BeachCast.TV: Bible Exploration, Apologetics and Church History with Dr. Chase A. Thompson:

Hannah was an amazing woman, but she was childless and that devastated her. Her rival taunted her, her husband was an oaf who couldn't comfort her, and her pastor/priest thought she was drunk. How did she handle such difficulty in the midst of heartbreak? With great grace and trust in the Lord. Hannah demonstrates to us how to live our lives when we are full of despair and anxiety AND are suffering from the barbs and insults of others. She also shows us the joy of full surrender to the plans and hand of God.

Ruth is, on its surface, a sad book set in a dark time. It tells the story of Naomi - a good Hebrew woman married to a Jewish man who has two sons married to two Moabite daughters. Sadly, Naomi's husband dies early, and then both of her sons also die, forcing Naomi to return to her home country embittered and grieving, with her daughter in law Ruth following her. It is here that hope begins to shine, and God's plan begins to unfold in the darkness. Even in the darkest times, God is working His sovereign plan for the good of those who love Him and for His glory!

It sure feels like God sometimes turns His back to His and stops listening to our prayers. We pray and pray, but don't sense that we've been heard, and our current crisis just seems to get worse and worse. Most Christians would say that God never abandons His children, but Psalms 10 might seem to indicate that He does...could such a thing be possible? We turn to Charles Spurgeon for some wisdom on today's question.

Most people know that Saul/Paul started out as an enemy of Jesus, but most don't know how bad it was. Saul/Paul imprisoned men and women, signed off on their death in an official capacity, tried to get Christians to blaspheme God, and threatened to murder them. Why in the world did Jesus choose to save such an enemy, and what does that say about the grace of God?

Why is the ending of the book of Judges so shocking and hopeless? It is because all of the people were ignoring the Word of God and simply doing what seemed or felt right in their own eyes. How dangerous is it to go with out gut and do what we 'feel' is best? Is there absolute truth, or is it all subjective?