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Guest Post
April 4, 2020

Praying the Names of God: Hope Is Brightness That Can’t Be Quenched

By Ann Spangler

Ann SpanglerPeople’s names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. They often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names of God recorded in the Bible. The book Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide explores the primary names and titles of God in the Old Testament to reveal the deeper meanings behind them. El Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai, Abba, El Elyon—God Almighty, Mighty Creator, Lord, Father, God Most High—these are just a few of the names and titles of God that yield rich insights into his nature and character. Each day this week we’re focusing on one of the primary names or titles of God. By incorporating the divine names and titles into your own prayers—and learning about the biblical context in which the name was revealed—you’ll gain a more intimate understanding of who God is and how he can be relied on in every circumstance of your life. I pray these posts will lead you into fresh encounters with the living God.

Buy your copy of Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

[Read the Names of God Bible (NOG) on Bible Gateway]

Miqweh Yisrael—Hope of Israel: Promises Associated with God’s Name

A few years ago a friend of mine was diagnosed with late stage colon cancer. There was nothing that could be done for her medically. But Judy was a woman of boundless hope, who was certain God meant to heal her. She prayed and many people prayed for her. She took good care of herself and tried alternative medical approaches, hoping for a cure. She read books that increased her hope and her faith. She had a powerful will to live.

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Jonathan Petersen
April 3, 2020

Free Download of the New Song: Yes Amen

Sign up to receive the free MP3 file of the song Yes AmenThe Bible consistently communicates the fact that God is our source of certainty in uncertain times. When a pandemic strikes, when the economy falters, when today is nothing like we expected yesterday, we can take solace from Scripture, knowing that God’s promises never fail. Philippians 4:19 says, “God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” It’s reassuring to remember that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, COVID-19: Bible Reading Plan of Assurance]

God seems to do his greatest work in the middle of great turmoil. And for these times, God has given us glorious promises to confidently declare to the world; not as if they might happen, but as YES and AMEN.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to rage, Joel Kirby, administrator at Dreamer’s Church in Austin, Texas, has written the new song YES AMEN as a declaration of God’s wonderful life-changing promises specifically for these troubling times.

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Drew Reichard
April 3, 2020

Walking with Christ to the Cross, Week 6

The season of Lent invites us to return to God with our whole heart. It’s a theme that runs throughout Scripture and God’s relationship with his people. Throughout this Bible study, which you can read on your own or in a group setting, you’ll find links to Bible Gateway with notes that open automatically on your screen to the right of the Bible text in the Study sidebar.

We recommend that you sign up for a free 30-day trial to Bible Gateway Plus in order to access all the material. However, it’s not necessary for you to become a member in order to enjoy this devotional series.

The Cross

In this sixth week of Lent, we walk with Christ as he reaches his destination, the cross. Our study focuses on his crucifixion, death, and burial as recorded in Luke 23. If you’d like to read through all the events leading up to the crucifixion—from the Last Supper to Jesus’ trial before Pilate—begin with the list of passages and resources included at the end of this study. Reading one to two passages a day between now and Easter will allow you to experience all of the events of Holy Week.

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Guest Post
April 3, 2020

Praying the Names of God: The Confidence of Hope

By Ann Spangler

Ann SpanglerPeople’s names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. They often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names of God recorded in the Bible. The book Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide explores the primary names and titles of God in the Old Testament to reveal the deeper meanings behind them. El Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai, Abba, El Elyon—God Almighty, Mighty Creator, Lord, Father, God Most High—these are just a few of the names and titles of God that yield rich insights into his nature and character. Each day this week we’re focusing on one of the primary names or titles of God. By incorporating the divine names and titles into your own prayers—and learning about the biblical context in which the name was revealed—you’ll gain a more intimate understanding of who God is and how he can be relied on in every circumstance of your life. I pray these posts will lead you into fresh encounters with the living God.

Buy your copy of Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

[Read the Names of God Bible (NOG) on Bible Gateway]

Miqweh Yisrael—Hope of Israel: Praying the Name

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.
(Job 13:15)

My soul waits for the Lord
      more than watchmen wait for the morning,
      more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
      for with the LORD is unfailing love
      and with him is full redemption.
(Psalm 130:6-7)

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Jonathan Petersen
April 2, 2020

Even Non-Believers Can Agree on Facts Concerning Jesus: An Interview with Justin W. Bass

Justin W. BassDid you know that, even though they don’t believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, scholars who are not Christians do agree with believers on some matters concerning Jesus? Surprisingly, there’s a lot upon which everyone can agree. When surveying historical scholarship, Christians, agnostics, and skeptics have no other option but to affirm certain truths about Jesus.

Bible Gateway interviewed Justin W. Bass (@DrJustinbass) about his book, The Bedrock of Christianity: The Unalterable Facts of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection (Lexham Press, 2020).

Buy your copy of The Bedrock of Christianity in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

You write that scholars from “Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, agnostic, atheist, liberal, and conservative” perspectives can agree on facts concerning Jesus. What led you to this conclusion?

