Satan tempts us when we are vulnerable. He is like a master fisherman who knows when to dangle the bait. He wants to lure us into sin. Even success can make us vulnerable to sin. Successful mountain climbers tell us that the most dangerous part of their journey is going down the mountain after reaching …
Forty is a time of testing. It is a recurring theme in the Bible that can be a time of preparation or coming judgment. In Genesis chapter seven, forty days of rain brought judgment on the earth. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years to prepare them for the promised land. Nineveh had …
People were drawn to John the Baptist because they sensed a move of God. Even John’s message about the need for repentance drew people into the wilderness of Judea. Matthew 3:5 People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6 And when they confessed …
Why was Jesus baptized by John the Baptist? The incredible story of Jesus’ baptism by John in the River Jordan reveals a God of love who came to earth as a human being and connected with the people He created. If our Savior offered salvation to sinners like us, He needed to identify with the …
As John the Baptist baptized people, he said Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. It would be a different baptism. At the Jordan River, John baptized with water to demonstrate a willingness to turn from sin and toward God. While John’s baptism did not give salvation, repentance was the first step in …
Why does God bring judgment if He is loving? The Lord is like a parent; to correct us, the Lord must bring judgment in this lifetime. Although it makes Him sad to do so. Hebrews 12:11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living …
Repentance changes our hearts because we turn away from our sins and toward God. Because of our sinful nature, every person struggles with sin. Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.[1] Turning away from our sin is not returning to the broad road that leads to destruction but choosing …
Many times, God brings transformation in the wilderness in Scripture. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness as the Lord prepared him to lead Israel. He had no idea the Lord was teaching and preparing him for forty years as a simple shepherd. When the Israelites disobeyed the Lord after being freed from Egypt, they …
The timing of God shows the hand of the Lord throughout our lives. All of us were born in a particular place and time, setting our life’s journey into motion like a small puzzle piece in a larger picture. Before Jesus’ ministry, the Father sent John the Baptist ahead to prepare the soil of people’s …
There are numerous puzzles of Esther. It is a very secular book, as the name of God is never used or referred to. And there is no mention of prayer or worship. It does explain the source of the Jewish celebration of Purim, but that is not a God-ordained feast from Leviticus 23. Mordecai and …