Dr Paul Allen

2 Chronicles 14:11 “Asa cried to the LORD his God, ‘O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name, we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you’”  After the death of Abijah, his son Asa succeeded him as king of Judah (2 Chron. 14:1). It is to the reign of Asa that we now turn. Asa, the Chronicler tells us, “did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God” (v. 2). Thus, he was one of the good kings of Judah after the death of Solomon. However, we must note again that the Chronicler is referring to the reign of Asa as a whole. As we will see, Asa made some missteps later in his reign (ch. 16); nevertheless, his sins, while significant, were not so numerous and severe as to force the author to evaluate Asa’s reign negatively. Much of the Chronicler’s positive evaluation has to do with Asa’s religious reforms, including his rem...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” ( Ephesians  3:12 )   There is a wonderful exhortation and promise in  Hebrews  4:15 -16 : “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted [that is, ‘tested’] like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”   We are not to come  presumptuously  or  arrogantly  to God in prayer, but we  can  come  boldly ! This is not by virtue of our own merits, of course, but because Christ Himself has opened the way for us. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus , By a new and living way, which he hath cons...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." ( Hebrews 10:19 ) In the ancient tabernacle only the High Priest was allowed to enter the "holy of holies" to commune with God , and that only once a year, on the great day of atonement. This most holy place was separated from the rest by a very heavy veil . When Christ died, however, as the one final and perfect sacrifice, "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" ( Matthew 27:51 ). This miraculous rending of the veil was intended by the Lord to symbolize the wonderful truth that we now have open access to come into the very presence of God , "By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" ( Hebre...