Reading with M’Cheyne

Esther 2 Esther is one of the most intriguing books in the Bible - not least because it never mentions God's name. Despite the questions and suspicions raised by this, the obvious reason why this is so is quite simply that it was left out on purpose. In a way not unlike Ecclesiastes, it makes a God...

"...and they purified the people."--Nehemiah 12:30 Noah, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and Elijah are names that would show up on any "who's who" list of important biblical characters. Whole books and sermon series have been devoted to each of these men, and many more I'm sure will be written and...

"Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."--Genesis 22:2 Abraham and Sarai waited and wondered when God would fulfill his promise. But as the years past and still no...

"I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God"--Acts 20:27 When Paul charges young Timothy to "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort" (II Tim. 4:2), he knew the challenges Timothy would face. In fact, the Apostle Paul knew them as well...

"There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife."--Genesis 20:11 Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of a royal mess without even being aware of it. Such was the case for King Abimelech. As Abraham journeyed through the land of Gerar, on his way to the...

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones."--Matthew 18:10 The parable of the lost sheep and the verse above arise from a question posed by the disciples at the beginning of this great chapter, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (Matt.18:1) More than a curious question, the...

"Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" (Matt 8:26). On more than one occasion, Jesus rebuked the disciples for having "little faith" (cf. Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20; Lk. 12:28). The disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee as a storm raged all around them. And Jesus is...

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him" (Matt.7:11) Several things emerge from these words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: First, prayer is asking the Father for help, to...

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD" (Gen. 6:8) An important word occurs in the story of Noah, one reverberates throughout the pages of Scripture: grace or as the ESV translates it, "favor" (Gen. 6:8). In a context where the sinfulness of man is said to be "great" (6:5), Noah finds "favor...

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matt. 5:17). It is unwise to attempt to pin down what "fulfill" means in this breathtaking statement by Jesus. For starters, "the Law" may well be fulfilled in a different way to...