Tag: bible


  • Jesus, the Spotless Sacrifice

    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…

  • Jesus, the Highest Priest

    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…

  • A Better Word than Abel

    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…

  • The God Who Sees

    Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see (2 Kings 19:16). The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man (Psalm 11:4). The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the…

  • Words of the Heart

    Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue…

  • Loving My (Different) Neighbor, Part 3 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed…

  • Loving My (Different) Neighbor, Part 2 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And…

  • Loving My (Different) Neighbor, Part 1 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all…

  • Hope and a Future

    For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future…

  • Desiring to Do Good

    With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified…

  • The Fellowship of Suffering

    I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11). In the previous post (“Your God is Too Small”), I related my struggle to reconcile Jesus’ words about…

  • Your God is Too Small

    When the disciples saw [Jesus curse the fig tree], they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say…

  • Who Are We? Christian or American Pt 2

    In the last post (“Christian or American,” 1/12/20), we asked some hard questions about the church and believers. We suggested that many parts of the American church are losing their biblical identity. We further suggested that this is because many churches have bought into the world’s ways of thinking, and that they have tied themselves…

  • Christian or American?

    I had hoped to start the New Year off with a more encouraging post. In the light of recent events that continue to unfold, however, it became necessary to address these issues for the sake of the church, the Body and Bride of Christ. Last week, many of us watched a sight we never thought…

  • Idols in the Heart

    Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?…

  • On Waiting

    Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out…

  • The Law of the Lord II (Ps. 119:17-32)

    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,…

  • Politics and the Gospel: A Special Message

    Two years ago I posted a blog (We Interrupt This Program…., 11/5/18) “on the eve of one of the most watched elections in US history, at a time when the country is more divided than ever” On the eve of the US Presidential election, those words seem even more accurate–and more ominous. What is most…

  • Looking Forward not Behind

    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…

  • Getting Rid of the Rubbish

    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…

  • The Righteousness of God: The Results

    And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom…

  • The Righteousness of God: God’s Provision–Jesus

    For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for…

  • The Righteousness of God: God’s Wrath and Man’s Need

    God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day (Ps. 7:11). For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18). None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All…

  • The Righteousness of God: The Gospel

    For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).…

  • Last Words: Lukewarm Laodiceans

    And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will…