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 […]
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 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.
Ephesians 6:16, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Verse 16, like the rest of the armor passage, is built around a participle that expounds the manner in which we are to “stand” (v.14). So, “stand…taking up the shield of
Matthew 10:33, “…whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father…” Matthew 26:74, “[Peter] began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man.” In light of Matt 10:33, we would expect Peter’s denial of Jesus in 26:74 to have damned him…but the expectation-surpassing grace of
Matthew 10:33, 26:74 Read More »
Matthew 26:39, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me…” Mark 14:36, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me…” Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me…” John 18:11, “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has
Matthew 26:39 + Mark 14:36 + Luke 22:42 + John 18:11 Read More »
Song of Songs 8:6, “…love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD.” During the “poetry” section of my morning readings, I’m working through Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs, which I like better). There’s long been debate on
Romans 5:10, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” I was reading though Romans 5 this morning as we struck once again by the significance that God’s love is manifest
Romans 3:26, “…it was to show God’s righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” In reading through Romans 3 this morning I was once again struck by how Paul emphasizes what the cross tells us about GOD as
In Revelation 17:16 we get a horrific description of the Beast’s hatred for the Prostitute. What makes this so startling is that the Prostitute was riding on/depending on/in league with the Beast just a few verses earlier….it’s a vivid picture of the hatred that underlies any veneer of “love” that Satan and the
Revelation 1:17-18,”When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying: ‘FEAR NOT, I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” Whatever our
Revelation 1:17-18 Read More »
1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment…” When we receive the love of God–poured out in the slain and risen Christ, mediated by the indwelling Holy Spirit–we are caused to love as we have been loved. And when the
1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Every hope that is not rooted in the crucified and risen Christ WILL end in
Proverbs 28:26, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
James 5:11, “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” We have seen the heart of the Author of all our trials, and it is displayed at the cross of Christ….We know that the Lord is compassionate and
Proverbs 10:24, “What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.” For God’s graciously chosen, Spirit-filled people, the filling of the universe with the Glory of God through the slain-and-risen Son will be the satisfaction of their deepest desire. But for those enduringly opposed to Him
James 1:2-3, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Christian, the fires of our love-ordained trials will become the cords that bind our faith more surely to Christ–the one who bore the equivalence all of our suffering
Psalm 7:12-13, “If a person does not repent, God sharpens His sword and prepares to shoot His bow. He prepares deadly weapons against him; He gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.” The One who will finally fire the arrows of divine wrath IS the one who was first pierced by their equivalent on the
Nahum 1:6-7, “Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by Him. YHWH is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.” Who can endure the
Philippians 3:9, “[that]…I may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…”
