Category: Isaiah

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Exodus 19 – The Scene at Sinai

You may well know where the Sinai Peninsula is even if you don’t know that you know it. It’s the triangle of land between Israel and northern Egypt. It’s part of the Arabian Peninsula, which connects the African continent to the rest of the Middle East. Oddly enough, the Sinai Peninsula is roughly the same shape as the Arabian Peninsula, only smaller, like a tiny peninsular fractal. Mount Sinai is toward the southern end of the peninsula that bears its name, and here the Israelites arrive and encounter God in today’s yesterday’s Friday’s chapter (oof).

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Genesis 35 – Jacob in the Journey

Sometimes a lot of different things happen in a chapter. In today’s chapter, for example, God tells Jacob to go dwell in Bethel, which Jacob does, and God has a message of blessing for him once he settles there. Also, people die: Rebekah’s nurse Deborah, Rachel as she gives birth to Jacob’s twelfth son Benjamin, and then old Grandpa Isaac. If you can find a common theological or spiritual thread through all these events, more power to you. But as far as I can tell, the only theme tying them together is “some things pertaining to Jacob’s family happened in Canaan.” Sometimes chapters are like that.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Acts 8, contd. – Return of the Philip

If you were reading through the New Testament in canonical order, starting with Matthew and ending with Revelation, then Acts 8 would be the last you’d see of Philip. Even in the first half of the chapter, he ends up leaving the limelight as Peter handles Simon the Ex-Sorcerer’s attempt to purchase distribution rights to the Holy Spirit. But in the latter half of the chapter, Philip gets a solo adventure and an opportunity to do some big kingdom work, and it all starts with an angel and a eunuch.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Matthew 13 – I Hope You Like Subtext

If you’ve ever wondered what the kingdom of heaven is like, you came to the right chapter. Matthew 13 is over 90% parables by verse, each one a simile comparing the kingdom of heaven to something else. So what is the kingdom of heaven like? It’s like a sower sowing seed, a man whose enemy sows weeds in his wheat field, a mustard seed, leaven, a treasure hidden in a field, a merchant seeking fine pearls, and a dragnet. Need an explanation? If so, you’re in good company, because the disciples ask for one as well.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Matthew 12 – Pharisaical Head Games

In today’s chapter, no good deed goes un-disdained, at least where the Pharisees are concerned. They chew Jesus out for letting his disciples snack on grain on the Sabbath, conspire to “destroy” him when he heals on the Sabbath, and accuse him of using the power of Satan to cast out demons. And then some of them even have the audacity to ask for a sign from him. After all that, it’s no wonder that Jesus quickly gets short with them.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Zechariah 3 – Joshua the Priest, the Symbol

Today’s chapter introduces Joshua the high priest. Satan is prepared to accuse him, but the Lord steps in to his defense. Upon reading the passage, I wondered: who is Joshua? While I had some theories, I wanted to get my hands on reliable information about Joshua before I started speculating, and I have vast swaths of information from all over the globe at my fingertips because it’s 2017.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

2 Timothy 3 Rewind – Training in Writeousness

Before we tie a bow on the Timothies, I wanted to revisit one last pair of verses that we haven’t properly examined. I expect most of you will recognize the first of these verses, and you may even have memorized it if you were ever involved in scripture memory programs as a child. It’s one of Paul’s most-quoted lines: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). I memorized it in fourth or fifth grade as part of my church’s after-school program, R.A.D. (Radically Awesome Disciples). It was the 90s.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

2 Corinthians 4 – Conversations with Paul and Sara Groves

I was in high school when I first discovered Sara Groves. If I remember correctly, my dad heard her song “The Word” on the radio and ended up buying her Conversations CD as a result. But the bridge of the song is this litany of scriptural truths…and just this morning, as I was reading today’s chapter, it hit me: almost all of her scripture selections are taken from Paul.