John 17:19, “For their sake I consecrate myself that they may be sanctified in the truth.” Short Thoughts: The Son set Himself apart as a whole burnt offering through the Spirit to the Father (Heb.9:14), that we too might belong wholly and only to God in Him. Long Thoughts: I’m not sure […]
Hebrews 13:5, ‘Be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ Why are the recipients of this letter to be content with what they have? Because God in Christ has promised always to be with them, never to forsake them. The groaning of discontentment is a
Luke 14:33, ‘…any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.’ V.33 is the summarizing statement for vs 25-33…and these are hard words. ‘So every one of you who does not renounce / send away / take leave of all the things he possesses cannot be my disciple.’
2 Corinthians 12:9, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for [my] power is made perfect in weakness.’ The weakness that Paul speaks of here—weakness in which the anastasiform (resurrection-shaped) power of Christ is brought to completion—are the very same weaknesses that Christ bore in Himself on the cross (Is. 53:3-4). That is to say, they
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2 Corinthians 11:2-3, ‘I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.’ Paul is doing a lot in these two verses. First,
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Hebrews 11:1, ‘…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ You’ve probably heard someone ask, ‘If God wants people to believe in Him, why not give us irrefutable proof?’ But that line of thinking misses the point entirely. The desire to have ‘proof’ is the desire to have specific
1 Cor. 6:7, ‘To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be defrauded?’ Paul’s question forces examination: “Why not” or “For what reason” would you not rather be defrauded? What is it that causes you to refuse to release your possessions—even if the situation IS unjust?
In Ephesians 6:10, Paul calls believers to be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Any strength the Christian has in the struggles of this life is strength in the Lord (that is, in union with Christ) and is, in fact, the Lord’s own might—just as any vitality or fruitfulness a
This picture was created at the request of one of FOE’s monthly supporters. In this image I tried to bring together two uses of “צְרוֹר” or “bundle / parcel” from 1 Samuel 25:29 and Job 14:17. In 1 Samuel, Abigail blesses David, saying that YHWH will keep the life of David “in the bundle
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Jer. 30:12-13,15,17 — “Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous…[there is] no medicine for your wound, no healing for you…Your pain is incurable.” /// “…*I will* restore health to you, and your wounds *I will* heal.” The wound referenced here the wound of and the wound dealt by YHWH’s people’s turning from Him
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Psalm 15:2, “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and *speaks truth in his heart*.” The content and quality of our internal dialogue matters. What we say within ourselves about ourselves and others and life etc. has genuine impact on the sort of person we are in the sight of God, and
Matthew 25:20, “Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.” What did the faithful servant do with the talents (an ancient measure for money, probably gold) that his Master had given him? How did he turn the five he received into five more? Was it shrewd investment? Was
Proverbs 28:1, “…the righteous are as bold as a lion.” What is true, lion-like boldness? Certainly the culture around us has many answers….boldness is being loud and confident, boldness is not letting anyone take advantage of you, boldness is not bowing down, boldness is standing your ground, etc. etc…But can we just import that
Job 36:15, “He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.” He delivers the afflicted by their affliction….another way to say this is that the Lord uses adversity and suffering as a means of deliverance and sanctification and healing for those who experience adversity and suffering. Affliction is made to
Philippians 2:15-16, “…you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold fast to the word of life.” (NIV) The “word of life,” refers most immediately to the Gospel, which is to say, the message that the one crucified in love under the sin and punishment of His enemies is,
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Job 28:12, “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” The first 11 verses of chapter 28 employ the imagery of a mine with deep shafts and searching tunnels as an example of humanity’s ability to find the “thing that is hidden” and bring it “out to the light.”
John 21:15-17, “Do you love me?…Feed my lambs…tend my sheep…feed my sheep…” These words were spoken specifically to Peter and the “feeding” etc. in view refers to Peter’s leadership in the Church. However, the same words can be received and applied by those who are not called to a ministry of teaching / leading.
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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1 Timothy 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith.” I love the “North Star” statements of Scripture. The North Star is clear and unmoving and—no matter what else may be happening—if you follow that star, you will be heading North…Similarly,
Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Test me and know my anxious thoughts! See if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” If we have known God in Christ by the Spirit, we will not try to “hide” any aspect of our life
