Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Psalm 119:169-176 Psalm 119:175 This final section is a synthesis of what has gone on before. In it we read about what God does, what we do, what we desire, and how God responds to us. The whole of Psalm 119 is this: Let my soul live and praise You, and let your rules help… Continue reading TAW
Jehovah Rohi. The Lord as Shepherd. I checked the news today. It appears that curfews are working to distinguish between protestors (99% of the people involved) and rioters in most places. When protesters go home, police are able to focus on the people who want to incite violence. The rioters are attacking police, 99% of… Continue reading Wednesday interlude
I have been broken by the events of 2020, and I feel like I need to take a short break from Psalm 119 to examine the most profound lament of the Old Testament in light of the current Church and culture in the US. Illuminated Scripture Journal cover. Crossway, 2001 I did some background reading… Continue reading Lamentations
Psalm 119: 65-72 What does it look like to keep the Lord's precepts with our whole heart? From this passage, I see three main qualities: 1. Know that God is good.2. Know that God does good.3. Recognize difficulties as opportunities. The Bible reminds readers over and over of the goodness of God. From creation to… Continue reading TETH
James 5:1-11 Throughout this letter, James wrote about the lure of materialism and the danger of believing that success was God's reward. At the end of chapter 4, James called out those who claimed their success was a measure of God's pleasure, saying they boasted in arrogance. James continued his condemnation of that arrogance, being… Continue reading Steadfast to the end
My God!, how happy we should be if we could love Thee as we ought; Thou, Who hast prepared for us such good things, such rich blessings. Hold fast to this amid all the various trials with which you are surrounded in this present world. How can we better manifest our faithfulness than by being faithful amid distractions.
Faith is available to everyone, not the select few
James 2:14-26 Faith without works is dead This part of James' letter is familiar to most churchgoers. Faith without works is nothing. Times were hard for James' audience as both State and Religion tried desperately to squelch the new Church. Times are hard now for most people as COVIC-19 wreaks havoc on the health of… Continue reading Faith in action, part 1
Nahum chapters 2&3(Image credit unknown) Article © Christopher Jones 2016 The great palaces of Nineveh are long gone. What is left is uninhabitable rubble and dust. Even that was unseen until archaeologists unearthed it. And what archaeologists discovered in the last century was blown up by ISIS (Daesh) forces five years ago. Every great culture… Continue reading What will we build?
Matthew 14:14-33 At the church I attend here in Las Vegas we are working through a study of what it means to be a Jesus follower. This morning's reading included then section of Matthew where Jesus walked on water. I went back a few verses for context and I think someone who reads this may… Continue reading Take heart.
Defaulting to Grace 