Free daily Bible notes

Daily Bible thoughts 712: Thursday 25th September 2014:

There is an incredible, exalted picture of God throughout the second half of Isaiah.

‘’Returning to the land and rebuilding the nation seemed impossible tasks to the exiles, so Isaiah invited them to behold the greatness of God. God is greater than every burden you bear and every challenge you face. Babylon was but a drop in the bucket to God! The world’s false gods can do nothing to hinder the working of your great God, so trust Him to see you through.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.476.

‘’This superb poem rebukes our small ideas and flagging faith…by its presentation of God…and…of a universe dwarfed by his presence. The goal of the passage is v.31, where human imaginings (18) and doubts (27) give way to the humble expectancy that is urged on us throughout the book.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.656.

In the remainder of chapter 40 Isaiah speaks about this incomparable God who is coming to rescue His people. He poses a series of rhetorical questions, designed to help God’s people trust in Him and wait patiently for Him. They need to know that He is able to do what He has promised. The description of God in (12-31) is reminiscent of God’s own words about Himself in Job chapters 38-41. ‘’God is bigger, greater, and more awesome than any human can imagine. ‘’Who can understand Him?’’ Isaiah asks. ‘’Who can teach Him?’’ ‘’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1038. Who of us has come close to doing any of the things God has done? These words humble us, even as they encourage our faith. ‘’Who could ever have told GOD what to do or taught him his business? What expert would he have gone to for advice, what school would he attend to learn justice? What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows, showed him how things work? The Message. ‘’Such a Creator hardly needs our impatient advice or shares our impotence.’’ Derek Kidner: p.656.

‘’Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket, a mere smudge on a window. Watch him sweep up the islands like so much dust off the floor! There aren’t enough trees in Lebanon nor enough animals in those vast forests to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship. All the nations add up to simply nothing before him – less than nothing is more like it. A minus.’’ (15-17) The Message. Isaiah saw that no amount of sacrifices could do justice to the greatness of God, even if all the firewood and animals of Lebanon were available. We can never worship Him adequately.

When you recognise how infinitely great God is, it also helps you to see how utterly ridiculous idolatry is (18-20). What lifeless idol, even when covered in gold, can compare with the living God? There seems to be a certain irony; a sarcastic touch of humour in the reference to idols being so helpless, they have to be constructed with wide bases so that they don’t ‘’topple’’ over! (20). It is of the very essence of an idol to be unstable. Our idols may appear to offer stability, but they cannot give it. As someone has pointed out, the idolater’s pathetic efforts are studied at length in Isaiah (see also 44:9-20; 46:1-7), and the wilfulness that causes the spiritual blindness is exposed in Romans 1:18-23.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to see you more clearly with every passing day.

September 25, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 711: Wednesday 24th September 2014:

Isaiah 40:1-11

We ‘’emerge in 40:1 in a different world from Hezekiah’s, immersed in the situation foretold in 39:5-8,which he was so thankful to escape. Nothing is said of the intervening century and a half; we wake, so to speak, on the far side of the disaster, impatient for the end of captivity. In chs. 40-48 liberation is in the air; there is the persistent promise of a new exodus, with God at its head; there is the approach of a conqueror, eventually disclosed as Cyrus, to break Babylon open; there is also a new theme unfolding, to reveal the glory of the call to be a servant and a light to the nations. All this is expressed with a soaring, exultant eloquence, in a style heard only fitfully hitherto (cf. e.g. 35:1-10; 37:26-27), but now sustained so as to give its distinctive tone to the remaining chapters of the book.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.655

So Isaiah’s vision leaps ahead 150 years. The exile was coming to an end and the Jews were about to be led home to Jerusalem by the Lord Himself. Hence this word of double ‘’Comfort, comfort…’’ (1, 2). The people had been amply punished for their sins, and the time of chastening was about to end. We might say that the sentence had been served and it was time to leave the jail. The words ‘’Speak tenderly’’ were often used in contexts of reassurance. It literally means ‘’speak to the heart’’. ‘’Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of – forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.’’ The Message. The crisis, the pain, the heartache are all at an end. What a relief!

