The Bible is full of accounts of God’s mighty acts of deliverance. We read of one of the most spectacular in Isaiah 37:36, recorded in the most matter-of-fact style: “And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians.” Thus in one swift stroke God decimated the Assyrian army which…

Yesterday at our prayer meeting, after prayer (and some pie and coffee!) we took a brief look at John 17:1-5. This is the beginning of the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, with which he concluded his final Passover meal with his disciples before his arrest that night. When I preached from this passage some years ago, I came across a story about…

Throughout the Scriptures the Lord calls us to wait for him. “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (Psalm 27:14). “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 21). As Christians, God has given us many precious promises in…

This past Sunday I preached on Isaiah 30:1-17, in which the prophet denounces the faithlessness of the people of Judah. Rather than entrusting themselves to the Lord in the face of the threat of Assyrian aggression, the people turned to Egypt instead. They looked to the military might of Pharaoh to give them the security and protection they longed for. But this…

“Thee will I cherish, thee will I honor, thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.” These words are from the hymn Fairest Lord Jesus and express the heart of a Christian – that he glories in his Savior Jesus Christ. The question – in what or whom do we glory? – was the subject of my sermon on Sunday from Isaiah 28:1-13.…

2020 was a memorable year for our family. After twelve and a half years of life and adventures in Alaska, we packed up and moved to Reno, Nevada. Looking back, I can see how the Lord faithfully guided and provided for us during a year of transition. The year will be memorable for all of us as the year when COVID-19 changed…

When the angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream to tell him that Mary was pregnant with a son conceived by the Holy Spirit, he told him to name the boy Jesus, “… for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:22). What if the angel had left off the last three words and had only said to…

Of all the prophecies given to the people of Israel throughout the centuries, this one spoken by Isaiah to King Ahaz must have been among the most mysterious and wonderful: “… Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The Scripture records no obvious fulfillment of these words in the days of King…

Chapter 27 of Isaiah opens with this striking verse: “In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Isaiah 27:1). In the ancient world Leviathan was a mythical sea creature, a terrifying monster who was a source…

At the beginning of chapter 26 of Isaiah, the prophet tells us the words of a song that will sung by the redeemed people of God on the day of their deliverance. And in the middle of the song, as though they are speaking to us today, the people sing: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,…