Douglas Jacoby Podcast

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. "On the Guard of Humility" (Book 3, Chapter 7) and "On Thinking Humbly of Oneself" (Book 1, Chapter 2) are the basis of today's devotional offering (13 minutes). Scripture : 1 Pet 5:5-6; Matt 6; Jer 10:23; Ps 91:4; Rom 11:25; 12:3; 1 Cor 13:1-3; Rom 11:20; 12:3; Jas 3:1 Practical application :  We should be modest about our personal de...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Scripture : Ps 37:4 Matt 26:41 Heb 12:1; 6:12; 11:1-40 John 12:25 Application (10 areas) : * Learn from those who have gone before us (in church history, the O.T., and even in our own circle of relationships. * Aim for "frequent and fervent prayers." * Practice the discipline of fasting. * Take strong (disciplined) measures to avoid si...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Our podcast (10 minutes) is drawn from three meditations: "On the Many Benefits of Obedience," "On Self-Denial," and "On the Surrender of Self" (Book 3, Chapters 22, 32, and 37). Today there is no commentary, just reading. Scripture : Jas 1:22-25; Ezek 20:19; Eph 5:17; Gren 32:10; 1 Cor 4:7; Rom 2:11; Jas 2:5; Ps 45:16; 1 Pet 2:1; Acts...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Today's podcast (12 minutes) comes from two chapters in The Imitation of Christ (Book 1, Chapters 9 and 6). They are "On Obedience and Submission" and "On Earthly Affections." v 12:15; Rom 14:17 Insights for Life : * "It is far safer to live under authority than to be in a place of authority."* "It is safer to listen and receive counse...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Today's podcast (12 minutes) comes from "Bearing Injuries is the Proof of True Patience" (Book 3, Chapter 19) and "On Christ's Obedience to the Father" (Book 3, Chapter 13). Scriptures : Rom 8:17-18; Heb 12:4; 2 Tim 2:5; Luke 18:27; John 15:9-10; Ps 18:42; Jas 2:20; 1 Sam 16:21; Ezek 20:17; Gen 2:7   Application questions : Do I react...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. This podcast (12 minutes) contains and is based on most of "On the Loss of All Comfort" (Book 2, Chapter 9). Scripture : Phil 4:11-13; Ps 30:6-8,10-11; Job 7:18; Rev 2:7. Practical application :(1) Don't allow ourselves to lose faith or perspective just because we are going through hard times.(2) Don't allow ourselves to lose faith or...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. "On Human Misery" (Book 1, Chapter 22) and "On Our Weakness" (Book 3, Chapter 20). Scriptures : Phil 3:7-9; Ps 73; Ps 25:17; 2 Cor 6:2; Heb 10:36; 2 Cor 5:4; 1 Thess 5:3; Prov 30:7-9; Col 3:1-4; Ps 32:5; 40:2; 69:14; 1 John 2:15: Job 30:7; Luke 9:23. Practical points, observations, and questions: * Life isn't convenient. What does it t...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Today's devotional (9 minutes) combines "On Not Trusting Oneself" (Book 2, Chapter 5) and "On Trusting God in Hidden Matters" (Book 3, Chapter 58). I read these two powerful chapters without comment. Scriptures : Matt 7:3; 16:26: Jer 34:24; Ps 119:137; 19:9; Rom 11:33; 1 Cor 14:33; Ps 21:3; Rom 8:29; Jn 15:16,19; Gal 1:15; Matt 18:10;...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Today's podcast (12 minutes) blends together excerpts from "Knowledge in Truth," "Wisdom in Action," and "Not Believing Everyone" (Book 1, Chapters 3 and 4, and Book 3, Chapter 45). Scriptures : Rom 1:21; (Sir 19:14; 14:1; 34:9); (Tob 4:18); Ps 60:11; 37:39; (Wis 1:1); John 14:6; Rom 3:4; Matt 10:17,36; 24:23); James 3:1; Phil 3:4-8. A...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. "On How to Hear the Words of God" (Book 3, Chapter 3), with excerpts from "On the Inward Voice of Christ" (Book 3, Chapter 1) and "On Truth Without the Noise of Words" (Book 3, Chapter 2). Scripture : John 16:13-14; Ps 94:19; John 12:48; Mic 6:8; Gen 17:1; (Wis 1:1); John 8:32; Ps 25:5; 1 John 3:22; (Tob 3:5); Ps 119:20; (2 Macc 7:38);...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Scripture : Ecc 2:11; 1 John 2:17; Ps 51:12; Eph 3:16; Eph 4:14. (Also Wis 9:4) Key phrases : * "In captivity": True freedom is found in Christ, not the world. * "How strange": The world (and worldly Christians) think it strange when one lives wholeheartedly for God (1 Pet 4:4). Yet Christ finds it "strange" that we do  not live this w...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Scriptures : * 2 Cor 4:18 * Romans 12:3,16 * James 4:6 * John 15:4 * 1 Cor 4:7 * Matt 11:7 * Isa 40:6. Practicals : Be willing to take on thankless or dirty tasks. Don't be arrogant because of the education you have been privileged to receive. Older people (especially), let's not take pride in our wealth or possessions or financial sec...