  When we presume … Continue reading →

Week 6 Read:  Exodus 19-5-6 In today’s reading I was reminded that when the Israelites got to Mount Sinai, they stayed there for about a year.  Sometimes when I am reading the Bible, the fact that I read on creates … Continue reading →

Week 6 Read Exodus 14:31 Every one of us has an “Exodus” in our life—an occasion and experience when God delivered us from something.  Most of us have a number of them. Our “exoduses” provide the basis for documenting the … Continue reading →

Week 6 Read: Exodus 12:23 Today we read one of the most significant passages in the Bible—a passage that has immediate importance, but one which also illustrates the ongoing drama of redemption.  Each of Stott’s four points about the Passover … Continue reading →

Week 6 Read:  Exodus 7:5 Today’s brief reading serves as an introduction to the extended plague passages—a challenging and difficult section. Stott is correct in showing that the plagues served more than one purpose, the ultimate one being to reveal … Continue reading →

Week 6 Read:  Exodus 3:10 Life looks different when you’re eighty than it does when you’re forty.  God had put Moses “in to soak” in the wilderness, and the renewal of his call was marked with humility and dependency upon … Continue reading →

Week 6:  “Moses and the Exodus” Read:  Exodus 2:23-24 If we have a “heart,” we quickly and easily “boil over” when we see people around us being unfairly treated.  What should be a response, turns into a reaction. God never … Continue reading →

Week 5 Read:  Genesis 50:20 Stott’s comments go a long way in interpreting today’s reading.  The providence of God is working through all sorts of things:  history, injustices, and forgiveness—as Stott so clearly points out. Too often we think of … Continue reading →

Week 5 Read:  Genesis 32:26 I think Stott gives us an important picture in today’s reading.  There’s no use in using the word “wrestling” unless both parties are wrestling. God wrestles with us in order to get us into the … Continue reading →

Week 5 Read:  Genesis 25:21 When Jeannie and I made our trip to the Holy Land, it included a visit to Petra.  I failed to connect that amazing, ancient city with Esau.  But it was from his line that the … Continue reading →

Week 5 Read:  Genesis 17:2 Stott “goes backward” to a text he might previously have dealt with.  We don’t know why.  But we do know he is dealing with the heart of God’s relationship with us:  covenant. If we go … Continue reading →