Isaiah 40:28, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” In Isaiah 40, YHWH speaks comfort to His despairing people who, buried in the grave of exile, feel as though […]
Hebrews 12:2, ‘…looking to Jesus, the originator and perfector of faith.’ One of the surest ways to descend into a labyrinth of confusion, apprehension, and spiritual weakness is to make our own faith the object of our scrutiny. ‘Am I really trusting?’ ‘Is my faith sincere?’ ‘Is my faith strong enough?’ etc. Questions like those
Hebrews 2:8-9, ‘we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.’ Notice the
1 Peter 1:5, ‘…who, *by God’s power*, are being guarded *through faith* for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’ Note that in this verse, Peter tells us that it is *God’s power* that guards the believer, but the means by which His power guards them is *their own faith.* The power
Job 23:8-10, ‘Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him. But He knows the way that I take…’ In verses 8-9,
Hebrews 11:19, ‘…[Abraham] considered that God was able to raise [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.’ See the place that resurrection plays in Abraham’s faith. In this passage, resurrection is the unexpected—yet necessary—conclusion that arises from the equation of God’s Promises + Death. The Genesis 22 command
Luke 22:32, ‘But I have *prayed* for you, that your faith may not fail…’ The word translated ‘prayed’ here might literally be taken to mean ‘bound.’ On top of that, it is passive, essentially telling us that Jesus *was bound* on behalf of Peter. Now, the central meaning here is that Jesus was bound by
Matt. 4:4, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” Satan asks Jesus to turn stones into bread in order to prove that He is indeed the Son of God. Except, recall that the Father has just proclaimed Jesus to be
Today’s picture is divided into TWO PARTS in order to highlight two different perspectives on the ‘dark night’ of the Christian soul: Part 1 (the darker one) corresponds to Ps.22:1-2; Part 2 (the lighter one) corresponds to Ps.22:9-10. Picture 1: Ps. 22:1-2, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you
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Mark 9:24, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” What is the spark of primal faith that creates a faith in Jesus that is able to ask Jesus to create faith in the midst of faithlessness? Of course, the answer would be the sovereign grace of God (Eph 2:8). However, if all of God’s grace
Matthew 14:28-29, “‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come.’ And after getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came to Jesus.” What Peter asks, what Jesus commands, and what Peter—therefore—does, is *not* primarily to walk on water, but *to
Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that YHWH is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Hebrew poetry often employs a technique called “parallelism” by which the second parallel line in some way restates or comments on the first. When we read Psalm 34:8 in light of this technique, it helps
Matthew 10:28-30, “But fear rather the one who is able even soul and body to destroy in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore, do not fear,
Romans 9:20-21, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?…Has the potter no right ver the clay…?” Dark-veiled, the hand of Sovereignty Does fashion all aright And from the clay, humanity Is well-formed in His sight But we from vantage creaturely Cannot His purpose know Why one is formed for dignity
Matthew 14:26-27, “But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke the them, saying, ‘Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.’” The disciples see what they think is a restless spirit rising up
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
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”
2 Chronicles 20:12, “…we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” I read this passage in 2 Chronicles a few days ago during my morning reading. It’s such a beautiful and invincible response to suffering…..To be able
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“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of YHWH forever” – Psalm 23:6 The Passage In these 6 short verses, David has walked through green pastures, dark valleys, and feasts prepared in the presence of his enemies, and now—as Psalm 23 draws to
