Jim Gallagher

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 13-14 & Mark 4
Old Testament: Exodus 13- Set Free

Exodus 13:3
“And Moses said to the people: ‘Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.’”

The day of Israel’s… Read More

Exodus 14- Boxed In

Exodus 14:13
“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today…’”

There can be little question… Read More

New Testament: Mark 4- Mysteries Of God

Mark 4:11
“To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God”

Paul wrote in1 Corinthians 2:14,

“But the natural man does… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 11-12 & Mark 3
Old Testament: Exodus 11- Stand Out

Exodus 11:7
“…that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”

Many of the plagues that fell upon Egypt did not affect the children of Israel. God, by His grace, made a distinction between those who were… Read More

Exodus 12- Free Pass

Exodus 12:13
“…when I see the blood, I will pass over you…”

There are many pictures of Christ portrayed in the Old Testament narrative. We see Him as the offering of Abraham on Mount Moriah, the Angel wrestling with Jacob, the Captain of the Lord’s armies in Joshua, and on… Read More

New Testament: Matthew 3- Impossible

Mark 3:5
“Stretch forth your hand.”

When Jesus entered the Synagogue, it seemed everyone in the room knew He would address the man with the withered hand. His disciples were watching carefully. This event would be seared into… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 9-10 & Mark 2
Old Testament: Exodus 9- Free To Serve

Exodus 9:1
“Let My people go, that they may serve Me.”

Upon being set free from Egypt, Israel was called to serve the Lord. We get some keen insight about true service as the story continues to unfold. First off, Pharaoh suggests that Moses and the men go, but they leave their families behind. This … Read More

Exodus 10- A Snare To Us

Exodus 10:7
“Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, ‘How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?’”

Pharaoh thought the problem with his nation was the believers, and as a result, he attempted to suppress … Read More

New Testament: Mark 2- Evangelism

Mark 2:3
“Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.”

There are so many fascinating aspects to this story: the crowd… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 7-8 & Mark 1
Old Testament: Exodus 7-8- One More Night

Exodus 7:23
“And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.”

Have you ever wondered how different the story of Exodus would read if Pharaoh had only listened to the Lord? Instead, Pharaoh is an example of what we should not do, when we hear the Word of the Lord. We read, Pharaoh refused to allow his heart to be moved. Before ever hearing… Read More

New Testament: Mark 1- Famous

Mark 1:28
“And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.”

In the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus encountered a man with an unclean spirit. While there is no… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 5-6 & Matthew 28
Old Testament: Exodus 5- Pharaoh’s Failure

Exodus 5:2
“And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.’”

All of Pharaoh’s foolish decisions can be traced back to this statement. The fact is, he did… Read More

Exodus 6- Flavor Enhancers

Exodus 6:9
“So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.”

Over the centuries, one of the most lucrative businesses was the spice trade. There were times when certain spices were worth their weight in gold. Names like… Read More

New Testament: Matthew 28- I Am With You

Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As Matthew 28 opens, we find a few women on their way to Jesus’ grave-site. Filled with… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 3-4 & Matthew 27
Old Testament: Exodus 3- He Heard My Cry

Exodus 3:7
“And the Lord said, ‘ I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.’”

Since the incarnation, this is all… Read More

Exodus 4- What’s In Your Hand?

Exodus 4:2
“So the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’  He said, ‘A rod.’”

This passage has always encouraged me. We find Moses wanting some evidence that God had truly called him, and God chooses … Read More

New Testament: Matthew 27- Dealing With Remorse

Matthew 27:5
“Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”

While I do not want to tackle the subject of the eternal destiny of Judas, I do see in him an illustration of how the Christian… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Exodus 1-2 & Matthew 26
Old Testament: Exodus 1- Help!

Exodus 1:14
“And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage . . .”

The conditions of life were growing worse and worse for the people of God living in Egypt. They had once been a highly favored part of the nation, even receiving special… Read More

Exodus 2- Baby In The Basket

Exodus 2:3
“But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.”

The book of Exodus begins with a love story. A young man and a young woman meet, fall in love, marry and have … Read More

Matthew 26- Fear Of The Lord

Matthew 26:5
“But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.’”

Matthew 26 and 27 record the final events in the life of Jesus. The hostility toward … Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 49-50 & Matthew 25
Old Testament: Genesis 49- Blessed

Genesis 49:22-24
“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.
But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the… Read More

Genesis 50- Meant For Good

Genesis 50:20
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

We have all faced times in our lives when we have looked up from our circumstances and wondered, “How God could truly love me and let me go through this.” If any man had a right to allow his circumstances to call into question the loving-kindness of God, it was Joseph. I can… Read More

Matthew 25- Are You Ready?

Matthew 25:13
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

Chapter 25 seems to be about being ready. Jesus warns about a final day of reckoning, when the sheep will be separated from goats. To ensure that we are ready for what is coming, Jesus gives two parables. The first explains the need to be born… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 47-48 & Matthew 24
Old Testament: Genesis 47- Association

Genesis 47:6
“The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

Jacob and his eleven sons were given the best that Egypt had to offer. While the Egyptians suffered under the famine… Read More

Genesis 48- Reflection

Genesis 48:15-16
“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil…”

… Read More

Matthew 24- Hope In God

Matthew 24:3
“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The Psalmist, in a time of great despair, wrote, “Why are you cast down oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil? Hope in… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Genesis 45-46 & Matthew 23
Old Testament: Genesis 45- Perspective

Genesis 45:7
“And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”

Everyone of us has had the experience of being mistreated. For most, it has been … Read More

Genesis 46- Egypt

Genesis 46:3
“So He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.’”

Egypt has already played an interesting role in the narrative… Read More

Matthew 23- He Wants You

Matthew 23:27
“How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…”

Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that they would comprehend the love of God which he described as beyond our ability to understand.

That you “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…” Ephesians 3:19… Read More