Doran Rooks

  • Life can be messy and we just have to live with it.

    Solomon wisely reminds us that the only way to keep a clean stable is to have no oxen. Without oxen there is no plowing, no planting, no harvest, no survival.We can be so short-sighted, seeing only the…

    Created 18 days ago

    Proverbs 14:4 (KJV)

  • Matthew 5:1

    Matthew 5:1 (GNT)
    Jesus saw the crowds and went up a hill, where he sat down. His disciples gathered around him,

    Created 3 months ago

  • God is more than a 911 number

    Moses composed two themes for Israel. When they were on the move, Moses would cry out, "Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered!" When they would rest, Moses would shout "Return, O Lord, to the…

    Created 3 months ago

    Numbers 10:34 (KJV), Numbers 10:35 (KJV)

  • Learning to Follow God

    There was no mistaking when and where God would lead His people. When the cloud moved, they moved. Where the cloud led, they followed. Today, there are two challenges for us to follow God. First, is…

    Created 3 months ago

    Numbers 9:17 (KJV)

  • Numbers 9:1

    Numbers 9:1 (NLT)
    A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. In the first month of that year he said,

    Created 3 months ago

  • Back to square one

    "The days of their vow that were completed before their defilement no longer count". The rules and regulations for the OT Jews were so dramatically different from the economy of grace we have today.…

    Created 3 months ago

    Numbers 6:12 (NLT)

  • Numbers 6:1

    Numbers 6:1 (NLT)
    Then the LORD said to Moses,

    Created 4 months ago

  • Leviticus 27:2

    Leviticus 27:2 (NLT)
    “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate someone to the LORD by paying the value of that person,

    Created 4 months ago

  • The value of your gift to God

    It was possible for one to dedicate something (or someone) to the Lord, then find they need that gift back. Allowance was made for that through redemption. God designed a system whereby a monetary value…

    Created 4 months ago

    Leviticus 27:2 (NLT), Numbers 4:6 (NLT)

  • Leviticus 21:1

    Leviticus 21:1 (NLT)
    The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative.

    Created 4 months ago

  • Leviticus 15:1

    Leviticus 15:1 (NLT)
    The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

    Created 4 months ago

  • Even God has a sense of humor

    This passage is often overlooked, but if we take a closer look this is really quite humorous. Can you imagine the Egyptians getting ready to ride in hot pursuit of the escapees and all the chariot wheels…

    Created 4 months ago

    Exodus 13:1 (KJV), Exodus 13:7 (KJV), Exodus 13:19 (KJV)

  • Exemplary Patience

    After Moses had successfully withstood Pharaoh and delivered the Israelites out of unbearable slavery and oppression, those same people began murmuring and complaining. Moses had to be tempted to let…

    Created 4 months ago

    Exodus 13:7 (KJV), Exodus 13:19 (KJV), Exodus 14:11 (KJV)

  • Moses, Israel, and a box of bones

    Wherever Moses and the Israelites moved or camped, they carried a box containing the bones of Joseph. By some estimations Joseph died about 400 years earlier. His remains had been preserved in Egypt up…

    Created 4 months ago

    Exodus 13:7 (KJV), Exodus 13:19 (KJV)

  • Ceremonial vs Moral laws

    As we come into the laws in Exodus and Leviticus, we enter a maze of laws and commands that have typically spawned much confusion. It is beneficial to remember the context under which commands were given,…

    Created 4 months ago

    Exodus 13:7 (KJV)

  • The riches of Egypt

    Moses had gained the respect of the general populace in Egypt. While Pharaoh was losing support, Moses was the talk of the town. It is no wonder when the Israelites went door to door the Egyptians gladly…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 10:16 (KJV), Exodus 10:24 (KJV), Exodus 11:1 (KJV), Exodus 11:3 (KJV), Exodus 12:36 (KJV)

  • Do we really need to Plead the Blood?

    From this story of the Passover, there has arisen a common notion in modern day Christianity that we can find special power in pleading the blood of Christ over difficult situations. There have even been…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 10:16 (KJV), Exodus 10:24 (KJV), Exodus 11:3 (KJV), Exodus 12:22 (KJV)

  • The God of Everything

    The death angel would soon sweep over Egypt and chaos would ensue. Shrieks of horror would pierce the dark night as every firstborn would suddenly be stricken by the hand of death. Husbands, fathers,…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 10:1 (KJV), Exodus 10:7 (KJV), Exodus 10:16 (KJV), Exodus 10:24 (KJV)

  • The favor of the Lord

    Pharaoh's popularity poll is plummeting. His people, his staff, all are not only turning from him, but they are recognizing Moses as their new hero. Pharaoh knew his support was crumbling before his eyes.…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 10:16 (NLT), Exodus 10:24 (NLT), Exodus 11:3 (NLT)

  • No deals with the devil

    For illustration's sake, Pharaoh can easily typify Satan. Moses repeatedly demands to be allowed to go worship Jehovah God on God's terms and Pharaoh wants to set his own terms. "Go worship...but leave…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 10:16 (KJV), Exodus 10:24 (KJV)

  • That old spirit of Pharaoh is alive and active today.

    By now, it has become clear that Pharaoh's occasions of repentance are merely self-serving acts of convenience. But not Pharaoh only. I have seen the same thing many times from people who are sorry for…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 10:16 (KJV)

  • On again, off again.

