Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” The Head of the Body is Risen, therefore the Body herself—the Bride, the Church—is risen and rising in Him. And with the rising of His Body will […]
John 19:33-34, “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs….these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.” And again, another Scripture, says, “They will look on Him whom they have pierced.” Here John highlights
” fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
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Matthew 9:2, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” First, notice that the Lord affirms that this man is not to be defined as a paralytic, or a depressed individual, or a beggar, or an inconvenience, or a problem to be solved, rather, he is a SON….and if a son, then he
Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” Jesus truly bore the griefs and the sorrows of His people’s “Today,” 2,000 years ago on Calvary. It was an actual, historic event….the griefs of all my life—and all yours if you are trusting in Him—were laid on, known by, and
Hebrews 13:20, “…God…brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant….” What’s always struck me as interesting about this text is the way this “eternal covenant” seems to be instrumental in the resurrection of Christ. What is this “eternal covenant?” I think
John 16:33, “I have said these things to you so that in me you may have peace; in the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” The wounds of the risen Christ are the everlasting proof of opposition to God overcome and an invincible haven of peace amidst
1 Timothy 1:1, “…Christ Jesus our hope.” Hope is not a vague sense that things will be ok, it is not an exercise in optimistic thinking, it is not a choice to look on the bright side….Hope is the PERSON who has invaded our hopelessness, swallowed it into Himself on the cross, and
Isaiah 43:1-3, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume
Hebrews 13:11, “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.
Jeremiah 48:31,38, “I wail for Moab; I cry out for Moab…I weep for you…for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares YHWH.” Isaiah 16:10-11, “I have put an end to the shouting. Therefore, my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.”
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Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember the whole way that YHWH your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart.” This dynamic is true throughout the Bible, but we see it in clear focus here—namely, that testing reveals
Hebrews 2:9, “…so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” The idea for today’s verse picture was planted as I listened last week to a talk by poet/philosopher/priest Malcom Guite. During his presentation, he mentioned that he already knew what his death would be like because he’d seen
Deuteronomy 5:15, “…you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and YHWH your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore YHWH your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” Usually the rationale for keeping the Sabbath is tied to the six days of creation
Ephesians 1:19-20, 2:6, “[that you might know] the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised (ἐγείρας) Him from the dead and seated (καθίσας) Him at His right hand.” “[God] raised us up with Him (συνήγειρεν) and
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Isaiah 11:6,9, “The wolf shall lie down with the lamb….They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea.” A few thoughts…. First, the Branch is, of course, Jesus Christ (Rev.5:5). He is the Shoot
Mark 12:27, “He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Those who have the Father of Jesus as their God cannot truly die. Why? Because death—true death—is not severance from the body or severance from biological function (biological function being only the “shadow of life” just as its cesssation is the
