Dr Paul Allen

For Love or Money (1993 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What we do with money really matters — for the gospel frontiers and for our own families. Whether we daydream about it, or ignore it and wish it would just go away, or hoard it, or spend it, how we handle money reveals a lot about us. “Where your treasure is,” says Jesus , “there your heart will be also” (Matthew  6:21 ). Some of the Bible ’s gravest warnings deal with money. These are some of the sharpest words in all of Paul’s letters: Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. ( 1 Timothy 6:9–10) If we take the Scriptures seriously, we’re right to be at least a little bit scared about what our sinful souls might do with money. Tool in ...

Jeroboam sets up two golden calves, from the Bible Historiale. Den Haag, MMW, 10 B 23 165r (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” ( Amos 3:3 ) Amos was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II (son of Joash), who ruled the northern ten tribes of Israel from 825 to 784 B.C. ( 2 Kings14:23 ). Some 100 years earlier, Jeroboam I (son of Nebat) had led a rebellion against the son of Solomon and started the northern nation of Israel ( 1 Kings 12 ). In order to keep his people from returning to Jerusalem , Jeroboam I “made Israel to sin” ( 1 Kings 12:30 ; 16:26; etc) by developing a “new” religion centered on an image of a golden calf with idol temples in Bethel and Dan ( 1 Kings 12:28-29 ). Those northern tribes never did return to the worship of Jehovah but “sinned against the LORD,” and Israel “feared other gods” ( 2 Kings 17:7 ). The list of their sins is long and grevious in God’s sight. They “did secretly those things that were not right...

What a wonderful promise to recently emancipated slaves travelling through a wilderness, that they would live permanently and safely in their own fertile country; see Lev. 26:5! The word ‘dwell’ or abide, when used in the Bible, has at its root the idea of remaining permanently in a place, see Gen. 29:19, while its antonym (opposite) is to sojourn, as in Genesis 12:10, where we read that Abram had it in mind to stay for a short time only in Egypt. This promise of dwelling follows the Lord’s earlier declaration that, ‘I established also my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan … in which they were sojourners’, Exod. 6:4 JND . Former sojourners were to be dwellers! However, this and the other promises connected with it were conditional, as the Lord had said, ‘if ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them’, Lev. 26:3, ‘I will give you rain … peace … and make you fruitful’, vv. 4, 6, 9, and ‘I will … establish my covenant with you, v. 9. (In fact, the...

English: Zechariah of Israel was a king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel, and son of Jeroboam II. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel , and Jerusalem .” ( Zechariah 1:18-19 )   Immediately after seeing the horsemen that were sent to determine the state of the earth, Zechariah observes four “horns” amid the myrtle trees. Zechariah is told that they represent the authorities responsible for scattering the people of the two nations of Judah and Israel , destroying Jerusalem in the process as well.   The image of horns usually refers to empires in other passages of Scripture. The horns of the goats in Daniel 7 and 8 and the horns of the seven-headed dragon used in Revelation 13 and 17 are good examples. Zechariah may have understood this specific vision as a reference to N...

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” ( Philippians 4:11) DISCONTENT! Was there ever a time when there was so much restlessness in the world as there is today? We very much doubt it. Despite our boasted progress, the vast increase of wealth, the time and money expended daily in pleasure, discontent is everywhere. No class is exempt. Everything is in a state of flux, and almost everybody is dissatisfied. Many even among God ’s own people are affected with the evil spirit of this age. Contentment ! Is such a thing realizable, or is it nothing more than a beautiful ideal, a dream of the poet? Is it attainable on earth or is it restricted to the inhabitants of heaven? If practicable here and now, may it be retained, or are a few brief moments or hours of contentment the most we may expect in this life? Such questions find answer in the words of the apostle Paul : “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, ther...

The Anointing of Solomon by Cornelis de Vos. According to 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon was anointed by Zadok. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” ( 1 Kings 3:28 ) The “wisdom of God,” as attributed to Solomon , is an awesome concept, because God Himself is omniscient. Apparently Solomon was given a greater share of the divine wisdom than any others of his generation, and probably more than most of any generation. God also gave him “largeness of heart” ( 1 Kings 4:29 ). Not only did he build and effectively rule a great kingdom, but “he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five” ( 1 Kings 4:32 ). Included in these, of course, were three divinely inspired books ( Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , Song of Solomon ), which are now in our Bibles . Furthermore, he was a scientist, for “he spake of trees, . . . of beasts, and ...

Rembrandt — The Departure of the Shunammite Woman (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 2 Kings 4:8-37 ; 8:1-6  Just a few miles north of Jezreel , where Jezebel's story had drawn to its grim conclusion, lived a wealthy Israelite woman whose sharp eye kept track of travelers from Nazareth to Jerusalem. One of the more colorful characters who frequented the road outside her house was Elisha , the prophet who succeeded Elijah . One day the Shunammite woman invited Elisha to linger for a meal. Afterward, she said to her husband, "Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us." Moved by her kindness, Elisha inquired, through his servant, Gehazi , whether he could use his influence with Israel's king on her behalf. But the woman wasn't looking for favors at court, so Elisha pressed his servant, saying, "What, then, can be done for her?" Gehazi merely pointed out t...

English: ELIYAH VISITS KING AHAB AND THE BA'AL PROPHETS 1 MELAKIM 21 KINGS (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” ( James 5:17-18 ) “Elias” is the New Testament name for Elijah, the great prophet who lived during the darkest days of Israel ’s apostasy, when Ahab and Jezebel ruled the land and had turned it over to the worship of the demonic god Baal . “Elijah” means “Jehovah is God,” a most appropriate name for a prophet of the true God in a nation and time given over to paganism. Elijah suddenly appeared before King Ahab with the ominous prophecy: “As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” ( 1 Kings 17:1 ). This was not presumptuous. In h...

Miniature ofrom Folio 8r of the Syriac Bible of Paris shows Moses before Pharaoh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 2 Kings 22:8–13 Logically, if God’s spoken word has authority, and if the Bible contains God’s written word, then the Bible must carry the same authority as God’s spoken word. King Josiah realized this, which is why he had such an intense reaction when he heard what was written in the “ Book of the Law ” (2 Kings 22:8). Although the Bible has been passed down for generations, scholars have concluded that the accuracy of its text has been remarkably preserved through the centuries by scribes who believed passionately in the importance of their work. The level of accuracy they maintained gives us confidence that the same meaning intended by the original authors, such as Moses , is what God’s Word still communicates today. The Bible is intended to bring us to faith in God and help us to live our lives to the fullest (see Matthew 4:4 ; John 20:31...