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. How close do I feel to God? We are called to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. The church is the bride of Christ. Jesus is the groom (not the boyfriend). Intimacy with God is to be reverent. We must cultivate intimacy with God: In the songs we sing In the words we pray Th...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. To have a sensitive heart receptive to divine love, we must keep our consciences clear as we live for God (1 Tim 1:5,19). Scripture : Eph 3:17-18; 2 Cor 1:3; Ps 3:3; 119:11; 59:16; 1 Tim 1:5,19; Matt 11:30; 1 John 4:7; Song 2:16; Isa 5:1; 1 Cor 13:4-7. Other passages referred to in my podcast: Isa 40:30-31; 2 Cor 6:3-10. Application ar...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. "The simplicity of the book's language and the direct appeal to the religious sensitivity of the individual in an uncomplicated way are perhaps the primary reasons why this little book has been so widely received and so deeply influential." —  Britannica Scriptures alluded to or cited: 1 Cor 1:18; Matt 16:14; 25:41,46; Ps 112:7; Rom 8:...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. The world of the 1420s is radically different from our modern world! Europe is still recovering from the Black Death (1347-1349), which took the lives of easily a third of all Europeans. It is still too early for the Reformation (1517+). For example, Jan Hus tried to reform the church, but was executed (1415). The Chinese fleet is expl...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. The structure of James Watkins' arrangement (encompassing 90 of the 114 chapters in The Imitation of Christ ) is: I. Imitating Christ (Introduction) -- 5 chapters II. Imitating Christ's Character -- 85 chapters Loving, Teachable, Wise, Trusting, Obedient, Self-sacrificing, Humble, Gracious, Forgiving, Patient, Peaceful, Pure, Disciplin...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Book I, Chapter I Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth .1. HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,” says the Lord ( John 8:12 ). By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. ACCESS ALL IMITATION OF CHRIST PODCASTS HERE (scroll down) Sin ce the early 1400s,  The Imitation of Christ  has been a Christian classic—for many centuries surpassed in printing and sales only by the Bible itself. Nor in its time was any book more translated into contemporary languages (apart from Scripture). Imitation  originally cir...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. The book concludes with good news (9:11-15) . "The words of Amos burst upon the landscape of the Northern kingdom, Israel, with all the terror and surprise of a lion’s roar. Though their main targets were the palaces of Samaria and the shrines at Bethel and Gilgal, the prophet’s words were to resound throughout Israel’s entire landscap...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. This lesson covers most of Amos 9. 9:1ff – judgment begins in the sanctuary "Strike the capitals" suggests earthquake, not military assault. This ties in to the prediction of chapter 8. V.3  Carmel’s summit – caves, thickets, hiding opportunities. There will be no escape. “Gone is the time for object lessons, pleas, repentance and dial...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. So far: Amos preached a message of divine judgment, demanding repentance. Religion without righteousness is worthless. Economic and political prosperity are not necessarily a sign of divine approval. Opulent, self-directed living plus lack of concern for the needy is reprehensible. Yahweh's reign is over all the earth, not just over Is...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. (7:1-9) Locust, fire, and plumb Locust and fire These are the worst enemies of agriculture! Some in Jerusalem still remember the locust plagues of 1865 and 1915 . After the king’s mowing (v.1), then locust decimation, there would be nothing left! Fire: 1:4,7,10,12,14; 2:2,5; 5:6; also Hosea 8:14. Amos' reaction Moved, the prophet tries...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Background The mid-8th C. was a heady time for both kingdoms, because Syria (Aram) was drained from its exertions in resisting Assyria. Egypt was weak, thus constituting no southern threat. Assyria was preoccupied with the kingdom of Urartu. Israel's smaller neighbors, Phoenicia, Philistia. Ammon, Moab, and Edom, posed no threat. The p...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. The Day of the Lord They were not prepared to meet their God (4:12)! And yet they longed for the Day of the Lord, which would be their undoing. Amos is correcting a misconception (Day of Lord) probably developed at Bethel (5:5-6, 7:13). “In fleeing from the lion of the present, such persons will bump into the bear of the future” (Craig...