    Pharaoh vacillates between submission and rebellion. He submits when there appears to be no hope. He goes back to his rebellion when the curse is lifted and all is well. It's not just Pharaoh. Many a…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 6:9 (KJV), Exodus 7:1 (KJV), Exodus 7:15 (KJV), Exodus 7:22 (KJV)

  • A weak defense

    It is almost humorous to see how Pharaoh's magicians tried to discredit the power of the Lord. When Moses staff turned into a snake, the Egyptians managed to duplicate the miracle, essentially saying,…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 6:9 (KJV), Exodus 7:22 (KJV)

  • You are not to blame!

    Being a pastor, I know what it is to feel like a failure when things don't go as well as expected. It is easy to blame myself for the lack of spiritual progress in other people, or the lack of growth…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 6:9 (NLT), Exodus 6:12 (NLT)

  • If we lose faith, do we forfeit the promise?

    We are bombarded by faith teachers that make grandiose promises based on a type of faith that amounts to mental assent or unflinching belief. "If you can only believe, nothing is impossible" they tell…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 6:9 (KJV)

  • That God might be glorified

    "Tell the people I will rescue them. I will redeem them with great acts of judgment." It glorifies God all the more when we declare God's promise beforehand. It is one thing to amble through life and…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 6:6 (KJV), Exodus 6:7 (KJV)

  • Leadership is not for the faint of heart

    When Moses accepted the assignment to deliver Israel out of Egyptian bondage, little did he know that he would have to fight the battle on two fronts: withstanding Pharaoh and keeping his own people from…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 5:21 (NLT)

  • God is working it all out

    Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert before he was ready to return to Egypt as the deliverer of his people. God was preparing the way on more than one front. Not only did Moses need time…

    Created 5 months ago

    Exodus 4:19 (KJV)

  • Inglorious inaction

    "Why are you standing around here looking at each other?" Drought had decimated Canaan. Word had circulated quickly that the drought had not hit Egypt and food was plentiful. But not one of Jacob's sons…

    Created 5 months ago

    Genesis 40:1 (NLT), Genesis 40:12 (NLT), Genesis 40:23 (NLT), Genesis 42:1 (NLT)

  • Fruitful in the land of grief

    Our trials become the soil from which blessings spring forth.

    Created 5 months ago

    Genesis 40:1 (KJV), Genesis 40:12 (KJV), Genesis 40:23 (KJV)

  • Forgetting the past

    "God has made me forget all my troubles". God's blessings are so great that our former trials fade to nothing. So will it be when we inherit eternal life and stand before Christ. "And the things of earth…

    Created 5 months ago

    Genesis 40:1 (KJV), Genesis 40:12 (KJV), Genesis 40:23 (KJV)

  • Earned a Badge — Created 10 [Public] Notes

    2012-01-14

  • Genesis 31:1

    Genesis 31:1 (NCV)
    One day Jacob heard Laban’s sons talking. They said, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned, and in this way he has become rich.”

    Created 5 months ago

  • Genesis 26:1

    Genesis 26:1 (NCV)
    Now there was a time of hunger in the land, besides the time of hunger that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar to see Abimelech king of the Philistines.

    Created 5 months ago

  • Genesis 23:1-2

    Genesis 23:1-2 (NCV)
    Sarah lived to be one hundred twenty-seven years old.

    Created 5 months ago

  • 1 Kings 16:1

    1 Kings 16:1 (NLT)
    This message from the LORD was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani:

    Created about 1 year ago

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  • 1 Kings 14:1

    1 Kings 14:1 (NLT)
    At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick.

    Created about 1 year ago

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  • 1 Kings 12:1

    1 Kings 12:1 (NLT)
    Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king.

    Created about 1 year ago

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  • 2 Samuel 22:1

    2 Samuel 22:1 (NLT)
    David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 2 Samuel 19:1

    2 Samuel 19:1 (NLT)
    Word soon reached Joab that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 2 Samuel 10:1

    2 Samuel 10:1 (NLT)
    Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 2 Samuel 4:1

    2 Samuel 4:1 (NLT)
    When Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 2 Samuel 1:1

    2 Samuel 1:1 (NLT)
    After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 1 Samuel 20:3

    1 Samuel 20:3 (NLT)
    Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the LORD and by your own soul!”

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 1 Samuel 28:1

    1 Samuel 28:1 (NLT)
    About that time the Philistines mustered their armies for another war with Israel. King Achish told David, “You and your men will be expected to join me in battle.”

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 1 Samuel 20:1

    1 Samuel 20:1 (NLT)
    David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”

    Created about 1 year ago

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  • 1 Samuel 19:1

    1 Samuel 19:1 (NLT)
    Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David,

    Created about 1 year ago

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  • 1 Samuel 12:1

    1 Samuel 12:1 (NLT)
    Then Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have done as you asked and given you a king.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 1 Samuel 8:1

    1 Samuel 8:1 (NLT)
    As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 1 Samuel 1:1

    1 Samuel 1:1 (NLT)
    There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • 1 Samuel 5:1

    1 Samuel 5:1 (NLT)
    After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod.

    Created about 1 year ago

  • Earned a Badge — Created First [Public] Note

    2011-02-17

  • Earned a Badge — Created 10 Bookmarks

    2011-01-17

  • Earned a Badge — Created Your First Bookmark

    2011-01-10

  • Earned a Badge — Subscribed to First Reading Plan

    2011-01-04