Isaiah 1-6 discus the coming judgment of Israel, but parallels to modern Christianity can be seen in God's rebuke of Israel. Since Isaiah is such a deep book, I've decided to post by chapter instead of by topic to avoid making the posts too long. This post covers Isaiah 1.

This history, origins, and contents of Isaiah are examined. Isaiah is one of the major prophets—you can expect to spend quite some time in this book, but it's definitely worth it! Isaiah gives us the bulk of Messianic prophecies and is often quoted in the New Testament, so you know it's an important book.

This post is a little longer than I intended, but it didn't feel right splitting it up. People have been talking about why millennial are leaving the church for quite some time and I figured, as a millennial who left the church and came back, I have an obligation to provide some insight.

A look at what I learned and struggled with during this reading of Song of Solomon.

Song of Solomon concludes with a spring rendezvous and the couple together once and for all. Now that the drama of the wedding has passed, the couple is free to enjoy each other's company and begin their life together.

After the wedding, the couple is once again separated and searching for each other. In between the compliments and longing, we can find much symbolism and meaning.

There are definitely aspects of Christmas that I think are Godly, but there are definitely aspects that are pagan (this is how the devil gets you, mix a little good in with his evil). The good things about Christmas are things you can do anytime . I can give gifts to friends and family (even strangers) at any time. I can make plans to see my family any time. I can fellowship with my fellow believers any time. Just like I can talk about the crucifixion any time, I can talk about His birth any time. None of these activities is restricted to December.

If I was in some weird experiment where I had to give advice to someone without knowing the problem, I'd direct them to Ecclesiastes 3:1-9. Granted, I don't think it fixes all problems (especially not without discussion) but it covers pretty much everything.

What's the most exciting and important part of a relationship? Did you guess the wedding? The middle of Song of Solomon gives us front row access to the marriage of a couple deeply in love with each other, with the intent of reminding us of our own upcoming marriage to Christ. It's pretty powerful, if you ask me.

To understand Song of Solomon 3—well Song of Solomon in general, to be honest—it's nice to understand the customs of a Jewish marriage ceremony. The first half of chapter 3 shows us someone who is distraught that their lover is not with them and goes off to find them. I'm fairly certain that the speaker in these verses is the woman, but don't take my word on that.

So, it's official: Jay-Z cheated on Beyoncé. We already knew this, but we didn't know this until Jay-Z confirmed it in his interview with the NY Times. Hearing the confirmation that Jay-Z did in fact cheat on Beyoncé made me stop to think about cheating—or what the Bible refers to as adultery—in a general sense. As I pondered the issue this past week, I started thinking on all the complexities and went searching for a Biblical answer. I'm not here to speculate on or judge their situation. However I do want to talk about the general question of staying versus leaving after cheating has occurred. As you'll see, this isn't a post on what people should do, just some thoughts I had has I pondered the question and read people's two cents about Beyoncé's decision online.

Reading Song of Solomon is kind of like watching a period love story. I imagine if it were made into a movie, it would look like a Shakespearean play... The second section of Song of Solomon features a conversation between the young lovers that centers on enjoying a spring day together. Once again we see significance for our literal love lives, as well as, significance for our spiritual lives.