The Lord was about to defeat the Babylonians (by means of the Persian army) and lead His people back to Jerusalem. There is the idea of a second ‘exodus’ by means of the ‘’wilderness’’. God’s glory would be revealed in and through this liberation (3-5). One hundred and fifty years after these words were written they came to pass, but only in a preliminary way. The gospels show that the real fulfilment occurred when Jesus came into the world and began His ministry. John the Baptist was the ‘’voice of one calling in the desert’’, preparing the way for Christ (see Mark 1:1-5). Above, all the people of John’s day were called to prepare for the Messiah by repenting of their sins (Matthew 3:1-3). Still today repentance makes the ‘’rough ground…level’’ (4) and removes spiritual obstacles out of the way so that we can come to Jesus and be saved by Him. There is a sense in which (5) is still to happen in the fullest sense, when Jesus comes back to the earth.

In (6-8) you find a contrast between the frailty of men who ‘’fall’’ (7a) and ‘’the word of our God’’ which ‘’stands for ever’’ (8). Something of that endurance is seen in the ‘staying-power’ of the book of Isaiah, and the fact that we are still studying it today, rejoicing in its truth, and marvelling over its fulfilments. Here Isaiah seems to hear another voice. No one can preach without first hearing the ‘’voice’’ above all voices. This voice tells him to tell the people that all men (and that would include the Assyrians and the Babylonians) have only a short time on earth. Their glory soon fades. But it is not so with God’s Word. The plans of even the mightiest empires cannot prevail against the Lord (see 1 Peter 1:23-25). Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will endure forever (Mark 13:31). So will those who obey His Word (1 John 2:17).

What a beautiful gospel we have of a mighty God and loving tender Saviour (10, 11). May we ‘’lift up’’ our voices without fear to declare the ‘’good tidings’’ (9)

Prayer: Help me to come out of hiding and boldly proclaim your truth to all.

September 24, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 710: Tuesday 23rd September 2014:

Isaiah 39

The Bible is realistic about its heroes. Even the best of people, like Hezekiah, had ‘feet of clay’. We see this king as one of the best to sit on the throne of Judah. He trusted in the Lord. He led the people in God’s ways. But he wasn’t perfect. The short term thinking he showed in (8) is not commendable.

They say that a football team will be more vulnerable to a counter-attack goal after they have just scored. In the spiritual life, immediately after some ‘high’, or triumph or deliverance, you can be exposed. Following a victory, the soul can be tempted to put its feet up by the fire and relax with a nice glass of wine! This story teaches that you can never afford to drop your guard. You must never switch off. There is a repeated call in the New Testament to be ‘’alert’’. As someone said, the price of our safety is ‘’eternal vigilance.’’

Sometimes kindness can find your vulnerabilities more than outright antagonism (1). We are softened by niceness. Some people are very skilful at wearing the velvet glove which hides a curled fist. ‘’The faith of Hezekiah, proof against the heaviest blows, melts at the touch of flattery…and the world claims another victim by its friendship.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.655

Warren Wiersbe offers some helpful insights on this short chapter: ‘’This was the third test (2 Chron. 32:31), and the king failed miserably. What could not be accomplished through an army or an illness was accomplished through flattery. If Satan cannot succeed as a lion, then he comes as a serpent: ‘’Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful’’ (Prov.27:6).The king of Babylon wanted one thing: Judah’s cooperation in opposing the Assyrians. The enemy is a liar and uses every excuse to get entry into your life. It was foolish for Hezekiah to welcome them and show them the royal treasures, but pride took over and discernment disappeared…instead of repenting, Hezekiah felt relieved that the judgment would not come in his day. How shortsighted can a man of faith become! Had he no concern for the future of his people? ‘’With the Word’’, p.475.

Actually the Bible does not state that Merodach-Baladan wanted Hezekiah’s help to take on Assyria, but enough is known about the Babylonian king to imagine that he had plots hatching under the cover of this visit.

Someone said: ‘’Speak the kind truth’’. That may not always be comfortable truth, but it would be unkind to withhold it (Proverbs 26:28) Isaiah had to confront both Ahaz (chapter 7) and Hezekiah (chapter 39). It takes great courage to wound a friend, but we have to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and, at times, give wounds that heal.

