1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” What is LOVE according to 1 John 4:10? It is that in God which moves Him to send His Son—and moves the Son to harmoniously respond […]
Numbers 23:8, 20, ‘How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom YHWH has not denounced?…He has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.’ When Balaam was summoned to curse God’s chosen people, he responds by saying that he could not curse those whom God had blessed. These were the people
Numbers 16:45, ‘Get away *from the midst* of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.’ Numbers 16:47-48, ‘So Aaron…ran *into the midst* of the assembly…he put on the incense [onto his censer] and made atonement for the people.’ And he stood between the dead and the living…’ In Hebrew, the same word
Numbers 16:45, 47-48 Read More »
Exodus 17:7, ‘…they tested YHWH by saying, ‘is YHWH among us (ἐν ἡμῖν) or not?’’ This is the final verse in the account of Moses striking the rock so that water might be given to the people in the wilderness. Just as a little background: The people are grumbling and demanding water, so Moses cries
Is 12:5-6, “Sing praises to YHWH, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah envisions a day when the joyful praises of YHWH’s redeemed people will fill
Zephaniah 3:8, “‘…my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.’” Zeph. 3:8 explains YHWH’s response to His people’s continued apostasy, namely, the universal, world-ending judgment of all the earth. However,
Jonah 2:6, “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever, yet you brought up my life from the pit…” In Matthew 12:40, Jesus teaches us to read His own death and resurrection in light of Jonah’s descent into the abyss of the fish’s belly and his ascent again to the
Psalm 109:17-18, “He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!” Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us…” I recently talked to a group about the “imprecatory Psalms” (the Psalms that pray curses down on enemies of YHWH and His people). The question was,
Psalm 109:17-18, Galatians 3:13 Read More »
Based on many texts, but most especially 1 John 4:10. As self-made enemies of God, we all face the shattering power of God’s War of Love. However—from the overflow of that same love—God sent forth His own Beloved, His Image, His Word, His SON: Jesus Christ. In every way like one of the rebels (except
The Gospel – V – Love Read More »
1 Thessalonians 1:10, “…Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.” The One who will pour out eschatological wrath (Rev.6:16-17) delivers His people from that wrath (1 Thess. 1:10) precisely by bearing that wrath in their place (Rom.3:25). In this is Love (1 John 4:10). Just a short thought for today. This
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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 »
1 Corinthians 13:7, “Love bears all things…” …even justly deserved wrath.
1 Corinthians 13:7 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 »
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
Isaiah 13:13, “…the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of His fierce anger.” Matthew 27:50-51, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit…And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” If you are
Isaiah 13:13 + Matthew 27:50-51 Read More »
Malachi 3:6, “For I YHWH do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” Because the One True God is eternally who He showed Himself to be in Christ at the cross, His prone-to-wander people have been and will forever be preserved.
Exodus 34:6, “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…” Proverbs 16:6, “By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for…” Final atonement comes when the Holy God revealed on Mt. Sinai shows the fullness of His steadfast love and faithfulness toward His sinful people
Exodus 34:6 + Proverbs 16:6 Read More »
