Everything in Scripture was written for the sake of the Messiah. The book of Ruth is no exception. It provides not only the backstory for the birth of King David but also many deeper revelations and allusions to the Messiah. One of the seemingly subtle but deeply significant allusions to the person and work…
Finding Jesus in the Story of Creation
The entire Old Testament points to the coming of the Messiah in the New Testament. We find this from the very first letter and word in Genesis, which reveals that Creation itself was made through the Messiah — that He was the agent of Creation. The story of the Creation sets the foundation of…
The Messiah in the Desert
When the word “desert” comes to mind, most people think of a barren, sweltering, uninhabitable, hostile, waterless, sandy, and lifeless place. Spiritually, the desert is often a place of wandering, testing, isolation, dryness, and waiting. All these images contain aspects of truth, but there is much more to the desert — and to wilderness…
Everything God Made, He Made with Wisdom
When we look at the world around us, the diversity of Creation is amazing. God didn’t create a world without color or one season. Instead, He made a world awash with color, packed with variety, differing seasons, and various sounds. When we look at the world around us, we realize that God, the Creator,…
Calling and Character Always Go Together
Moses was eighty years old when God strengthened him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. God gave Moses a new strength to perform a divine mission and calling at eighty years old. But why did Moses initially resist God’s call? Strangely, it had to do with his character. Moses’ humility endeared…
The Triumphal Entry at the Mount of Olives
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” — Luke 19:37–38 * Jesus rode down the…
Prayer: The Garden of Gethsemane
“Not My Will, but Yours” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” — Luke 22:41-42 Gethsemane means “oil press.” The Garden of Gethsemane is mentioned in Matthew 26:36: Then Jesus went…