Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, , Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above. About a year ago, I heard this hymn for the first time in my life. You may be wondering if I have been living under a rock or something because of the lack of personal exposure to hymns, and the answer would be yes. I had been under a contemporary praise…
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 ESV “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.” Matthew 12:43-44…
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17 ESV When meditating on this passage of Scripture in Colossians, I am immediately drawn to the very beginning of this particular verse…
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:24 ESV Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jew. But my kingdom is not from this world. John 18:36 ESV Have you ever sat in corporate church gathering where you heard…
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, Ephesians 1:7 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 Years ago, I remember reading a book centered around the blood covenant. I read that book several times, taking in the types and shadows found in the Old Testament, the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the High Priest, the Passover,…
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve. Romans 16:17,18 ESV Calling out false teaching and the teachers perpetuating such things is a touchy subject for some. There are beliefs that names should not be…
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself…They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:27,32 ESV The journey to Emmaus by two disciples of Christ did not end the way that it began. What started as a somber and sad time from Jerusalem to Emmaus became a…
“Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” Psalm 105:15, 1 Chronicles 16:22 NASB When addressing the super apostles that were coming against Paul’s ministry to the Corinthian church and soliciting them for notoriety and greed, Paul counters their boasting by providing an account of his sufferings as an Apostle of Christ, saying, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one- I am talking like a madman- with far greater labors, far more imprisonments,…
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV The phrase “redeeming the time” might lead you to think that I am going to be talking about God redeeming the time of a trial or hardship, and that what you have lost, God will give it back to…
When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an…