1 Cor. 15:58, ‘Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.’ These words about steadfast laboring form the capstone of chapter 15 which focuses on the resurrection of Christ and of His people in Him. What […]
1 Corinthians 15:58 Read More »
2 Cor 4:17-18, ‘this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.’ Paul does not say that our afflictions in this life will *give way* to glory, but that our
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Today’s picture is divided into TWO PARTS in order to highlight two different perspectives on the ‘dark night’ of the Christian soul: Part 1 (the darker one) corresponds to Ps.22:1-2; Part 2 (the lighter one) corresponds to Ps.22:9-10. Picture 1: Ps. 22:1-2, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you
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Mark 13:31, “The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Jesus words are more enduring, and in that sense we may say “more real,” than the heavens and the earth. And when the heavens and the earth pass away, when the mountains are overthrown and turned to dust,
Music by The Lockwoods Lyrics by Christopher Powers I heard the voice of Jesus say “My child, do not fear.” // “But Lord,” replied my trembling heart, “The darkness is so near.” // “It rises up before my eyes, it quenches every light. // With cruel and hopeless words it weaves a world that
The End of Night – An Animation Read More »
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
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 »
Zephaniah 3:15, 17, “YHWH has taken away the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies, The King of Israel, YHWH is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil…YHWH your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet
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Rev.12:11, “…they have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Satan—the Great Dragon—is decisively conquered when the “Male Child” (Christ) is raised to the throne of God (Rev.12:5), which is to say, when He is lifted up
Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” At any given moment, the veil that separates us from the unmediated face of the risen Jesus Christ is as thin as a single heartbeat. As long as the muscle in our chest continues to pulse, a thin—yet,
Psalm 104:30, “When you send forth your Spirit [or “breath’], they are created…” John 19:30, “He bowed His head and handed over the spirit [or “breath”].” As you may know, the same word is used both for “Spirit” and “Breath” in Hebrew as well as in Greek. This is a fruitful ambiguity. Biblical authors
Psalm 104:30; John 19:30 Read More »
2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “…we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had receive the sentence of death. But this was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” Disciples of Jesus are not promised an easy time
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1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…” One implication of this verse is that, in order for fear to take root in our lives, it has to cast out—or at least obscure—perfect love. What is Fear? I would suggest that Fear happens when we believe in
Romans 8:17, “…provided we suffer with Him, in order that we may also be glorified with Him.” The Passage Considered Sometimes, when we think of suffering with Christ, we might imagine that Christ is the sufferer and that WE take on HIS sufferings. While there is a sense in which this is true,
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.” The Passage Explained: Paul’s words here echo his earlier call to
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Revelation 5:5, “‘Weep no more; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals’.” “Weep no more.” That is the word that catches my attention this morning….. “Weep no more.” How widely, though, can we apply these words? The
This animation is the second in an “Easter Trilogy” trilogy considering Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday (the animation dealing with Good Friday is here.). In “Holy Saturday,” I try to help us spend some time contemplating the strange and beautiful truth that, in Jesus, YHWH is “God With Us” even in the grave….and
Holy Saturday – An Animation Read More »
Colossians 1:20, “…and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” The same all things that were created in and through Christ as their source and ground, the same all things that exist for Christ as their telos (Col.1:16), and the
Ps 139:16, “…in your book were written—every one of them—the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” This picture comes from an idea that Courtney shared with me. As I think most of you know, Courtney is an author and has—for the 10 years we’ve been married—always
1 John 4:18, “…perfect love casts out fear.” As we receive the love of God in Christ and are transformed into that same image of self-giving love, fear is cast out. What is fear? At its roots, fear is the belief that our story will end in darkness, that we will be finally cast