Dr. Justin W. Bass: Yes, this is extraordinary. Scholars from a wide range of backgrounds, nationalities, religions (or no religion), do agree on a number of historical facts concerning Jesus and early Christianity. I discovered this during my years in seminary and doctoral studies, through rigorous study and research, that some historical facts about Jesus, similar to Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC or the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, have not (and I would say cannot) be denied. They are Archimedean points of history.

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Guest Post
April 2, 2020

Praying the Names of God: Our Hope for Years to Come

By Ann Spangler

Ann SpanglerPeople’s names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. They often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names of God recorded in the Bible. The book Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide explores the primary names and titles of God in the Old Testament to reveal the deeper meanings behind them. El Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai, Abba, El Elyon—God Almighty, Mighty Creator, Lord, Father, God Most High—these are just a few of the names and titles of God that yield rich insights into his nature and character. Each day this week we’re focusing on one of the primary names or titles of God. By incorporating the divine names and titles into your own prayers—and learning about the biblical context in which the name was revealed—you’ll gain a more intimate understanding of who God is and how he can be relied on in every circumstance of your life. I pray these posts will lead you into fresh encounters with the living God.

Buy your copy of Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day[Read the Names of God Bible (NOG) on Bible Gateway]

Miqweh Yisrael—Hope of Israel: Praying the Name

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
(Hebrews 6:19)

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
(Psalm 46:2-3)

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Jonathan Petersen
April 1, 2020

What Does the Book of Proverbs Say About Fools?

The fool of the courtProbably the most well known verse in the Bible about the definition of a foolish person is Psalm 14:1 — The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” The apostle Paul seems to build on that concept when he writes in Romans 1:20, “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

But the book of Proverbs was specifically written millennia ago to clearly contrast the dismantling ways of foolishness with the restorative properties of wisdom. According to the NIV Study Bible Notes, “Proverbs was written to give “prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young” (1:4), and to make the wise even wiser (1:5). Acquiring wisdom and knowing how to avoid the pitfalls of folly lead to personal well-being, happy family relationships, fruitful labors and good standing in the community. Although Proverbs is a practical book dealing with the art of living, it bases its practical wisdom solidly on the fear of the Lord (1:7).”

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, What Does the Bible Say About Fools?]

Here, then, are several proverbs warning us not to be fools:

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Mel Lawrenz
April 1, 2020

How to Live the Bible — Eternity in Our Hearts

howtostudythebible

This is the ninety-ninth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.

Mel Lawrenz will be offering daily online ministry during this health crisis. Sign up here.

There is a remarkable statement in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament which says: “God has made everything beautiful in its time; he has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Though we are made creatures–breathing, eating, sleeping, reproducing bodies along with the rest of the mammals–we also have this characteristic that keeps us looking to the spiritual side of life. God has “set eternity in the human heart.” That is why we want to believe.

Road to eternity illustration

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Guest Post
April 1, 2020

Praying the Names of God: The Fountain of Living Water

By Ann Spangler

Ann SpanglerPeople’s names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. They often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names of God recorded in the Bible. The book Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide explores the primary names and titles of God in the Old Testament to reveal the deeper meanings behind them. El Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai, Abba, El Elyon—God Almighty, Mighty Creator, Lord, Father, God Most High—these are just a few of the names and titles of God that yield rich insights into his nature and character. Each day this week we’re focusing on one of the primary names or titles of God. By incorporating the divine names and titles into your own prayers—and learning about the biblical context in which the name was revealed—you’ll gain a more intimate understanding of who God is and how he can be relied on in every circumstance of your life. I pray these posts will lead you into fresh encounters with the living God.

Buy your copy of Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day[Read the Names of God Bible (NOG) on Bible Gateway]

Miqweh Yisrael—Hope of Israel: Praying the Name

A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the LORD,
with the LORD for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream;
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit….

Hope of Israel, LORD!
Those who turn from you will be uprooted from the land,
Since they have abandoned the fountain of living water.” (Jeremiah 17:5-8, 13)

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Guest Post
March 31, 2020

How to Create Calm in the Midst of Chaos

Dondre WhitfieldBy Dondré Whitfield

A male’s first power is his physicality (i.e., warrior mode), but a Man’s true power is his vocabulary. His vocabulary is like a ring of keys for a locksmith. Each word holds the potential to unlock something in him or in someone else. His words are like a “protein” that builds someone up rather than a “kerosene” that burns someone down.

Every Man is like the firefighter of his home. He is responsible for putting out fires, which creates more calm so that the environment he is in does not turn into a chaotic towering inferno. While his job as a firefighter is to put out fires, he is first responsible for making sure that he himself is not on fire. A Man who is on fire will surely be challenged in not setting his own house on fire. As a firefighter, he has to wear flame-retardant clothing on his spirit to avoid being set on fire himself. He knows that if he is set on fire, he may set other people on fire as well. Remember, you are a firefighter; you are not a firestarter! Your job is to put fires out, not create them!

Now you may say to me, “Man, brother, that sounds good, but how in the world do I do that?”

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    The Bible Gateway Blog features the latest news, announcements, and reflections from Bible Gateway. We hope what you find here will add to your understanding of and appreciation for the Bible.