Our new strand begins with Romans 5:10, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” The life of Christ will offer more than a resumption of the fellowship with God that we lost through sin. It will be the cause for keeping us living the righteous life in faith. More on this later.
Continue readingMany of us at one time or another have scratched our heads over the two verses in Rom. 7:24–25, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! ” From “who will deliver me?” to “I thank God—through Jesus” presents a maddening gap in logic that has frustrated believers who knew the battle Paul faced: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” (Rom. 7:15). What exactly was the solution that set Paul free?
Continue readingWhen we consider the men and women of faith in Hebrews 11–Abel and his excellent sacrifice, Enoch who walked with God, Noah who built the ark, Abraham who left for the unknown, elderly Sarah who received strength to bear a child, Moses who passed through the Red Sea–we find it hard to see ourselves walking in their shoes, having a faith like theirs.
Yet this is exactly what God intended with the offering of His Son. The communion they spent with God is ours with Christ. The faith stirred in hearing His voice is the same faith of the word that burns in our hearts today. The direction and calling they received is offered to us by the same Spirit in us who call Jesus Christ our Lord.
Continue readingIn our Bible college class, we were to read Revelation over the course of a week and write up our observations. Here is what I came up with, using the two main headings I was to fill in.
Continue readingI decided to examine the nativity accounts myself to see what the mystery is all about. (Spoiler alert: there’s no mystery; they work together perfectly.) I first made two columns on a sheet of paper and listed the main events of each book’s chapter two, and especially the locations of each event. My goal was to match up the events by similar location. I wanted to see if I could find a literal, historical account.
Continue readingGod created us in His image, after His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). That image encompasses all of us, our heart, soul, mind, and strength expressing love to the Creator of all. He made us to be image-bearers reflecting His glory to the world wherever we go.
History in ancient times tells us that when the emperors, like the Pharaohs, claimed new territory for their kingdom, they placed statues of themselves there to remind the occupants who their ruler was. Those images represented the ruler’s authority extended to there.
There may come a time when we look at our lives and realize that God was no longer at work. We no longer enjoy the freedom, peace, and power we had with Him.
In the same way in Israel’s history, in the time of Saul, they had departed from God, but the reality did not hit them until the Philistines went to war with them and Israel brought out the ark of the covenant to the battle. Israel lost the battle, and the Philistines captured the ark (1 Samuel 4).
When we do something wrong and we knew better, sometimes it shocks us awake, especially when we could have resisted it before. We approached life as usual, then wham! The sin came out of nowhere and we were surprised. The Jews were surprised because they brought the ark with them, the symbol of God’s presence. But the Lord was not with them.
Continue readingThe elders of Israel asked the prophet Samuel to make a king over them like the other nations have. When Samuel prayed about this, the Lord replied, “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).
Continue readingOur God wants to make Himself known to the world. He had this desire from the very beginning in the garden of Eden when He created the first couple. He made them in His image (Genesis 2:26–27).
He wanted them to be “fruitful,” meaning to flourish with all the God-given abilities, talents, and gifts they were given. To “multiply,” to procreate more godly images of Him. To “fill the earth” with these God-honoring images of Himself (Gen. 2:28 NKJV).
But sin entered in when the couple chose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil at the instigation of a Satanic serpent (Gen. 3). So their offspring was corrupted with a sinful image, one that no longer looks to God for guidance, but instinctively acts with autonomy, deciding what is good and right for themselves. So all people begin life with this sinful mindset. Meanwhile, God left a promise of a new man who was to come, saying to the serpent, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15; “bruise” in these two uses can also be rendered “crush”).
Continue readingThe “Our Father” prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 humbles me. The entire prayer is pointing us to see our need for the Lord in everything. The Father is exalted in heaven. We pray for His kingdom to come and replace the sorry mess we’ve made on earth. We pray that His will be done because what we want often doesn’t rise to His level of importance.
We need His daily bread because the world’s fare doesn’t satisfy. We need to face our sins and confess that we’re the problem after all. We need to forgive others and give them another reason to do well next time. The evil one is stronger than us and keeps leading us to temptation and ruin.
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