Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will…
We’re continuing our journey with Jesus and His disciples in Luke’s gospel. In this post, we’ll look at what it cost some to follow Jesus. Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. Then when a woman…
We’re continuing our journey with Jesus and His disciples in Luke’s gospel. Today, we’re going to look at what happens when one begin to lose hope. John’s disciples informed him about all these things. So John called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to…
We’re continuing our journey with Jesus and His disciples in Luke’s gospel. Today, we’ll finish our discussion of Luke 6 by looking at the second half of Luke 6:17-49. There we read: [Jesus said,] “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you…
We’re continuing our journey with Jesus and His disciples in Luke’s gospel. Today, we’re going to look at the first half of Luke 6:17-49. There we read: Then [Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place. And a large number of his disciples had gathered along with a vast multitude from all…
We’ve seen so far that Jesus was not what the people of Israel expected in a Messiah. He talked about being sent to the Gentiles after all! Now, we’re going to see that Jesus wasn’t quite the “observant Jew” that the Pharisees thought He should be. On a Sabbath, while he was going through the…
Starting today, we are embarking on a journey with Jesus. We’ll look at some of the scenes from Luke’s gospel, highlighting times that Jesus is said to be travelling. We’re going to start with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, after His baptism and temptation. They Knew Him When And Jesus returned [from being tempted…
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you…
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two…
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart…
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6) So far in this series, we have seen that the New Covenant has a better High Priest (“Jesus, the Highest Priest“)…
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means…
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. (Hebrews 7:26) In our first post in this series (“A Better Word than Abel“), we talked about why a New Covenant was needed. Beginning with this post, we’re going to look…
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to…
Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.You rebuke the insolent,…
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways…
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone…
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God[a] and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone…
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s (Exodus 20:17). If the first commandment God gave His people (“no other gods before Me”) set the tone for their relationship…
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16). When Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish leaders for preaching the resurrection of Christ, they defended themselves by saying, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). In this simple statement we find the definition and duty…
You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15). Years ago, a Colorado woman sent in two eight-cent stamps to make up for having used one stamp twice (which, for some reason, had not been canceled). A former IRS employee mailed in one dollar for four ballpoint pens she had never returned to the office. In February 1974,…
You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Do not commit adultery. This command, like all the Commandments, seems so simple and straightforward. Yet, one look at the world around us–and even within the church–tells a different story. Like many of God’s commands, the church has often been guilty of treating only the symptoms without getting…
You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13). Like many of the Ten Commandments, most people know (or think they know) what murder is and how it applies to their life. (And most would say it doesn’t, since they have never killed anyone.) However, like all the Commandments, Jesus has a different idea of what murder entails…
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12). In an age where people are living longer, and society is more transient and fragmented than ever, many Christians wonder how this commandment should apply to their relationship with parents…
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock,…