Paneas and Resurrection

From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day. Matthew 16:21 This is the beginning of a marked change in Jesus’ ministry. His ministerial focus moves …

Continue reading Paneas and Resurrection

Forever Perfected

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord: I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel is holy to the …

Continue reading Forever Perfected

Who is Like God?

Praise the Lord!Praise, O you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun to its going down, the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and His …

Continue reading Who is Like God?

What Your Behavior Accomplishes

If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?Or if your transgressions are multiplied, what does it do to Him?If you are righteous, what does it give Him?Or what does He receive from your hand?Job 35:6–7 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014) Elihu asks Job a series of probing questions. …

Continue reading What Your Behavior Accomplishes

Salt is Good

“Salt is good. But if the salt has lost its saltiness, how shall it be made salty? 35 *It is neither fit for the land nor for the manure pile. So men throw it out.“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”Luke 14:34–35 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014) This …

Continue reading Salt is Good

Know the Master’s Will

“That servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who unknowingly committed acts worthy of punishment shall be beaten with few stripes. For to whom much is given, of him much shall be required. And from him to …

Continue reading Know the Master’s Will

Sow to Yourselves Righteousness

Sow to yourselves righteousness, reap mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and rains righteousness upon you.Hosea 10:12 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014) Hidden gems abound in the writings of the prophets. This is one of my favorites. In …

Continue reading Sow to Yourselves Righteousness

They Have not Known my Ways

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, and as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me and tried Me, though they had seen My …

Continue reading They Have not Known my Ways

Suffering as a Privilege

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ’s sufferings, so that you may rejoice and be glad also in the revelation of His glory.1 Peter 4:12–13 — Modern English …

Continue reading Suffering as a Privilege

Live as Servants of God

Dearly beloved, I implore you as aliens and refugees, abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.1 Peter 2:11 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014) Now comes the practical application again. This echoes Peter's introduction to this epistle where he calls his audience pilgrims or refugees. We are …

Continue reading Live as Servants of God