Passage, Paragraph, and Prayer
Episodes
452 episodes
Seven Times a Day (Psalm 119:164)
The psalmist says he praises God seven times a day for the decrees of his righteousness. Is he referring to a specific prayer schedule we ought to set up? Or is he wanting to teach us something much more valuable and important?
Introducing the Fifth Account (Genesis 11:10–11)
Genesis 11:10 begins the fifth of the ten “accounts” that make up the book of Genesis. In this account Moses takes us from Shem, the son of Noah, to Abram, the great father of faith with whom the Lord would take his gospel revelation to a new l...
Abominable Falsehood (Psalm 119:163)
In Psalm 119:163, the psalmist urges us to ask: Do I love truth and hate falsehood and want my life and beliefs to conform more and more with the truth? Or do I have some presuppositions and views that are simply non-negotiable?Music Cre...
Where Was the Tower of Babel? (Genesis 11:8–9)
This episode is not meant to make any definitive statement about the location of the Tower of Babel. It is merely meant to help listeners to think critically about common assumptions made about its location. It also gives us an opportunity to p...
The Joy of God’s Promises (Psalm 119:162)
Can you imagine stumbling upon great spoils or treasure of some kind, so that you were suddenly, instantly rich? How much joy would that give you? Do you realize that you already have an even greater treasure the provides a source of even great...
God’s Purpose in Confusing Human Language (Genesis 11:8–9)
What did the Lord’s confusion of human language accomplish, apart from the physical result of scattering humanity over the face of the whole earth? What good came out of it?Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen...
Whom Do You Fear More? (Psalm 119:161)
We’ve made it to the twenty-first stanza of Psalm 119. The psalmist begins this stanza by confronting us with the question: Whom do you fear more—mortal earthly rulers or the eternal God of the universe?Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bac...
Judgment Tempered with Mercy (Genesis 11:6–8)
God did not just confuse everyone’s language randomly and form the people into new groups arbitrarily. He still let the people taste of his mercy.Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jes...
The Sum of God’s Word (Psalm 119:160)
The psalmist concludes the twentieth stanza of Psalm 119 by stating, literally, that “the head of [God’s] word is truth.” What does he mean by that?Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4
When God Confused Humanity’s Language (Genesis 11:5–8)
To put a stop to humanity’s rebellion against him, the Lord came down and confused their language. Can you imagine the creative potential for a director if this were adapted for the big screen? What did this confusion look like?Music Cre...
See My Love for Your Word, But… (Psalm 119:159)
In Psalm 119:159, the psalmist contrasts what he sees in others, which he mentioned in vs. 158, with what he is confident God will see in him. Yet that is not the basis on which he wants God to deal with him.Music Credit: Johann Sebastia...
When God Imposes Limitations (Genesis 11:5–7)
When God saw what was happening in Shinar, his response almost makes it sound like he is worried that humans might pose a threat to his authority. But God is concerned about humans, not himself. That’s why he imposed limitations on their projec...
Disgusted by Double Crossers (Psalm 119:158)
Why is double-crossing and deceitfulness so disgusting to God? Why should it be disgusting to us?Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4
The LORD Came Down to See (Genesis 11:5)
Moses tells us in Genesis 11:5 that “the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built.” How are we supposed to understand expressions like this?Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsig...
“Even Though” Verses (Psalm 119:157)
In this devotion, we reflect on the “even though” verses of Psalm 119, where the psalmist states some hardship or difficulty he must endure in the first half of the verse, but affirms his dedication to God and his word in the second half of the...
Suspicious Activity in Shinar, Part 3 (Genesis 11:1–4)
The building of the enormous tower in the Shinar settlement was also symptomatic of humanity’s disobedience toward God. But this tower also betrays the root cause of all their disobedient symptoms.Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit...
Your Compassions Are Many (Psalm 119:156)
“Your compassions are many, O Lord,” the psalmist says. It’s one of the many statements of the Bible that seem to be grossly understated. NOTE: Stay tuned after the usual sign-off message for information about how you can listen to even more au...
Suspicious Activity in Shinar, Part 2 (Genesis 11:1–3)
The humans after the Flood wanted to settle together in a fertile area and build a permanent settlement with quality building materials. What was wrong with that?Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,...
Self-Invented or God-Invented Salvation? (Psalm 119:155)
How are you saved? What are the works that are pleasing to God? Just as important, do your answers to those questions originate with you or some other human, or with God?Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto...
Suspicious Activity in Shinar, Part 1 (Genesis 11:1–2) *with BONUS Content
God had told Noah and his sons and their wives to “throng in the earth and multiply in it” (Gen. 9:7). But we don’t get the impression that humanity wanted to do that, even a century after the Flood. (In the bonus content, we consider possible ...
Take Up My Case! (Psalm 119:154)
It seems pretty bold to ask the holy and almighty God to take up your case, as if he were some nonprofit legal organization seeking justice for the innocent. But in Psalm 119:154, the psalmist encourages us to do so. In this devotion we conside...
The Same Speech and Vocabulary (Genesis 10:31—11:1)
Even when we speak the same language as someone else today, we can’t always understand them. But from the beginning of the world up to about a century after the Flood, humans all spoke the same way and shared the same vocabulary.Music Cr...
“See My Affliction!” (Psalm 119:153)
The psalmist begins the twentieth stanza of Psalm 119 asking God to see his affliction. We have a good basis on which to ask the Lord of the universe to pay attention to us.Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Conce...
Of Joktan’s Descendants and Gold (Genesis 10:1, 21–22, 24–30)
This devotion could also be called “The Descendants of Shem, Part 3.” Our last Genesis devotion was about Eber and Peleg. In this devotion we look at the descendants of Eber’s other son, Joktan, one of whom became renowned for gold.Music...
The Self-Authenticating Scriptures (Psalm 119:152)
From where do the Scriptures get their authority? How do we defend them, or become more convinced of their eternal and reliable character?Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4