Dr Paul Allen

Zechariah’s prophecy began in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, placing his ministry two months later than that of Haggai. Being in touch with the real needs of his day prompts him to waste no time.  He immediately confronts the people with the sad facts of history . With a word from the Lord, ‘Turn unto me’, 1:3, he reminds them that a previous generation had been confronted with the same command and had been negligent in their response, 1:4. The word of the Lord would not fail, and proof of this is seen in the land becoming wasted and the fathers dying in disobedience. Zechariah, mindful of history and with a word from the Lord, begs the people not to make the same mistakes as a previous generation but learn history’s lesson so that this generation would be something for God. God spoke to Zechariah in both visions and dreams, as he awoke and as he slept, by night and by day.   Zechariah was a man in constant communion with God. His time perspective seems to be ...

When was the last time you felt meaningfully encouraged by another believer? Many of us may be able to quickly call to mind a conversation, maybe even from the past week. Others may struggle to remember a distinct moment we felt encouraged. Some will feel they have experienced godly encouragement when they haven’t. Others will assume they have not experienced godly encouragement when they actually have. Perhaps many of us fail to experience and extend encouragement because we don’t yet know what encouragement is. The way we often use encouragement today, it could mean mere comfort or affirmation. “You did a great job on that project.” “You’re a very good mother.” “Everything’s going to be okay.” But biblical encouragement, though often rich with affirmation, offers something far stronger and more invigorating. While poor encouragement may inflame pride or coddle self-pity, real encouragement cultivates humility, courage, and, above all, hope in God. While poor encouragement might justi...

Reading Acts 4 is exhilarating. Re-reading it today was breathtaking. The Apostles declare the supremacy of Christ in salvation (Acts 4:12). They are threatened to stop preaching (Acts 4:18). Peter, by the way, knows in the back of his head that one of these days he’s going to die on a cross (John 21:18-19). They boldly declare that they will never stop preaching the Gospel! (Acts 4:19-20) They go home from the threats and pray for increased boldness rather than pray the trial away. (Acts 4:29) And then at the end of the chapter, we see that they give a nickname to a guy named Joseph. They call him the son of encouragement (Acts 4:36). They literally change his name since he’s so well known for his encouragement. I was struck by thinking about just how much encouragement Peter and the other apostles needed during those days. Barnabas was truly a gift from God. Life was hard. Yes, there was excitement. Yes, there was so much motivation to take the Gospel and share with people about what...

“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.” ( Psalm 119:1 ) The Hebrew word barak appears over 300 times in the Bible. It basically means to endue or bless with power for success, prosperity, fruitfulness, longevity, and so on. The oft-used Aaronic blessing ( Numbers 6:24-26 ) closes with, “The LORD lift up [turn] his countenance upon [toward] thee, and give thee peace,” and is initiated by the greater upon the lesser. The opening stanza of Psalm 119 identifies the traits of a lifestyle subject to the Word of God and then claims the blessing that comes as the resultof those who “seek him with the whole heart” ( Psalm 119:2 ). The unknown psalmist saturates all 22 stanzas with eight key words describing the intimate role by which inspired Scriptures empower godly behavior. Six are used in this opening testimony and prayer. Those who “walk in the law [torah] of the LORD” and “keep his testimonies” (edah) receive God’s blessing ( Psalm 119:1-2 ). These in...

His name was Joseph. But he “was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement)” (Acts 4:36). Joseph. Barnabas. I guess that would make him “Joe Encouragement.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be such an encouraging person that your friends simply call you Encouragement? Courage is the resolve to face a fearful threat. And courage is fueled by hope — a hope in something stronger than what we fear. Discouragement sets in when our hope leaks. We begin to cower before our fear. When this happens, and it happens often, we need an infusion of hope. That’s what encouragement is. Barnabas went around giving people hope-infusions, which helped them keep fighting the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). We need Barnabas people. We need to be a Barnabas. A Deluge of Discouragement We live in a deluge of discouragement. Criticism, contempt, critique, and correction. It’s the native language of our fallen world. These things roll easily off the human tongue far more than affirm...