Finding Hope Through Discovery in Bible Study

Comfort Me Lord,  If You Will, You Can Make Me Whole   February 20, 2021 Larry R Evans   Introduction   There are at least two constants found in both the Old and New Testaments.  They are God’s love for us and our need to be loved . Our study today is based on Isaiah 40. To get the full message of this chapter we need to keep in mind that chapters 1-39 are largely about the judgment pronounced upon God’s own people. They had sinned and turned from Him . Our need must be seen  if we are to receive the help God wants to provide. In this way, judgment is  good news . The story doesn’t stop there, however. Inspiration leads Isaiah to continue with  the last half of Isaiah .  It is here that we are brought face to face with the certainty that God is willing to make us whole again . The same God Isaiah talks about is the same one portrayed in Matthew 8:1-3. When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said,  “Lord, i

  Playing God: Religious Decoys Life-Threatening Deceits   February 6, 2021   Larry R Evans   Introduction   I am not a hunter. However, I do remember the first and only day I ever went hunting. I was a teenager and a friend lent me a 410 shotgun—not very powerful, but it can be effective. I was with a small group of high school students walking across a field in a place called the pheasant capital of the United States. As we walked, we scared a pheasant hiding in the brush. Out of fear, it flew up into the air to getaway. I aimed and fired. To my surprise, the bird dropped to the ground. I ran over to it and discovered it was only wounded. What I did next to kill the bird remains with me to this day. I haven’t hunted since then.   Some hunters use decoys. Those who hunt doves will tell you that doves, before landing, like to  examine the ground for predators  before doing so. They are  aware that danger  is everywhere. They’ll first sit on a powerline or in a nearby tree to evaluate t