Acts 2:37-47 Dear RTB’ers, The Acts of the Holy Spirit. Yes, definitely, in this chapter! In that room where He first appeared (Acts 2:1-4); in Peter’s transformation – his bold, confident preaching (Acts 2:14-36); in the gospel message received by Peter’s listeners and their repentance (Acts 2:37-41); and in the believers’ fellowship (Acts 2:42-47). Yes, …
Author Archives: Fred
April 25 / Acts 2:14-36
Acts 2:14-36 Dear RTB’ers, Today, Peter’s first speech, this one to the Pentecost crowd. A quick clarifying note and a bit of “theological geography” – in verse 14 Peter speaks to “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem…” We celebrate today’s reading as the feast of Pentecost. The root word, “Pente” refers …
April 24 / Acts 2:1-13
Acts 2:1-13 Dear RTB’ers, The Holy Spirit makes His presence known! Get the full sense of His arrival. The eleven (or more) who were gathered together were hearing a sound from heaven like a mighty wind (v. 2), seeing tongues like fire on everyone’s head (v. 3), and speaking in different languages (v. 4). Put …
April 23 / Acts 1:12-26
Acts 1:12-26 Dear RTB’ers, Continuing in Acts 1. Many writers refer to the formal name of this book as “Acts of the Apostles”. [NOTE: This name was first used by Irenaeus in the late 2nd century. It is not known whether this was an existing name for the book or one invented by Irenaeus; it does seem …
April 22 / Acts 1:1-11
Acts 1:1-11 Dear RTB’ers, One of the men in white clothing speaking, “This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.” (v. 11) The angels tell the disciples that Jesus will return in the same way that He left. To me, …
April 21 / Psalms 11-12
Psalms 11-12 Dear RTB’ers, I have seen over and over again in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, that God has a special place in His heart for the poor and needy. I had a lot to say yesterday about other stuff and did not focus on David’s comments in …
April 20 / Psalms 9-10
Psalms 9-10 Dear RTB’ers, A header in my NASB translation referred to Psalm 9 as “Thanksgiving for God’s Justice”. And when we see wickedness and righteousness set against each other in Psalm 9 (much like yesterday’s Psalm 7), then that sounds like a good title. The header for Psalm 9 is followed up by my …
April 19 / Psalms 7-8
Psalms 7-8 Dear RTB’ers, No doubt the authors of Search the Scriptures spent thousands of hours poring over the books and chapters and verses of the Bible as they plotted a three-year journey through these Scriptures. Still, one wonders at their choice of putting Psalms 7-8 together on the same day, especially after two days …
April 18 / Psalm 6
Psalm 6 Dear RTB’ers, Today’s Psalm 6 reads like a lament. I mentioned a few days ago of something I learned from our trip through the Psalms two years ago – synonyms for commands / commandments that helped me appreciate the Psalms more and understand them better. Today another item came up from 2022 – …
April 17 / Psalms 5
Psalm 5 Dear RTB’ers, Sorry for the delayed post – morning medical appointments… Psalm 5, again “A Psalm of David”. Today I noticed David’s castigation of the wicked (Psalm 5:4b-6, 9-10) contrasted with his prayers for the righteous (Psalm 5:7-8, 11-12). Interrupted! Gotta go… Blessings!