Reading with M’Cheyne

Psalm 30 bears the superscription, "A Song at the Dedication of the Temple." Scholars debate the provenance of these titles but without any just reason and it is best to take them as part of the inerrant Scripture. Psalm 30 begins in a spirit of worship, verse 1 (lit.), "I will raise you high .....

Do you ever wonder whether the good that you do will be noticed? Do you feel sometimes that there is no point in refraining from that sin because no one is around? Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy 5:24-25 that there is one who sees: God himself. And he makes sure that the sins and good works we do when...

Many of us spend our mornings at the gym or running the city streets or riding our bikes on local trials. We are very concerned to make sure that we stay healthy and fit, getting up at crazy hours in the morning and even while we hurt in order to work out. And that is a good thing to do--bodily...

Perhaps the main reason that Paul writes this letter to Timothy is so that "you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God" (3:15). The church exists as "a pillar and buttress of truth"; it confesses "the mystery of godliness" (3:16); and it serves others with the Gospel of Jesus. In...

What is the first priority of ministry? Many of us would say that it is the preaching of the World; we love to style ourselves "ministers of the Word." It is striking that when Paul moves to direct Timothy about life in God's household and ministry in a challenging place, he says, "First of all,...

What would it be like to receive a letter from your mentor? Would you open it eager to hear what advice he would give? Would you open it worry that he might be a bit critical of your pathway? What emotions would you have? I can't help but wonder what Timothy thought when the scroll or papyrus came...

"For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption" -Psalm 16:10 On the road to Emmaus Jesus explained the Scriptures to the disciples, enabling them to see "in all the Scriptures the things concerning him." (Luke 24:27). Psalm 16 was certainly one of those texts. We...

"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." Proverbs 26:4-5 What is this? It certainly looks like a contradiction in Scripture! There are, in fact, certain verbal contradictions found in the Bible...

What a shocking event! Just after the consecration of Aaron and the acceptance of his first offering, his two sons are struck dead! Why? Nadab and Abihu offered incense to God apart from his command. This "unauthorized" or "strange" fire was a violation of God's holiness and a rejection of his...

"Why?" is a question that only humans ask. There is something in the way God made us that requires us to understand, or seek understanding, for the course of our lives. A God-given sense of justice drives us to demand truth and righteousness in the end. Psalm 10 is a timeless record of one person's...