Colossians 2:14, ‘He cancelled the record of debt that stood against us, with its legal demands; this He set aside, nailing it to the cross.’ ‘Nailing it to the cross.’ This is crucifixion language…Paul sees no tension whatsoever in affirming that Jesus Christ is the image of God, the Ruler of Creation, the Source and […]
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
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,
2 Corinthians 11:2-3 Read More »
Colossians 3:1-3, ‘If, then, you were raised in Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; set your minds on the things above, not on the things of earth, for you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God…’ Ch.2 concludes with a
Colossians 2:23, ‘These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.’ What is the ‘indulgence of the flesh’? Certainly something like lust, illicit sexuality, drunkenness, and various forms of addiction come to mind.
The seed that fell ‘among thorns.’ As in the other pictures, the ‘seed’ (which is the ‘word of the Kingdom’, 13:18) is represented as the Crucified and Risen Jesus. He is the True Word who—being the perfect declaration of who God is—embraces, embodies & fulfills every word of God. In this picture, the resurrection illumined
The Parable of the Soils 3/4 (Matthew 13:1-8; 18-23) Read More »
This first image considers the seed that fell ‘along the path (Matt.13:4,19). First, Jesus tells us that the seed that is sown is the word. Now, the ‘word’ (of God, of the Kingdom, of the Gospel) is ultimately Jesus Christ Himself, as He is known in His Crucifixion and Resurrection (1 Cor.1:17-18ff). Thus the ‘seed’
The Parable of the Soils 1/4 (Matthew 13:1-8; 18-23) Read More »
Col 3:5-6 [8], ‘Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. […anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk…] On account of these the wrath of God is coming. The ‘therefore’ at the beginning of this passage refers back to 3:3, ‘you have
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
1 Samuel 25:29 + Job 14:17 Read More »
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 »
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 16:23, “Get behind me, Satan; you are a stumbling block for me, because you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.” What are the things of men, that Jesus refers to (which, notice, are simultaneously the things of Satan?) Well, what does Peter do
Revelation 3:18, 20, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and a white garment so that you might cover [yourself] and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes that you may see… Behold, I stand at
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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
Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What our heart loves is where our heart lives. And where our heart lives determines everything about us, since from it flow all the streams of our life (Prov.4:19). May we—by the Spirit—be enamored with the crucified and risen Lord and so
2 Cor 7:10, “…godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Short Thoughts: In the midst of grief over our sin, may we not fold inward toward self-destruction, rather, may we turn outward and fall in blood-bought repentance on Him who bore all sin and grief
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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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Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning…” In the immediate context, Solomon is commending focus on the brevity of life and the wisdom that comes with keeping “the big picture” in focus. However, the truth of his statement also applies to redemptive history as a whole…..though it’s right
Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! And see if there be any grevious way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Of all people the Christian should hide nothing….especially from God! Our debt was paid at the cross, so may the Lord search our souls to the marrow and
Proverbs 28:26, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
