Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” While preparing for this picture, I was pointed to Psalm 24:4-6, which is the primary OT context that Jesus seems to be drawing from in this Beatitude. There the concept of a “pure heart” seems to be unfolded in v.4b, namely, […]
Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew is most likely not talking about Pauline righteousness (ie, The righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer by grace through faith), though that is certainly necessary. The righteousness in view here is likely a life of practical,
Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for that shall inherit the earth.” 1 Peter 2:23, “…when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly…” At the heart of true meekness is trusting submission to the will and purposes of God. It is not fatalism or a religious
Matthew 5:5 (1 Peter 2:23) Read More »
Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” I just finished up a series on John 1:1-18 at Community Christian Church, and anticipate starting the Sermon on the Mount this coming Sunday. As I’ve been preparing for this next series I’ve been musing over, among other things,
Hebrews 4:13, “And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give and account.” Reading through Hebrews 4 this morning I noticed a progression of thought from 4:11-16. In verse 11-2, the author supports his citation and application of Psalm
Revelation 21:2, 22:1, ”And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…. …Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb…” Psalm 46:4, “There
Revelation 21:2, 22:1 (Psalm 45 & 46) Read More »
Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Here are some
Hebrews 2:11, 14-15 Read More »
Ezekiel 18:32, “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” Today’s picture and passage are a simple reminder to me of two eternally weighty realities. First—There are paths that we can walk—paths of idolatry, of taking the Lord lightly, of small concessions here or there—there are
John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” When John says that no one has ever seen God he is very intentionally echoing the exchange between Moses and YHWH in Exodus 33:18ff where God says that no one can see
Exodus 15:23,25, “…they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter…and YHWH showed [Moses] a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” Directly following the Lord’s miraculous, self-revelatory redemption of His people from Egypt through the Red Sea, we come to an unexpected narrative vignette
Exodus 15:23,25 + 1 Peter 2:24 Read More »
Ezekiel 17:23-24, “On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. And all the trees of the field shall
John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” I’m preparing to teach on John 1:15-17 this weekend at our church and so this passage has been on my mind the last few days. I won’t get into all of it now, but a few points that
Ezekiel 16:62-63, “And you shall know that I am YHWH…when I atone for all that you have done…” When we see our perversions drowned forever in the atoning blood of Christ, then we will know who our God is. ___________ This passage from this morning‘s ll of scripture. The level of graphic specificity used
Ezekiel 14:23, “…and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done…” Here is a question-silencing word. Here is a settling, quieting, storm-stilling word. We stand within the vantage point of history, using the frail faculties of our mortal, fallen minds and hearts as we attempt to understand
Matthew 25:40, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” For today’s picture, the text I put together with the image is actually not the text that gave me the idea for the image….the passage
Matthew 25:40 + Luke 9:46-48 Read More »
John 21:20, “…the disciple whom Jesus loved…” John cannot stop writing about love…if you’ve read his gospel or his epistles, you know this. And I think there is reason–John is the only New Testament writer (so far as we know) who stood at the foot of the cross. This disciple’s writings are drenched in
Isaiah 66:2, “But this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” What a simple and crucial reminder of the posture we are to take before the LORD our God. HIS word, HIS revelation–which for us means–HIS inspired scripture is to rest
(16) No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but pits it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. (17) For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and
