Jim Gallagher

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Ezekiel 3-4 and 1 John 4
Old Testament: Ezekiel 3 – Watchman

Ezekiel 3:17
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me”

A watchman bore the responsibility of keeping an eye on the horizon, in ..Read More

Ezekiel 4- Visual Learner

Ezekiel 4:1
“You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem.”

Some people are visual learners. They seem to have a difficult time processing information audibly, but the moment they can see it, things become perfectly clear. Most of the pre-exilic prophets relayed the same message… Read More

New Testament: 1 John 4- Love

1 John 4:10-11
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Love seems to be the most common… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Ezekiel 1-2 & 1 John 3
Old Testament: Ezekiel 1 – Attention-Getters

Ezekiel 1:28
“Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.”
…Read More

Ezekiel 2 – Rebel without a Cause

Ezekiel 2:8
“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

Ezekiel played a pivotal role in the history of Israel. His ministry took place during the seventy years of captivity. It was, no doubt, largely responsible for motivating the generation that…Read More

New Testament: 1 John 3 – The Rules

1 John 3:23
“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

Jesus simplified all of the commandments into two: love God and love others. John, in like manner, states the requirements of God are both simple and straight forward. He writes, God is commanding…Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Lamentations 4-5 & 1 John 2
Old Testament: Lamentations 4- Valuable 

Lamentations 4:2
“The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter!”

God places an infinite price tag upon mankind. This is evidenced in the price He paid to redeem us. Peter wrote that we were not redeemed… Read More

Lamentations 5 – Turn Back Time

Lamentations 5:16-17
“The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our heart is faint;
Because of these things our eyes grow dim”
…Read More

New Testament: 1 John 2 – Sinless

1 John 2:1-2
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
…Read More

Daily Reading: Lamentations 1-3 & 1 John1
Old Testament: Lamentations 1 – The Good Old Days

Lamentations 1:7
“In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old.”

Lamentations is a book of mourning that has been compared to a funeral durge. Jeremiah…Read More

Lamentations 2 – For the Kids

Lamentations 2:19
“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”

As Jeremiah looked out over the rubble that was once the city of Jerusalem, his eyes welled up with tears. A nation that was designed to honor and glorify the Lord, was now  …Read More

Lamentations 3 – Renewable Energy

Lamentations 3:22-23
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Life is filled with things that run out. Many of us have had …Read More

New Testament: 1 John 1 – Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Light is used to illustrate holiness. John is declaring that God is perfectly holy and without sin. This creates a problem, since we are all sinners. In this text, John explains how sinful people can have a relationship with a holy God. In the opening verses… Read More

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 51-52 & 2 Peter 3
Old Testament: Jeremiah 51 – Not Forsaken

Jeremiah 51:5
“For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God, the Lord of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”

As Jeremiah writes this, Jerusalem is smoldering in the rubble of its own destruction. Babylonian forces have taken the people captive, burned the city to the ground, and set up their own government to rule over Israel. … Read More

Jeremiah 52 – Get Out of Jail

Jeremiah 52:31
“Now it came to pass in the thirty- seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach, King of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, King of Judah and…Read More

New Testament: 2 Peter – Longsuffering

2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Peter writes, as the day of the Lord approaches there will be…Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING – Jeremiah 49-50 & 2 Peter 2
Old Testament: Jeremiah 49 – Excuses Excuses

Jeremiah 49:4
“Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’”

Some things never change. The sun will always rise in the East and set in the West, water will always be wet, and a person in a backslidden state will always deceive themselves, about their…Read More.

Jeremiah 50 – Pardon the Preserved

Jeremiah 50:20
“‘In those days and in that time,’ says the Lord, The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.’”

One of the greatest benefits of being in a relationship with God is the forgiveness of sin. God explains that although we have….Read More

New Testament: 2 Peter 2 – In the Pig Pen

2 Peter 2:22
“But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”

A few years ago, I was in northern Ghana with a group of people from our church. Our purpose was to bring the Gospel to remote villages that had yet to be reached for Christ. Just as Paul developed a custom of going … Read More

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 47-48 & 2 Peter 1
Old Testament: Jeremiah 47- Learn From History

Jeremiah 47:1
“The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.”

All the way back to the time of Abraham we have been reading about the Philistines. They were a people who… Read More

Jeremiah 48 – Clean Me

Jeremiah 48:11
“Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed.”

Jeremiah is describing Read More

New Testament: 2 Peter 1 – Add to Your Faith

2 Peter 1:5-7
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Building a healthy relationship with…Read More

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 45-46 & 1 Peter 5
Old Testament: Jeremiah 45- Self-Promotion

Jeremiah 45:4-5
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up… And do you seek great things for yourself?’”

As the nation teeters on the brink of collapse, Jeremiah is given a prophetic message for one man, Baruch. Baruch was an assistant to Jeremiah. One of his main roles was that of a scribe. He was responsible for writing down… Read More

Jeremiah 46- Armed And Dangerous

Jeremiah 46:3-4
“Order the buckler and shield,
And draw near to battle!
Harness the horses,
And mount up, you horsemen!
Stand forth with your helmets,
Polish the spears,
Put on the armor!”
As the forces of Egypt… Read More 

New Testament: 1 Peter 5- Throw It All Away

1 Peter 5:7 “. . .casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Cares, concerns, worries, and anxiety are all relatively synonymous terms. They speak of the things in life that fill us with fear, rob us of peace, overwhelm us, and stress us out. There are numerous things… Read More

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 43-44 & 1 Peter 4
Old Testament: Jeremiah 43- Self-Willed 

Jeremiah 43:4
“So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah.”

After the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces, the inhabitants of Judah began to look to Egypt as a place… Read More

Jeremiah 44- Self-Inflicted

Jeremiah 44:7
“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel:‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves…”

God warned the people not to flee to Egypt for help. He knew the Babylonians would soon defeat Egypt and any who were In allegiance… Read More

New Testament: 1 Peter 4- The End Is Near

1 Peter 4:7-10
“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another.”… Read More

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 41-42 & 1 Peter 3
Old Testament: Jeremiah 41- Game Over

Jeremiah 41:15
“But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.”

After conquering Judah and Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah governor over the people. He allowed many of the Jews to remain in the land, and gave them certain freedoms… Read More 
Jeremiah 42- Ready, Willing and…

Jeremiah 42:6
“Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God…”

A few years back I attended a men’s conference where this verse was shared during a worship session. Like most, I was encouraged by the sentiment… Read More 

New Testament: 1 Peter 3- Answers 

1 Peter 3:15
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”

Shortly after coming to Christ, I was driving down PCH in Southern California and found myself stuck at one of the many red lights, waiting… Read More