Christ dictated letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. These letters correlate with the seven Kingdom Parables in Matthew and with Paul's pastoral letters to seven churches. While these were seven actual churches active at the time of John's vision, there are other ways to look at the letters. The symbols used in the letters appear elsewhere in the TANAK.
God has always cared about what we eat. He gave us the dietary laws out of love.
The story of Jacob's flight from his brother and stay in Haran is one of character transformation. He begins as a bit of a "momma's boy" who is willing to take advantage of both his brother and his father. At the end of the story, he is a man of substance who voluntarily reconciles with his brother and symbolically returns the blessing he had stolen 20 years earlier.
With the exile of Christianity from our culture, we are seeing the death of forgiveness and the rise of ritual shaming. Forgiveness is seen as letting our enemies 'get away with it.' This is wrong. Biblical forgiveness is how we are able to heal, both as individuals and as a nation.
Introduction to the book and to the terrain. This book describes military operations which are dictated in part by the shape of the ground. Joshua sends spies into Jericho where they are sheltered by Rahab. In return for her help, Rahab extracts a promise of protection from Joshua's spies.
There are two heart circumcision passages in Deuteronomy. Their differences go to the heart of our problems living in this world.
Discussion of end times perspectives and why the Tanak can provide context and commentary on the symbols in Revelation. Chapter 1, the Risen Lord. His explanation of the lampstand and the seven stars.
John, in Revelation, says that all believers are priests. How do we reconcile this with God's promises to Aaron that his sons would inherit the priesthood?
The world is a difficult and often dangerous place. It is easy to focus on one's problems and become ungrateful. That is what happened to Esau when he despised his birthright. Learning to look for the good in every situation can radically improve your attitude and your situation.
The world is a difficult and dangerous place, especially now. It is easy to be overcome by fear and doubt, wondering where God is in all of this. Scripture assures us that times like these will come and that He is with His people through the trials. In the worldly sense, God is not safe, but He is good. In that we can trust and take comfort.