Luke 2:10-11, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born…a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord.” God Himself became a fertilized egg in Mary’s body. He became a developing fetus. He became an infant in utero. And by inhabiting every stage of human development, […]
John 6:35, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” The Son, broken by the Father, offered in the Spirit, received by faith IS the Bread by whom every human hunger is satisfied. May God give us grace to turn away from
Galatians 6:14, “…far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
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.
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.
Philippians 3:12-14, “…I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” I’m not reading in Philippians right now,
Philippians 3:12-14 Read More »
Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning…” In the immediate context, Solomon is commending focus on the brevity of life and the wisdom that comes with keeping “the big picture” in focus. However, the truth of his statement also applies to redemptive history as a whole…..though it’s right
Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! And see if there be any grevious way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Of all people the Christian should hide nothing….especially from God! Our debt was paid at the cross, so may the Lord search our souls to the marrow and
Proverbs 28:26, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
Matthew 18:33, “And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I have mercy on you?” If we’ve truly received the debt-forgiving mercy of our crucified and risen Master, we cannot remain merciless toward debtors in our lives…
James 1:14-17, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
Galatians 5:16-17, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh…” May an overriding desire for Christ, granted by the indwelling Spirit, drive us to
Proverbs 5:3-4, “The lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.” It is true of all idolatry…
Hebrews 3:12-13, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” May we go to
2 Timothy 3:4, “[People will be] lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Our character–and eternal destiny–is revealed by what we love (want, pursue, treasure, enjoy, hunger and thirst for) most. Am I controlled by love for the pleasure of _________ or the pleasure of knowing God in Christ?
1 John 4:19-20, “We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar…” At best, speech and acts and experiences of worship when hatred is harbored in our hearts is a lie. At worst it may mean that we have never been regenerated to
Matthew 18:27, “…the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt…” Colossians 2:14, “…nailing it to the cross.”
Matthew 18:27 + Colossians 2:14 + Romans 3:23 Read More »
James 4:4, “Adultresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” May the Lord give us grace to seek Him and not adorn ourselves with that for which He died.
Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Psalm 119:37, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things…” Setting our eyes on worthless things is one of the surest ways to blind them to the wonder of God’s beauty in Christ. May God grant us grace to
