He will swallow up death for all time, Isaiah 25:8 A reference to swallow in the Old Testament refers to death taking someone to Sheol, to the grave. In Numbers 16:32 we read, “and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.” However, here in Isaiah 25:8 we see something different occurring. God is promising that death will be swallowed up forever. This occurred when Jesus died and rose

A yoke is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to a plow or cart. A yoke allows two animals to share a load and pull together. Yokes were used in Bible times primarily with bulls or oxen to plow fields and pull wagons. The animals yoked together needed to be close in size and weight for the cart or plow to pull evenly. In the Old Testament, the word "yoke" is often used metaphorically to represent a burden, obligation, or slavery. Jesus has

Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Genesis 16:13 El Roi is the Hebrew word for God of seeing. This is the name that Hagar gave to God when He rescued her. Hagar was the handmaiden of Abram’s wife, Sarai. She had given her to her husband to conceive a child since we thought she was barren. However, as you would expect, everything did not turn out well. After becoming p

Then God said to him in the dream, "Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Genesis 20:6 In Genesis 20, Abraham moves his household from the region around Mamre south toward the border of the land of Canaan. Scripture does not tell us the reason for this move. He settles his people in Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. Gerar was south of Gaza, near the coast of

Enoch walked with God; Genesis 5:21b Three men are recorded to have walked with God: Enoch, Noah, and Moses. What does it mean to have walked with God? When Cathy and I were in our thirties and had all five Children under ten, we didn't have much free time or money. But, we made one thing a priority in our lives. We walked together almost every day. We would walk up and down the road between two cul-de-sacs. The kids would ride their bikes or play in the front yard. When we w

I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25 If you are like me, you remember things you have done that you are not proud of. You may have lost your temper, stolen something as a teenager, cheated on a test, lied to get out of trouble, or committed countless sins. We might not have forgotten, but if you belong to Christ, God the Father has forgotten them. Paul wrote to the Romans, "Therefore there is

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. Revelation 4:8 We are told of a fantastic scene in heaven by John. He says that there are “four living creatures, each one of them having six wings,” and their responsibility is to say day and night without ceasing: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. From the prophet Isaiah, we know why these angels have six wings, “with two he covered hi

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3 Fear is a human emotion that all of us have experienced. Webster defines fear as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. Oxford defines fear as "the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger, when something bad might happen, or when a particular thing frightens you." Fear can be debilitating if some allow their fear to remain uncontrolled. Patton said, "Every man is scared in h

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7 As an adult, I always enjoyed working out to stay in shape. My father was my example and encouragement. When he was 68 and I was 30, he had a heart attack. When I was young, I remember running around the parade field at Edgewood Arnsel Army Base in Maryland with my dad. However, when he retired from the army, he put on 75 pounds and stopped exercising. After the heart attack, he los