“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” – John 11:21 In John’s account of Lazarus’ sickness and death, we are given an incredibly valuable gift, namely, the opportunity to view tragedy and suffering from God’s perspective. Because the narrative follows Jesus and not Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, it is as […]

  “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” – Genesis 3:10   True Fear The Bible has a lot to say about “fearing the Lord.” To summarize the concept in an accurate but far too simple way, we can think about

    “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” – Psalm 62:8 Trust, intimacy, and safety…three things that all healthy human hearts long for, and three things that are deeply intertwined. We do not have true intimacy with someone we don’t trust,

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” –

    “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” – Genesis 18:14   Is Anything to Wonderful for the Lord? God has just informed Abraham and Sarah – both of them nearing one hundred years old – that they will have a son together within a year. Sarah laughs despite herself saying, “After I am

    Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of Justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”   Mysterious “Therfores” The “therefores” in this verse are the first tip off that something interesting

    Revelation 5:9,”Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain…”   In Revelation 5:9 we see something simple and yet staggering in its implications: Jesus is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals because He was slain. Consider that for a moment…because Jesus was

    John 3:16, “For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His only Son…” John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have GIVEN me because you LOVED me before the foundation of the world.”

  “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no

    “If He should set His heart to it and gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust.” – Job 34:14-15   The Intimacy of Existence “IF He should set His heart to it….” With these words, Elihu (the one friend of

    “Jesus wept.” – John 11:35   God Ordains that He Should Weep. Consider the wonder of that statement. God – who is sovereign over all things and who does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth (Ps.135:5-6) – freely ordains that He Himself should weep. And this is true not only of

    “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.” – Psalm

“The Lord Himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet