Origen was born in Alexandria around 185. His father, a Biblical scholar and teacher, was executed by the state when Origen was still a youth for refusing to renounce Christ, and the family's entire property was confiscated. He continued his Biblical studies and Greek philosophy in Alexandria and later opened his own school in Caesarea. A prolific writer, he wrote numerous Scripture commentaries and nearly 2000 treatises on theology and prayer. Origen was imprisoned in 250 during the Decian pers...
Sep 07, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 166
The following devotion was written by Hilary who was born in Gaul at the beginning of the 4th century to wealthy pagan parents, who gave him an excellent education with a high level of Greek. Later, upon reading the Old and New Testament writings, he abandoned Neo-Platonism and was baptized. The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that they elected him bishop unanimously in 350. Over the next twenty years, he vigorously confronted the Arian heresy that was threatening to take over the Gal...
Sep 06, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 165
The devotion was written by Origen who was born in Alexandria around 185. His father, a Biblical scholar and teacher, was executed by the state when Origen was still a youth for refusing to renounce Christ, and the family's entire property was confiscated. He continued his Biblical studies and Greek philosophy in Alexandria and later opened his own school in Caesarea. A prolific writer, Origen wrote numerous Scripture commentaries and nearly 2000 treatises on theology and prayer. In 250 he was i...
Sep 03, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 164
The following devotion was written by Augustine who was born in north Africa to a pagan Roman father and a Christian Berber mother. He spent his youth as a true pagan and in his Confessions, describes his time in a heretical sect in Rome and how he came to Christ by the grace of God and the preaching of Bishop Ambrose of Milan, who baptized him in 386. Having entered fully into the way of Christ, Augustine returned to Africa to become bishop of Hippo, and is recognized as one of the early Church...
Sep 02, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 163
The following devotion was written by Origen who was born in Alexandria around 185. His father, a Biblical scholar and teacher, was executed by the state when Origen was still a youth for refusing to renounce Christ, and the family's entire property was confiscated. He continued his Biblical studies and Greek philosophy in Alexandria and later opened his own school in Caesarea. A prolific writer, he wrote numerous Scripture commentaries and nearly 2000 treatises on theology and prayer. Origen wa...
Sep 01, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 162
Every person knows that God exists, but most people do nothing about it. Yet, anyone who ignores the truth will be judged for their disobedience. In our final devotion, from 1 Kings 22, we see how King Ahab ignored God’s clear word, and as a result, paid the ultimate consequence. King Ahab realises that King Ben-hadad had not returned the captured cities to Israel, as he had promised.
Aug 31, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 161
Being a leader is hard, especially when it comes to wisely using the power that comes from authority. In 1 Kings 21 we witness an appalling abuse of power by King Ahab, which stands in complete contrast to what servant leadership should be like. The chapter begins by introducing, “a man named Naboth… who owned a vineyard… beside the palace of King Ahab.” And it turns out that King Ahab wants Naboth’s land, verse 2, so, “Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I w...
Aug 30, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 160
Bullying is horrible, but it’s even worse when the bully is a leader in power. In our chapter from 1 Kings 20 we will see some big bullies doing some big bullying. It starts with King Ben-hadad who rules in Aram, which is north of Israel’s border. In verse 1, we read that he, “mobilized his army, supported by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel, and launched attacks against it.” This king has come down to bully Israel, as he say...
Aug 27, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 159
When we battle with the same trials and troubles, it’s tempting to seek a fresh word from the Lord. We can wrongly think that the old, old story of the Bible is outdated and lacking relevance. The prophet Elijah had that same temptation, for after the dramatic victory over the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, things got much harder for him. For, even though it seemed that King Ahab had turned to the Lord, his Baal-worshipping wife, Jezebel, was fiercely against her husband’s repentance....
Aug 26, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 158
When people say that all religions are the same, they offend everyone. True tolerance acknowledges that every religion is different, and allows people to disagree with respect. But, the truth will eventually be revealed, especially when the true God intervenes. In our passage from 1 Kings 18 we see one of the great spiritual battles of all time, which begins as the Lord commands the prophet Elijah to tell disobedient King Ahab that the three-year drought will soon end, verses 1 and 2. But before...
