Hebrews 9:24
Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf.”
John 7:17, 8:44
John 7:17, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God…” John 8:44, “Your will is to do your father’s desires.” Short Thoughts: The root desire (will) of our hearts determines whether or not we are able to receive Christ as truth…and apart from the Spirit, our
Joshua 13:14,33
Joshua 13:14, “To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to YHWH God of Israel are their inheritance…” Joshua 13:33, “But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; YHWH God of Israel is their inheritance…” Short Thoughts: In Christ, “YHWH God of Israel” is our inheritance,
John 4:35
John 4:35, “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” And the harvest is reaped—even now—as the crucified and risen Jesus is proclaimed in the power of the Spirit.
John 4:14
John 4:14, “But whoever drink of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The Living Water is the Spirit who flows from the Father and the Son, revealing to us the
Isaiah 49:10
Isaiah 49:10, “…they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.” And the one who leads us has pity on us because He is one of us (Revelation 7:17, the Lamb is
Isaiah 30:15
Isaiah 30:15, “In returning and in rest you shall be saved; and in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” When circumstances shatter the legs of Christ’s sheep, they do not rage at but rest on and trust in Him and so find salvation and strength–may it be so for us. This picture
2 Corinthians 1:9
2 Corinthians 1:9, “…we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” May every support in our lives that does not have the risen Jesus at its heart be transformed or cut away so that we lean
Hosea 2:15
Hosea 2:15, “…and I will make the Valley of Achor (“trouble”) a door of hope.” If we are in the One whose death has become glory in the light of His resurrection, then all of our “Valleys of Achor/Trouble” are pervaded by—and so become pathways to—hope. Long Thoughts:In Joshua 7:22-26, we see the stoning and
Hebrews 12:11
Hebrews 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have even trained by it.” And, in Christ, this sin-searing, peace-creating discipline is always in love, never in wrath.
Joshua 7:17
Joshua 7:17, “And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to YHWH for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute an all who are with her in her house shall live…” Another instance of the Lord’s shockingly unexpected way of working. First, a little background:. In Deuteronomy 20:16-18 (and many other places beside),
John 14:6
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” There simply are not many paths to God….there is one—Jesus Christ. This is not a human invention….it’s not something the Church developed to monopolize power (I’m not saying it has
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” This is a sweeping and implication-laden statement. God has made everything beautiful in its time. Is that true? Is it true that God has so designed reality that everything in existence—everything that exists; everything that has happened, is happening, will happen; every pain and torment
Luke 15:5
Luke 15:5, “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” This is repentance; this is the foundational reason that the repentance of v.7, and 10, and the “coming to himself” of v.17 take place. If one who has been fleeing from the Lord stops and returns to Him—whatever the attendant
Psalm 46:4
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” – Psalm 46:4 And that City is the Bride of Christ (Ps.45:13-15; Rev. 21:2, 22:1-2). It’s interesting
Luke 5:20
Luke 5:20, “…when He saw their faith, He said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’” Luke 5:20, 7:9, 7:50, 8:48, 17:19, 18:42, These six passages from Luke’s gospel all share the same dynamic, namely, Jesus acknowledging the faith of someone who has come to Him and—in explicit response to that faith—His “saving” or “healing”
Isaiah 27:4-5
Isaiah 27:4-5”…I would burn them up together. Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.” YHWH will consume the “thorns” that oppose Him in the fires of His wrath—yet even as He threatens this reality, He calls the thorns to enter into His
Proverbs 30:3-4, John 3:13-15
Proverbs 30:3-4, “I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down?” John 3:13-15, “No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
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Isaiah 26:19
Isaiah 26:19, “You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.” Isaiah 26:18-19, “…we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth…Your dead shall
Proverbs 28:13
Proverbs 28:13, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them WILL obtain mercy.” There is no sin which—if confessed and forsaken—will not be swallowed up in the mercy of Calvary…..and we ought to show the same mercy that we’ve been shown.