In the text before us, the authority of Jesus is clearly on display. As Christians, we need to constantly keep this truth before us for, without this understanding, we will fail as disciples to follow Jesus as he commands.

Being “strong” and “assertive” is all the rage today. And yet we know the reality of weakness. Paul encourages us that, in confessed weakness, we can experience immense power to persevere towards perfection, for when we are weak, we can be...

Christians frequently carry very real and very raw burdens. We believe God’s promises of better things to come, but we battle with his delay. We lament, “How long must we wait?” Psalm 126 encourages us not only to wait but also about how we...

Psalm 126 summarises what those who follow the Lord can expect: both joy and weeping. Yet the joy assures us of hope in our weeping. The writer encourages us to rejoice in God for his past faithfulness, and to hope for more rejoicing because of...

As with all the judges, the story of Jephthah is a story of salvation. His story must be understood in the light of two verses in chapter 10: Verse 13 (“I will save you no more”) and v. 16 (“The LORD became impatient over the misery of...

Christmas, we know, is about far more than gift-giving, decorations, and family reunions. Christmas is about the advent of Jesus Christ. It’s about the fulfilment of God’s promise to send the offspring of the woman who would ultimately crush the...

Christianity promises a life of fulfilment and joy. In Philippians 4:10–19, Paul highlights four strategies to pursue joy as Christians: embracing selflessness; embracing contentment; embracing thankfulness; and embracing generosity.

Times of affluence present unique opportunities for apostasy. As Wiersbe observes, “comfortable living often produces weak character.” It certainly did in the history of Israel at this point, as is evident from vv. 6–16. A series of...

In the healing of the man at the pool, Jesus clearly displayed his deity. At this time of the year, it is important for us to remember that Jesus was both fully God and fully man, a truth that this text highlights.

Judges 10:1–5 serves as something of an intermission in the story of the judges. In these verses, we read the very brief story of two judges—Tola and Jair—whose ministries serve as something of a hinge between the first part of the book and the...