Aug 25, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 155
Big problems call for big solutions. God’s people have had a big fall since the heights of David and Solomon, and now they need a big solution. In 1 Kings chapter 17, we meet that solution… a man called ‘Elijah’. His name means, ‘My God is Yahweh’, and that’s also his message to the messy world of God’s kingdom. In verse one, Elijah speaks to bad king Ahab and tells him that, “there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” A punishing drought has begun from the ha...
Aug 24, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 157
Do you long for justice? If you’ve been wronged or seen others wronged, you’ll pray that justice will come. This is why it’s good that God is a fair and righteous judge, and that the day is coming when he will judge the living and the dead. Yet as we await his return, we see times when God uses the evil of humans to carry out justice. As we look at the end of 1 Kings 15 and the rest of chapter 16, we’ll see a long line of dreadful kings in the northern tribes of Israel....
Aug 23, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 156
When things go wrong, we can be tempted to doubt God’s promises. As we grieve the deaths from Covid-19, we might ask where God is and what he’s doing. This question also springs to mind as we look at God’s rulers in 1 Kings chapter 15. We begin, verse 1, reading that, “Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.” As we see throughout this and the next chapter, the dating of the southern king of Judah is related to the date of the northern king of Israel,...
Aug 20, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 155
It’s sad to see stubborn hearts that refuse to submit to God’s good rule. In 1 Kings 14 we see the hard-hearted stubbornness of the king of God’s northern tribes, Jeroboam, as well as some stubbornness from his southern counterpart, as well. It all starts with a crisis where we read in verse one that king Jeroboam’s son became very sick. It reminds us of when the son born from King David’s adultery became very sick.
Aug 19, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 154
The toughest job in the Old Testament is a prophet. Usually the message that the Lord gives them to speak is rejected by the hearers, and they also get a really hard time for saying it. Today in chapter 13 of 1 Kings we meet a mysterious prophet who was sent to confront the godless king of Israel, Jeroboam. The chapter begins with the king worshipping at a false altar when a “man of God from Judah” travels to Bethel to meet him there, verse 1. And this prophet starts shouting, verse 2a: “O altar...
Aug 18, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 153
What should a leader of God’s people be like? As we’ve been reading 1 Kings each day, we’ve seen the successes and failures of God’s kings, and it’s helped us recognise what is most needed in his messiah. This whole experience helps us understand why Jesus is the perfect king of Israel. In chapter 12, Solomon has died and now his son, Rehoboam, gathers with “all Israel”, who wish to make him king, verse 1. Strangely, they do this “in Shechem”, not in Jerusalem, which shows us that this group has...
Aug 17, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 152
It’s tragic when a person falls away from following Jesus. It’s even worse when that person was once a Christian pastor. His or her apostasy doesn’t just affect them, but it can also bring others down, too. In the first ten chapters of 1 Kings we’ve seen the spectacular rise of King Solomon. Today, in chapter 11, we see his tragic demise. So what went wrong?
Aug 16, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 151
What’s your favourite rags-to-riches story? Ever since Cinderella there have been remarkable stories of nobodies becoming world-famous somebodies. Before King David, Jerusalem was an unknown little town in the middle of nowhere, but under King Solomon, it became a global hub of wealth and wisdom. Nowhere more is this seen than the fascination in Solomon and Jerusalem by the Queen of Sheba, in chapter 10 of 1 Kings. In the first verse we read that, “When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame...
Aug 13, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Have you ever experienced something that seemed perfect? You’re with the perfect companion, enjoying the perfect meal, with a perfect view… until someone knocks over the food and you get bitten by insects. Up till now in 1 Kings it seemed that life with God’s king in God’s place was as perfect as it could be. But in chapter 9, things start to unravel. Twenty years after he first told Solomon he would give him his wish for wisdom, the Lord again addresses the king, saying verse 3,“I have heard yo...
Aug 12, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 149
What church services have had a special place in your memory? Maybe it was your confirmation, or a wedding or funeral, or maybe a special moment when you felt like you’d been lifted up to the very throne room of God. In 1 Kings chapter 8 we witness the high-point of the Old Testament, something greater than any Olympics ceremony! King Solomon has built the greatest religious building in history, and it’s time to welcome the special guest, the Lord God himself.
Aug 11, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 148
What does your house say about you? After he built God’s temple, King Solomon began work on his palace and the surrounding buildings. He knew that God was present in his temple, but that he also ruled through his king. In 1 Kings chapter 7, we learn about the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon and then the Hall of Pillars, and then we’re told about the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, verse 7. This was the room in which God’s king sat on his throne, where he would hear legal matters, or l...
Aug 10, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 147
If you could design the ultimate church building, then what would it be like? In 1 Kings chapter 6, King Solomon began to build the long-awaited temple of the Lord. In fact, it was so long-awaited that the Bible tells us that it was “480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.” (1 Kings 6:1). This was the moment they looked forward to when they sang the final words of the song of Moses, as they longed for “the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have...
Aug 09, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Even though I know it’s essentially a shelter from the rain, there’s still a special place in my heart for the building in which I heard God’s word as a youth, and was married as an adult. Our Christian churches are often consecrated to set them apart for a noble use, but ultimately, the place we meet with God is not a physical building, but it’s in Christ Jesus, who is “the living cornerstone of God’s temple” (1 Peter 2:4). As John wrote in his Gospel, “when Jesus said, ‘this temple’, he meant ...
Aug 06, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 147
Have you ever found the book of Proverbs to be a little unsatisfying as a Christian? After all, it lists lots of practical advice about good living, but doesn’t talk a lot about the big salvation issues such as how to be reconciled with God. Yet, to understand Proverbs and the rest of the Bible’s ‘Wisdom Literature’, we need to realise that it was written at a time when God’s people already lived at peace with the Lord. Jodie is the Rector of Jamberoo Anglican, a regional and rural parish in the...
Aug 05, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 146
If you could ask God for one wish, what would that be? Many might seek health, wealth, success, or happiness. In 1 Kings 3, we read that King Solomon’s one wish was that he would be truly wise. It was a great moment in the early days of the rule of one of the Lord’s great kings. He saw what was truly valuable because he lived in the security of God’s love. Jodie is the Rector of Jamberoo Anglican, a regional and rural parish in the Diocese of Sydney, Australia....
Aug 04, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 145
What makes a great leader? In 1 Kings chapter 2, we hear the final words of King David, as he tells his son Solomon how to lead God’s people in the right way. David begins by telling his son to “take courage and be a man” (1 Kings 2:2b). If Solomon is to lead God’s people properly, he needs to be strong and courageous, like a soldier stepping up to battle. He’ll need to do things that are difficult, controversial, and costly. Jodie is the Rector of Jamberoo Anglican, a regional and rural parish ...
Aug 03, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 144
One of the most unsettling moments in a society is when power transfers from the present ruler to his or her successor. Even when there’s clarity about who will rule next, there’s still uncertainty about how that ruler will rule, and what they’ll be like as they take the throne. In the first chapter of 1 Kings, we see the final, uncertain days of King David’s rule. Jodie is the Rector of Jamberoo Anglican, a regional and rural parish in the Diocese of Sydney, Australia...
Aug 02, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Markus* came to college from an animist background. He was the firstborn son and was dedicated to the household idol at birth so that he would inherit the family covenant with the spirits. This meant special treatment. He only ate and drank that which had been offered to the idol using dedicated utensils kept in the shrine. When he went to wash in the river, he heard the spirits that resided there. When Markus became a teenager, however, he rebelled against his parents and decided to become a Ch...
Jul 30, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 142
After several decades of teaching and leadership in theological institutions across Africa, the time came when we heard the Lord calling us to devote our time to training the next generation of lecturers. We put together a proposal and approached various organisations without success. We got to the point where our contract was about to end, and we had no direction. We were only asking for a small amount of funding, but it seemed that no one shared the vision. Desperate, we cried out to the Lord ...
Jul 29, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 141
One of the sacrifices we are called to make in mission is separation from loved ones. I had not seen my father for two years and was looking forward to returning home soon. That morning, the students asked me to speak in the university chapel on the death of Elisha from 2 Kings 13:10-25. They wanted to know how the bones of Elisha brought a dead man back to life. I spoke about the God who is reliable to the end, who saved his people in the past, who saves in the present and who will save in the ...
Jul 28, 2021•6 min•Season 1Ep. 140
