Ephesians 2:20-22, “Christ Jesus Himself [is] the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Numbers 14:17-18, “And now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, as you have promised, saying, “YHWH is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love….” Two wonderful things stand out about this passage. First, notice how the Lord shows the greatness of His power: by forgiving the sins of His covenant
Numbers 11:20, “…you have rejected YHWH who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” Notice the strong language that Moses uses to describe what we might consider a comparatively “innocent” situation. Some of the people have a “strong craving” for meat (v.4), and this apparently
1 Corinthians 1:21, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” Now, this is a paradigmatic verse. Notice that the world did not know God through wisdom, therefore it pleased God to
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Matthew 22:4, “Come to the wedding feast.” I read three parables this morning. The parable of the two sons (21:28-32), the parable of the tenants (21:33-44), and the parable of the wedding feast (22:1-14). Each one of these parables is told in response to the Scribes and Pharisee’s question about Jesus’ authority, and Jesus’
Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” This is a significant hermeneutical statement that I think I’ve overlooked before. Here is a divinely inspired apostle writing to us the mind and heart of
Psalm 119:130, 135, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple….Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.” What catches my attention here is the repeated light imagery. In verse 130 the unfolding of God’s words gives light, and in v.135, the Psalmist’s desire is
Matthew 16:23,25, “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man…” I’m always intrigued by the seeming irony of Jesus’ statement here. Peter has just said, essentially, that
Psalm 126:5–6, “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” When God the Son was sown in the dust of the earth, He carried every tear of His Bride in Himself; and when He rose again, He reaped for her
Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
Isaiah 63:9, “In all their affliction, He was afflicted…” Two things to notice in this picture: First, the same nail is piercing both the hand of the believer and of Christ. In a mysterious sense which I am still—and will likely ever be—trying to wrap my mind around, Christ bore our sufferings on the
Psalm 123:2-3, “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of the maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to YHWH our God, till He has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O YHWH, have mercy upon us…” Two things to
2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” We had a prayer meeting at our local church last night and, after prayer, I was talking with some of the
Amos 5:21,23-24, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies…Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” God’s people are worshipping Him with
Romans 8:36-37, “As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” First, notice that I translated the word immediately following the citation of Psalm 44:22
John 17:19, “For their sake I consecrate myself that they may be sanctified in the truth.” I’m not sure why the ESV translators use the two words “consecrate” and “sanctify” here, but the Greek word is the same. Jesus says that He consecrates / sanctifies / sets Himself apart so that His people might be
1 Corinthians 1:21, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” This is a paradigmatic verse. Notice that the world did not know God through wisdom, therefore it pleased God
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Joel 3:15-17, “The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. YHWH roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But YHWH is a refuge to His people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. So you shall know that I am
Romans 5:21, “…just as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Short Thoughts: Sin reigned over humanity in the sphere of spiritual death; Grace reigns over the new humanity through the agency of Christ’s self-outpouring righteousness…a reign that leads to eternal
Romans 5:18-19, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many were made righteous.” What is Christ’s “one act of