.’’Be very careful to watch against ostentation and the pride from which it springs. The best antidote is the habit of looking from the gifts to the Giver, and to accustom yourself to the position of a steward of the benefits which have been done to you. Oh for more of the spirit of praise and thanksgiving, of adoring gratitude, of grateful love!…No doubt Hezekiah’s sad lapse is intended as a warning to us all. The minuteness with which it is recorded may be intended to impress on us the danger of coquetting with the Babylon around us. It is impossible to do so without becoming ultimately carried into captivity to its corruption.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.284.

Prayer: Lord give me eyes to see through all the glittering sham of deception, and turn my back on it.

September 23, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 709: Monday 22nd September 2014:

Isaiah 38

‘’If you are swept off your feet, it is time to get on your knees.’’ Frederick Beck.

Everyone who has received a doctor’s report with a deadly prognosis, especially in younger years, will be able to identify with Hezekiah’s agonised question (10). It’s not easy to hear that you are going to die, and especially not in the ‘’prime’’ of life. Hezekiah felt ‘mugged’ – that good years were being stolen from him. (All of this happened at a time when Hezekiah knew that the Assyrians were coming 6. It was trouble upon trouble for him.)

But some people facing death are brought back from the brink by God’s grace (38:1-8). I know some Christians think it is unbelieving to go to a doctor. I do not share their view. It seems to me that Hezekiah was healed through prayer (2-6) and medicine (21). Surely we are not to despise the benefits of knowledge God has given through scientific discovery? I believe our Christian attitude should include thanks to God for medical resources, respect for medical practitioners, and trust in God alone for healing. He may work through doctors. He often does. He may use medicine. The essential thing is to look to Him for your healing.

People who have come through a serious illness (or any other form of trial) and who sense that God has been with them in it, and brought them out of it, will regularly say something similar to King Hezekiah (17a). They wouldn’t want to go through it again; they are glad not to be in that trouble anymore; but they recognise the providential good in it (Romans 8:28).

I sometimes think about Hezekiah and wonder what it was like for him. At the beginning of the extra fifteen years (5) he must have felt relieved and elated. It probably seemed like a long time. It is quite a long time. But as the clock ran down how did he feel? I would like to think that he never lost a sense of gratitude that God blessed him with ‘time added on.’

‘’Hezekiah pictured death as going through a gate (v.10),taking down a tent (v.12), being cut from a loom and rolled up (v.12), and being attacked by a beast (v.13).But he clung to the Word of God (v.17) and gave praise to God for all He did (vv.16-20). Difficult experiences should give us a new appreciation for life and a new desire to live for the Lord.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p,474.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the things you’ve brought me through. As someone said, ‘’If I’d never had a problem, I’d never know that God can solve them. I’d never know what faith in God can do.’’

September 22, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 704: Monday 15th September 2014:

Isaiah 37: 1-13

There is a right time to grieve, lament and repent (1-4). This is true even for ‘charismatic’ Christians. It can’t be all about ‘chandelier swinging’. There is a legitimate time to wear our equivalent of ‘’sackcloth’’ (1, 2). There is a time for serious, grown up praying that faces terrible realities with faith. Sometimes we are too trite and trivial; too silly and superficial, in our approach to Almighty God.

Notice that Hezekiah ‘’went into the temple of the LORD’’ (2), and ‘’…sent…to the prophet Isaiah…’’ (2). Let your troubles move you in the direction of God. Don’t be too proud to bend your knees in prayer, or to ask for the prayers of others (4b). When you recognise your ‘’no strength’’ (3), you are in a place to draw on the fullness of God’s strength. Always remember that the Lord knows about all the details of your difficulties (4). Nothing is hidden from Him.

‘’Ch.37…is a model of response to intimidation. Hezekiah’s steadfastness owed nothing to blind optimism; his sackcloth (1) was proof of that. His call for Isaiah’s prayer (4) showed where his confidence lay…’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.654.

The first thing God regularly says to His troubled people is ‘Don’t be afraid!’ It is so easy to operate out of fear instead of trust. Yes we need to be wise and careful, not silly and stupid. We ought to keep our discernment ‘radar’ always switched on. But let’s not allow fear to make us live closed in and folded up little lives. We can go out into each day holding the Hand of God and trusting in His power to keep us. In God and with God we can remain open and expansive in heart; generous in spirit.

You never know how God is going to turn around the difficult problems you pray about. But He has a plan even when you don’t. He often acts in the most surprising ways (5-7). What God said would happen, did happen. The enemy had lots of words of threat and bluster (10-13), but what God says stands above all the words of man. You don’t need many words from the Lord to drive the fear out of your heart, if you will just trust what He says. One Word from Him changes everything!

Prayer: Help me to hear and trust your voice above all the blaring voices of this world.

September 14, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 703: Friday 12th September 2014:

Isaiah 36:13-22

Apart from Hezekiah’s psalm (38:9-20), chapters 36-39 are almost word for word concurrent with 2 Kings 18-20.

The ‘’great king’’ (13) did not take into account that he was up against the greatest Monarch (20). His pride went before a fall. It always does! Sennacherib missed the point when he banged on about the ‘’gods’’ of other nations not being able to stand in his way (18-20). They were useless because they were ‘’gods’’ – man-made deities. It would be different when he raised his fist against God (with a capital ‘G’); the maker of heaven and earth. Sometimes, when under assault, it is best to just keep quiet, and get on with what you have to do, trusting in God (21). It certainly isn’t a good idea to enter into a discussion with the devil. (You may remember from yesterday that Warren Wiersbe sees something of Satan’s tactics in the words of this man, speaking on behalf of his king.) Don’t debate him. Dismiss him, in Jesus’ Name!

‘’In ch.36, in general, the technique of subversion is displayed for all time in the speeches of vs 4-10, 13-20. There we see the tempter’s skilful use of truth, barbing his shafts with a few unanswerable facts (e.g. the perfidy of Egypt [6] and the failure of the gods [19]), his use of ridicule (8), threats (12b) and cajolery (16-17), and his perversion of theology –misrepresenting Hezekiah’s reforms (7), selecting from Isaiah’s preaching (10; cf. 10:6, 12) and drawing damaging conclusions from false religions (18-20). The king’s instruction, Do not answer him (21), took due account of the fact that the speaker was seeking victory, not truth.’’ Derek Kidner: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.654.

If, as we saw yesterday, a key word in the first half of this chapter is ‘’depend’’/ ‘’depending’’ ( 4-7), then a key word in the second section is ‘’deliver’’ (14, 15, 18, 20). I’m not aware that Hezekiah ever did try to make out that he could ‘’deliver’’ his people from Sennacherib (14), but, as we will see in the next chapter, he knew where deliverance was to be found. He and his people were delivered. In spite of all the prideful boasting of the enemy, deliverance came through faith. It still comes today to those who trust in the Lord. The torn clothes of (22) point to a sense of grief, repentance and deep need of God. The Lord was to come through for them in spectacular fashion.

‘’Silence is our best reply to the allegations and taunts of our foes. Be still, O persecuted soul! Hand over thy cause to God. It is useless to argue, even in many cases to give explanations. Be still, and commit thy cause to God. He has heard every word, and will answer. Thus Jesus held his peace, when falsely accused…But before going into this conflict be sure that, like Hezekiah, thou hast put from thee all that is false and evil. The iconoclasm of the good king which Rabshakeh so curiously misinterpreted was, after all, his main security. It is necessary that there should be no controversy between God and the soul which He is to defend.’’ F.B. Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.283.

Prayer: Lord help me to see through the enemy’s tantalising offers, and recognise the price that must ultimately be paid for accepting them (16, 17).

September 12, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 702: Thursday 11th September 2014:

Isaiah 36: 1-12

It was their worst nightmare (1). That which they feared had come upon them. A people as cruel and barbarous as any you are currently hearing about on the news, if not more so, were camped on their door step. It looked like ‘curtains.’

