Isaiah 37:14, ‘Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of YHWH, and spread it before YHWH.’ The Text Considered The letter that Hezekiah receives here is a message from the king of Assyria saying that YHWH is unable to save His people […]
Jeremiah 17:12, “A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” In the context, the glorious throne of YHWH set on high from the beginning is set over against the fitful and uncertain securities of the flesh (17:5-6, 11). The Divine King Himself, enthroned in glory from
Genesis 11:4, “…let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Here are the roots of Babylon—the “world-spirit” that will oppose YHWH and His people until the end of history. Notice what is at the heart of the spirit of Babel: a desire to put
John 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome [comprehended] it.” An interpretive question we must ask when we come to this passage is what we understand “κατέλαβεν” (translated either “overcome” or “comprehend”) to mean. The word appears again in John’s gospel only in 12:35 where the meaning seems to
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
1 Corinthians 2:10, “…even the depths of God.” The phrase, “these things” 1 Corinthians 2:10 refers to the wisdom of God, given by God, through which God is known and the soul is saved, namely, the wisdom of God revealed in the redemptive work of the crucified Christ. The crucified Christ as wisdom and power,
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Isaiah 43:1, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” The Christian is not bound to God by their own piety or sincerity, they are bound to Him by His zealous possession of them. They are His….ransomed by the blood of His Son (1 Peter 1:19), hidden in the risen Jesus (Colossians 3:3), sealed
Genesis 2:3, “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” So too after the great work that would achieve New Creation, God the Son rested from His labors on the Sabbath.
Philippians 3:12-14, “…I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” I’m not reading in Philippians right now,
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John 8:28, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He…” The window into the heart of ‘I AM’ opens widest at the cross. When Jesus says that He’s the Light of the World in John 8:12, I think we are to understand that most
Revelation 2:8, “The words of the First and the Last, who died and came to life…’Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.’” The Church follows after and fellowships with her Lord–through suffering into glory. God give us grace to endure to the end. What I was considering
Isaiah 26:19, “You who dwell in the dust awake and sing for joy!” Because, on the third day, their King awoke and sang.
Psalm 39:7, “And now, O YHWH, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” In strength-stripped desperation, the Christ-follower finds invincible hope In the Name of God. May we know this hope in the midst of hardship.
Proverbs 28:26, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
2 Timothy 3:4, “[People will be] lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Our character–and eternal destiny–is revealed by what we love (want, pursue, treasure, enjoy, hunger and thirst for) most. Am I controlled by love for the pleasure of _________ or the pleasure of knowing God in Christ?
Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John 20:19-20, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side; His wounds, our peace.
John 20:9, “…He must rise from the dead.” A Happy Ending–for Christ and for His people–is an invincible necessity.
