Malcolm Cox

Introduction * Daniel is a new type of prophet in a new type of situation. We can learn a great deal about God doing 'new things' from him and his companions. * Before watching this class you might like to view a summary of the book here: https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-daniel/

 Chapter 1 * Youth no barrier: “young men without physical defect and handsome,” (Daniel 1:4 NRSV) * Pick your battles: “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8 NRSV) * Recognition of God: “To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom;” (Daniel 1:17 NRSV) Chapter 2 * God’s wisdom superior:     * “The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”” (Daniel 2:11 NRSV)     * ““No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery th

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 477 | New Thing Series — Part 32 | “Daniel’s Humility” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Daniel. Today we explore Daniel’s humility. “Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.” (Daniel 1:3-4 NRSV) Daniel’s Humility Daniel was from Jewish nobility, handsome, intelligent and well-educated (Daniel 1:3, 4). He had everything going for him.  In his homeland he was used to peo

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 476 | New Thing Series — Part 31 | “Daniel’s Purity” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Daniel. Today we explore Daniel’s purity. “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. Now God allowed Daniel to receive favour and compassion from the palace master. The palace master said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition than the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the king.” Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, H

Teaching Tip 347 | “Plain Speaking - Preaching is organised conversation” | Malcolm Cox Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on chapter 2 of the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  Speaking in a congregational setting is not making a speech. That’s for politicians and professional orators. Preaching is more like having a conversation. Having a conversation is much less stressful that ‘making a speech’. Let me illustrate. Imagine you are in the fellowship at the end of a church service. Someone asks you how you became a Christian. You start telling them. It is easy. You don’t need a script. You hardly need to think about what to say. It just comes out. Also imagine that as you tell your story to that person that another person joins you, then one or two more. By the time you finish you have a small crowd around you. Does that change anything? Not really. Perhaps you speak a little louder, but otherwise it is still a conversation. That’s what we are tal

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 475 | New Thing Series — Part 30 | “Daniel’s Friends” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Daniel. Today we explore Daniel’s friends. “Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. The palace master gave them other names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.” (Daniel 1:6-7 NRSV) “Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat t

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 474 | New Thing Series — Part 29 | “Daniel’s Exile” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Daniel. Today we explore Daniel’s exile. “In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power,” (Daniel 1:1-2 NRSV) “Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.” (

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 473 | New Thing Series — Part 28 | “Rahab’s Future” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore Rahab’s future. “Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” (Matthew 1:2-6 NRSV) The genealogy continues all the way to, “Jacob the father of Joseph the

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 472 | New Thing Series — Part 27 | “Rahab’s Obedience” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore Rahab’s obedience. “The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down, and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent; but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. But if yo

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 471 | New Thing Series — Part 26 | “Rahab’s Family” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore Rahab’s family. “The LORD your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the LORD that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:12-13 NRSV) “Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” So the young men who had be

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 470 | New Thing Series — Part 25 | “Rahab’s Kindness” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore Rahab’s kindness. “As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The LORD your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the LORD that you in turn will deal kindly with my family.” (Joshua 2:11-12 NRSV) Rahab’s kindness is a new thing Rahab has “dealt kindly” with the spies. In return she asks them to ‘deal kindly’ with her family The word ‘kindly’ is a very rich word. It is the Hebrew word ‘hesed’.   ‘hesed’ is a covenant word expressing a c

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 469 | New Thing Series — Part 24 | “Rahab’s Reward” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore what Rahab’s reward. “Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be

Introduction Why are we looking at Rahab as part of this 'a new thing' series? She is the first non-Isrealite in the genealogy of Jesus: “and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,” (Matthew 1:5 NRSV) It doesn't get much better than that! There are several 'unlikely' people in that list. There are several reasons she should not be in that list, but they are the same reason she is in the list. First, a review of what happens in Joshua 2 & 6 Joshua 2.1-24 Joshua 6.17 Joshua 6.22-25 1. She is a Gentile God's desire has always been for everyone to know him “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”” (Genesis 12:3 NRSV) “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mo

Teaching Tip 346 | “Plain Speaking - Anyone can learn to speak effectively” | Malcolm Cox Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on chapter 2 of the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  Some people think speaking in public is a gift given to a few. I contend the opposite. I believe that almost everybody can speak effectively. How do I know this? Can you carry on a conversation? Are you able to have a chat with your spouse, friend, neighbour? In addition, do you have the Holy Spirit? Then you have enough to be an effective speaker “…good preaching is simply a form of structured conversation.” 14 Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” What’s happening between our ears is more important  As a youngster I learned to sing. I joined a local parish church choir and was surprised how easy it was. I had a wonderful choir master who understood the psychology of singing as well as the practicalities.

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 468 | New Thing Series — Part 23 | “Rahab’s Request” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore Rahab’s request. ““Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.” So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to the

Elijah, 1 Kings 19 Introduction ““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19) Elijah - insight from God doing new things Background Elijah the miracle-worker (rare) God’s people in a bad way - Ahab/Jezebel On the run 1. Elijah’s Past A. Courage To confront: Scary situation “While Jezebel was killing off the LORD’S prophets,” (1 Kings 18:4 NIV11) “Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the LORD’S commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”” (1 Kings 18:16-19 NIV11-) “Then the fire of th

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 467 | New Thing Series — Part 22 | “Rahab Knows” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we explore what Rahab knows. “Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 465 | New Thing Series — Part 20 | “Abraham’s sacrifice - Part 2” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Abraham. Today we continue to explore Abraham’s sacrifice.  “When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and ther

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 466 | New Thing Series — Part 21 | “Rahab - an overview ” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Rahab. Today we conduct an overview of Rahab’s situation. “Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 464 | New Thing Series — Part 19 | “Abraham’s sacrifice - Part 1” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Abraham. Today and tomorrow we explore Abraham’s sacrifice.  “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 463 | New Thing Series — Part 18 | “Abraham’s circumcision” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Abraham. Today we explore Abraham’s circumcision.  God promises nations, kings and the land of Canaan to Abraham. But, most significantly, he offers him an everlasting covenant. The price? Circumcision.  “When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very