Brief, thought provoking articles on a variety of topics.
Posted December 3rd, 2011 in Holidays and Holy Days, Selah
Commentary by Jack Kelley
Whether you’re following commentaries by prophecy scholars on the nearness of the rapture or predictions by financial experts on the nearness of the world’s economic downfall, the message is the same. This could very well be the last time we celebrate Christmas as we’ve come to know it.
Posted November 26th, 2011 in Holidays and Holy Days
Commentary by Jack Kelley
Every year at Thanksgiving I’m reminded of the holiday’s origin, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. It was the crowning event in Israel’s cycle of fall feasts that also included Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It was a celebration of the harvest, of God’s mercy in forgiving their sins for another year, and a remembrance of the time when He lived among them in the wilderness, setting them apart as His people.
Posted November 19th, 2011 in Selah
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
You may have read some of what follows before, but please read it again. In the clearest message the Lord has given me in a long time, He said to write these things now. I was in bed and half asleep when the message came to me. Fearful of forgetting it, I got up and made a bunch of random notes and then went back to bed. When they still made sense the next morning I decided it must have really been Him. Here’s the message I received.
Posted November 12th, 2011 in Selah, The Bible's Authority
Commentary by Jack Kelley
Recently, I was reminded of a video I had watched some years ago on the life of Abraham. First shown on one of the cable networks, it was surprisingly faithful to the Bible’s account of Abraham’s life.
Posted November 5th, 2011 in Tough Questions Answered
Commentary by Jack Kelley
This is not meant to be a complete commentary on 2 Thes. 2. Instead, I want to demonstrate that Paul had to have taught the Thessalonians that the rapture of the Church would precede the End Times judgments. Think of it as a supplement to your study of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.
Posted October 22nd, 2011 in Forgiveness
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Whenever I write about forgiveness, I try to emphasize the idea that forgiveness is not something we extend because the other person has earned it or deserves it, but because the Lord has commanded it. He commanded it for three reasons. First because the failure to forgive is a sin that interrupts our relationship with Him, second because it’s an opportunity for us to show our gratitude for having been forgiven, and third because by doing so we keep His commandments.
Posted September 24th, 2011 in Holidays and Holy Days
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
(At sunset on Sept. 16, 2012 Israel begins year 5773 on the Hebrew Calendar. As I often do with articles that commemorate annual events, I have updated this study on the Fall Feasts adding new information for your review.)
The fall is arguably the most important time of the year in Judaism. Three of Israel’s holiest days are celebrated then, and all in the space of 15 days. They are Yom Teruah, or Feast of Trumpets, followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and 5 days after that by Sukkot, the week long Feast of Tabernacles. On our calendar they usually occur some time between mid September and early October due to the differences between the Jewish (lunar) calendar and the western (solar) one. Each of these holy days has both historical and prophetic significance, the prophetic fulfillment to occur on the day itself. Therefore Christians study them for glimpses into the future as well as to gain a better understanding of Jewish culture.
Posted September 17th, 2011 in Spiritual Life
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Once in a while I’m asked to do a study on a specific portion of Scripture. While we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop in the Middle East, I’d like to respond to one I received recently concerning a portion of the Sermon on the Mount commonly called “The Beatitudes”. It’s found in Matt. 5:3-12 with an abbreviated and slightly different version in Luke 6:20-23. While everyone in the world seems to be talking about other things, it might be refreshing to think about peace for a moment. Not peace in the world necessarily, or even in the Middle East, but peace in our hearts and in our lives. If events are leading us in the direction we think, we’ll want to remember these exhortations from our Lord.
Posted September 3rd, 2011 in Eternal Security, Selah
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
If you like, you can think of this as a follow up to our study on Are All Our Sins Forgiven. Having shown the Lord’s clear promise that once we became a believer all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross, we now turn to the logical follow up question. How should a believer respond to such an incredible gift?
Posted August 30th, 2011 in Bread From Heaven, Tough Questions Answered
O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
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