Genesis 49:10, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” Genesis 49:10 is just another of many reminders that the crucified and risen Jesus is the harmonizing note of all […]
Revelation 21:23, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” In these last few chapters of the book of Revelation, John is envisioning creation as it is meant to be. This is redeemed creation,
Colossians 2:14, “[God cancelled] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.” No long description today, just a brief thought to consider….think about the imagery that the Holy Spirit leads Paul to use here. The “record of debt” or “handwritten decree”
Mark 14:36, “…not what I will, but what you will.” Edited thoughts from this morning’s journal entry: This prayer exposes us to the heart of what it means to be a human being in right relation to God. Yes, Jesus is fully God, but so too is He fully man. Just as we see
Isaiah 38:17, “Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; [and] in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.” This passage was not from my reading this morning so I don’t have a journal entry to share
Colossians 2:15, “…having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” This past weekend I was reading a book on Paul’s theology of the cross when I came across an arresting sentence by theologian James D.G. Dunn regarding Colossians 2:15. Dunn wrote: “The transformation
Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Often this verse has been watered down to mean little more than “Jesus will help me be all I can be.” Paul is emphatically not teaching that Jesus is the genie in our corner, ready and willing to give us the extra
Psalm 39:4-5, “O YHWH, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths…” I can’t think of a time when it is not wise to consider the brevity of life. When we are surrounded
1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” What exactly does this verse mean? Why does John say that “fear has to do with punishment”? Really? Fear has to do with
Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done…” I read this morning in Jeremiah 46:18 where the Lord says, “As I live declares the King, whose name is YHWH of hosts…” And it struck me….He doesn’t say what He is king of. He just says, “the King.” Of course, the reason is because
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Philippians 1:29, “It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake…” Some thoughts from this morning’s journal on this passage: I want to consider the word “granted.” Paul says that it has been granted to the Philippians
Psalm 42:11, “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” One of the implications of Christ’s death and resurrection is invincible hope for anyone who would receive Him as their life. The one trusting in Christ simply cannot be hopeless…they cannot enter a place of utter destitution of
Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Two awesome things to quickly note here. First, “The eternal God is your dwelling place.” That deserves a lot of thought. The true land, the true haunt, the true home for the people of God is not primarily a
Psalm 6:7, “My eye wastes away because of grief…” Isaiah 43:2, “when you pass through the waters, I will be with you…” A few things to notice in these two passages. First, in Psalm 6, see that the Lord’s provision for David has not kept this “man after God’s own heart” from sleepless, grief-filled
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Isaiah 44:23, “Sing, O heavens, for YHWH has done it…break forth into singing, O mountains…for YHWH has redeemed Jacob and will display His beauty in Israel.”Matthew 27:51, “And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” Since this picture did not grow out of a journal entry and was instead the product of post-reading musings,
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Mark 9:43, “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” I’m not going to write a big description this morning in order to put more time into monthly support pictures
Psalm 13:1,5, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?…But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” The “but” in verse 5 is an adversative that begins David’s ascent out of the shadows and into the light of hope. Up until this point he has
Ephesians 2:14-16, “For he Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might
Psalm 124:1,4, “If it had not been YHWH who was on our side…then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us…” I debated whether or not to use this text as an illustration this morning. In the context, David is clearly talking about YHWH’s preservation of His people
I can’t possibly do justice to this chapter and the concept of God’s sovereign purpose as Paul unfolds it in this chapter—I can’t possibly do justice to this topic in a morning journal entry. This requires long hours of careful study. However, here is a general, “10,000 ft. Flyover” version of that consideration. Ephesians
Ephesians 1:5,7-12 Read More »