The big army (2) was no doubt meant to intimidate. Bullies know how to turn the screw. They are experts at applying pressure to achieve their desired ends. Sennacherib had already demonstrated what this army could do (1).

He took a two-pronged approach. He sought to scare them with the size of his army, but also to undo their confidence with his words; words that were intended to terrify the people seeking to find shelter behind the walls of Jerusalem (11, 12). The big issue in these words is about ‘’depending’’. (See how the idea comes up in 5, 6, and 7). He was quite right to say that trust in Egypt would be futile (6). Isaiah himself had made the point clearly and well. They were not to trust in human alliances. ‘’Egypt? Don’t make me laugh. Egypt is a rubber crutch. Lean on Egypt and you’ll end up flat on your face.’’ The Message. But he was quite wrong to question the efficacy of trust in Almighty God (7). In the course of doing so, he showed that he had an imperfect understanding of what Hezekiah had done in his spiritual ‘clean up’ campaign. Hezekiah had not been telling the people that they were not to worship and trust in God anymore. He was calling them to get rid of their pagan gods.

The issue of where our confidence lies; who we depend upon; who we trust in is a major challenge to be faced day after day, and even moment by moment. Every difficulty and problem we run into forces us to choose. Will we trust in God or look to some substitute? Every ‘Egyptian’ crutch will snap under our weight and put splinters into our skin.

‘’From the words of the Rabshakeh (army field commander), you can learn much about warfare against your own spiritual enemy the devil. Satan is proud and confident of victory. He tries to frighten you into surrendering. He knows that the most important thing is where you put your faith (v.4). Are you trusting the world, yourself or the Lord (vv.6-7)? The enemy offers to give you something in return for your obedience (vv.8, 16), but there is always an ‘’until’’ involved (v.17)! He wants you to think that his gifts are as good as the Lord’s gifts and that the Lord cannot be trusted to help you (vv.14-15, 18). Use the shield of faith to quench those fiery darts (Eph.6:16) and never negotiate with Satan (v.21). Do what Hezekiah did: ask the Lord to help and believe His Word.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.473.

Prayer: Help me to truly believe that the greatest opposition can be overcome through faith in you Lord.

September 11, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 701: Wednesday 10th September 2014:

Psalm 107:10-22

This psalm covers various situations believing people might find themselves in during the course of a lifetime. Whatever comes our way we can turn to God in prayer and find His help.

Here are two further examples. Both have to do with disobedience to God’s Word (11, 17). In both sets of circumstances there is a price to pay for rebellion against God. In the first example it is ‘captivity’ written on the bill (10-16); in the second it is ‘sickness’. We cannot sin as God’s people and think we will get away with it. Someone said that sin in a Christian is never less than serious. It seems that God has set things up so that when we set our faces against Him we experience consequences that drive us back to Him. Then, when we come to Him sincerely, with genuinely repentant hearts, He will be gracious and merciful to us, rescuing us from dire situations, and putting songs of praise to God in our hearts and mouths (15, 21, and 22). Haven’t you proved the essential truth of this psalm over and again?

In (10-16) the psalmist describes people whose circumstances have become confined and constricted because of rebellion against God’s Word (11). He may have in mind a literal imprisonment or enslavement, as happened to the Israelites at various points in their history. But there is also a spiritual darkness and bondage that can come upon people who fight against the truth. They resist the liberating knowledge that would otherwise set them free (John 8:31, 32). How miserable it is to be out of step with God and know that you are. Yet God will even deliver rebels if they genuinely call out to Him for mercy. ‘’In the garden (Gn.3) it was the purpose of the serpent to make the word of God seem unnaturally restrictive, an unwarranted denial of human liberty. Too late the man and his wife discovered that it was only by binding themselves to obey God’s word that they enjoyed liberty (cf. Ps. 119:45)…How often divine mercy protects us from the results of our own false choices we shall never know, but sometimes, with equal love, the barrier is allowed to fall and we experience the bitter bondage we have brought on ourselves. But even then we can pray (13) and find that…grace responds to prayer in deliverance (14-16).’’ J.A. Motyer: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.558.

