Psalm 85:8-13 ; Amos 3-4 ; Romans 3:9-31 "Nathan Watching TV, I" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pencil Sketch on Paper Today we finish Psalm 85 and see that genuine “peace” depends upon “listening to what God the LORD has to say” (verse 8). The author, a son of Korah, informs us that salvation and peace result from hearing (i.e., “listening to” or “heeding”) the Word of God. The old English word for this kind of “listening” is the word “hearken,” which is not used much

Proverbs 17:5-14 ; Amos 1-2 ; Romans 2:17-3:8 "Little Bariloche Wood" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Watercolor on Paper In Proverbs 17:5-14, we encounter timeless truths which also produce practical, observable outcomes for our lives and within our culture. For example, today we live in an age when we have witnessed people who – without any justifiable reason – look down on poor people, make fun of their plight, or mock them as “lazy or good-for-nothing” simply because

Psalm 85:1-7 ; Jonah 1-4 ; Romans 2:1-16 "He Leadeth Me" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Watercolor on Paper Having finished our readings in 1 st and 2 nd Kings yesterday, we will now move on and take a little break from the kings of Israel and Judah to consider the books of Jonah, Amos, and Hosea, whose lives and ministries were contemporary with the narratives of 1 st and 2 nd Kings. We will return to 1 Chronicles a little later this month. The book of Jonah, writ

2 Kings 24:8-25:30 ; Psalm 84:8-12 ; Romans 1:18-32 "Deep in the Forest" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Oil on Canvas Today we come to the end of 2 nd Kings. Reading this book has always impressed me because of Israel’s reckless sinfulness before God. Personally, I do not and cannot claim to live any better before God – which is why I think this book is so convicting to me. Actually, we all find ourselves in the same sinking ship … the S.S. Predicament . In yesterda

2 Kings 23:1-24:7 ; Psalm 84:1-7 ; Romans 1:1-17 "July, 1982 Calendar Illustration" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pen & Ink on Paper In 2 Kings 23:1-24:7, we see the reforms of King Josiah and his attempt to revive the things of God in the land of Judah. “The king went up to the temple of the LORD and he read in the hearing of all the people the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the temple of the LORD” (verse 2). One wonders how this book could ever be misp

2 Kings 21-22 ; Proverbs 16:28-17:4 ; Acts 28:17-31 "Sitzenkirch, Germany" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Canvas Today we come to 2 Kings 21-22, where we observe some of the results of Hezekiah’s downfall, which we briefly mentioned yesterday. When Isaiah the prophet told Hezekiah to “put his house in order” (cf., 2 Kings 20:1), we saw that Hezekiah “prayed to the LORD … and wept bitterly” (verses 2-3). Most of us would have been inclined to do the same thin

2 Kings 19:14-20:21 ; Psalm 83 ; Acts 28:1-16 "Neuffen, Germany" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Ink & Watercolor on Paper Today in 2 Kings 19:14-20:21, we come to Hezekiah’s prayer, Isaiah’s prophecy of Sennacherib’s fall, and the illness of Hezekiah – which actually begins his downfall. Sennacherib’s second threat against Hezekiah came in the form of a letter, and he “went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before Him and prayed” (verses 14-15). Hezekiah r