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 […]
Psalm 38:1-2, “O YHWH, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me…” Psalm 38:22, “Make hast to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” Notice two things from these verses in Psalm 38. First, in verses
Romans 10:18, “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” When faced with the question of whether the refusal to believe in Jesus as Lord is due to a lack of hearing the word about the Christ, Paul responds that it is certainly not
Mark 5:21-43 Notice the way that Jesus penetrates into the heart of hopelessness in the story of Jarius’ daughter. At first, Jarius comes to Jesus and asks for help because his daughter is dying, and Jesus agrees to go, v.24. When they draw near to the house, they find out Jarius’ daughter has died
John 6:51, “…the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The bread that fed the multitudes was given to the people only in its being broken (Mark 8:6). Were it not broken, it could not have been given….and it is only in the breaking that it becomes
Isaiah 50:4-6, “YHWH God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary…He awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught…and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike,
Genesis 6:18-19, “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark…and of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you.” The connection between the Ark and Christ is a longstanding one. Peter has already
Mark 6:56, “…they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored Him that they might touch even the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” So too, as many as reach by grace from the grave of sin to touch by faith even the fringe of the garment of
Ps 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” “Table” implies rest, rejoicing, supply, and—perhaps most important—fellowship, while “in the presence of my enemies” conjures images of threat, danger, tension, and enmity. It is not natural to set the experience of table fellowship and the immediate presence of enemies
Ps 30:4-5, “Sing praises to YHWH, O you his saints, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes with the morning.” Notice that verse 5 supports verse 4, meaning that what
Mk 4:18-19, “…the ones sown among thorns…hear the word, but the anxieties of the world…choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” 1 Pt 5:7, “…cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you…” Jn 19:2, “…the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head…” In Mk 4,
Mark 4:18-19 + 1 Peter 5:7 + John 19:2 Read More »
Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but YHWH will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you.” First and foremost, these words are about Jesus Christ, who—as
Mark 2:11, “I say to you, rise, take up your bed, and go to your home.” Jesus does not say to the paralytic, “you are healed of your paralysis,” or “I take away your disability,” rather, He COMMANDS the man to do what is—for him in his disabled state—impossible (ie, “rise, take up your
Matt. 26:30, “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” The “hymn” that Jesus and His disciples sang here was likely the “Hallel,” which encompasses Psalm 113-118. These Psalms are rich and multifaceted, but a common theme shared by them all is YHWH’s deliverance of His people—especially His
Psalm 22:23-24, ‘…stand in awe of Him…FOR He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and He has not hidden His face from him, but has heard when he cried to Him.’ Verse 24 (starting with “For He…”) gives the reason that YHWH is to be praised, glorified, and stood in awe
Revelation 22:1, “…the throne of God and of the Lamb…” Though specifics vary, many scholars acknowledge the tabernacle complex was designed as a model of the cosmos. The tabernacle (and later the temple) was divided broadly into two sections, what we might call the “lower”—with the Altar of Burnt Offering at its center—and the
Isaiah 11:1-2, 9, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse…And the Spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him…[and] the earth shall be full of the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea.” First, the chapter begins with an anticipation of the “shoot from the stump of Jesse,” the
Peter — “…and going out, he wept bitterly.” Matt.26:75 Judas — “…and going out, he hung himself.” Matt 27:5 Consider the paralleled responses of these two men who both betrayed Jesus. What’s the difference? We aren’t given an in-depth look into either man’s mind or heart and so it is difficult to answer “why”
Matthew 26:75, 27:5 Read More »
Psalm 15:2, “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and *speaks truth in his heart*.” The content and quality of our internal dialogue matters. What we say within ourselves about ourselves and others and life etc. has genuine impact on the sort of person we are in the sight of God, and
Jeremiah 4:30, “O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain do you beautify yourself.” Isaiah 60:9, “…the Holy One of Israel…He has made you beautiful.” Like painting makeup on a corpse, any and
Jeremiah 4:30 + Isaiah 60:9 Read More »