As already noted, (17-22) deal with a similar situation, but here the outcome is one of suffering ‘’affliction’’ (17). This may refer to physical, mental or spiritual illness. As Motyer says, sin is our all-time ‘’own goal’’. Through it we bring great damage to ourselves. But when these people cry to God, He will send ‘’forth his word’’ and heal them (20). So God’s Word brings judgment on those who disobey it, but healing to those who accept and believe and obey it. ‘’Just as the source of our spiritual plight is rejection of the word (11), so the return to spiritual wholeness (20) is through the return of the word into our lives.’’ J.A. Motyer: The ‘New Bible Commentary’, p. 558.

‘’When the heart is quiet in God, the eye looks out on the scenes of nature and life around it, and detects everywhere, even where to ordinary men every appearance seems in the contrary direction, the loving-kindness of the Lord. As life advances, and one climbs the hill, one is able to review the path by which life has been directed and controlled. We observe with the wisdom which we have obtained by long experience, and we understand God’s reasons for many rebuffs, denials, and bitter disappointments. I believe that we shall one day turn to Him, and say, when we know all, ‘’Thou couldst not have done otherwise. We would not have wished otherwise.’’ ‘’ F.B. Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.233.

Prayer: Lord, I need your healing Word today.

September 10, 2014 0

Daily Bible thoughts 700: Tuesday 9th September 2014:

Galatians 1:11-24

Have you seen those slimming ads that show before and after pictures? In some cases, there are those who have dieted in such a disciplined way that they are barely recognisable as being the same people. Yet, in spiritual terms, Paul’s (or Saul’s) transformation was infinitely greater than any dietary success story (23, 24). When we watch the news at the moment, and obviously we are disturbed by it, let’s remember that this man had, at one time, murderous intent towards Christians. Then he became one! God is in the business of changing people and making them new creations in Christ. ‘’I’m sure that you’ve heard the story of my earlier life when I lived in the Jewish way. In those days I went all out in persecuting God’s church. I was systematically destroying it. I was so enthusiastic about the traditions of my ancestors that I advanced head and shoulders above my peers in my career. Even then God had designs on me.’’ (13-15a) The Message. So be encouraged by Paul. Keep sharing your faith and pray on. Don’t despair of anyone; not even the very worst. If you look at (13) and then (23) you will see something of the greatness of the miracle. It was ‘darkness to light’. It took God to explain such a change (24), and God did receive the praise (24)

Paul recognised that his conversion was entirely due to the Sovereign grace of God. Long before he cared to know Jesus, and, indeed during the years he persecuted Him, He was ‘’set…apart’’ by God to preach the gospel of Christ. He just didn’t know it yet.

What changes God brings about in the hearts and minds of people to bring them to an ‘about turn’! At one time Paul was very proud of his Jewish heritage, tradition and accomplishments (14; see also Philippians 3: 4-11). But he came to see that all the things he prided himself in were ‘’loss’’ and ‘’rubbish’’ compared with the shining jewel of knowing Christ and possessing His gift of righteousness (Phil.3: 7, 8). However religious you are, religion is not enough. Don’t confuse religion with Christianity. Saul of Tarsus was arguably one of the most religious men to walk the planet, but he hated Christians and set out to arrest them. He wanted them dead!

But because Paul, the new man in Christ and now an apostle, knew the threat to the Galatian churches (as we saw yesterday), he was anxious to show that his message should not be ‘perverted’ (7). False teachers had come along and were tinkering under the bonnet of truth. But they were not authorised to change anything. Paul’s gospel was Paul’s because he preached it, and not because he invented it. It was not man-made but God-given (11, 12). You will see why it was so important for Paul to stress this point. He wanted them to know this (11). The Galatians needed to know that the gospel was a fixed body of truth they were not to deviate from. Paul’s message did not even come from a process of consultation with other key leaders (16, 17). He had a personal ‘’revelation from Jesus Christ’’ (12). It seems that this took place in ‘’Arabia’’ and he may have been there for three years (18a). Not until later did he meet Peter and James. They didn’t give him a message to preach, but Jesus did.

Prayer: In my life, Lord, be glorified today.

September 9, 2014 0

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