“When Darkness Reigns”

That’s a scary thought, right? When darkness reigns?
That’s what Jesus said as He was being led off to trial and crucifixion. He chided the chief priests, officers of the temple guard, and the elders in Luke 22:
“Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. [...]

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“Walking,” Not “Doing” Good Works

Most of us know Ephesians 2:8-10. Here it is in the NIV:
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which [...]

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Wait, Hope, and Trust

Isaiah 40:31 is a pretty well known verse. It reads in the NIV like this:
But those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
It’s interesting to me, though, that the word “hope” is translated in a number [...]

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Taking Purah

The story of Gideon reads like a roller-coaster. First, he’s afraid of everything, hiding in a winepress. Then he gets a call from God to lead Israel’s army, but he puts God to the test by throwing out some fleeces and asking them to be both wet and dry. Then when he’s got the assurance [...]

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Today is Yom Kippur

From the Resurgence blog, a good summation of very important day:
Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement, which is the climax of the Old Testament sacrificial system and is the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. It was a day of great bloodshed and a day on which the gravity of [...]

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Filthy, Roman Sponge

(HT: Resurgence)

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The Gamblers

From Mark Batterson:
“He risked his life for the work of Christ.”
What a commendation by the Apostle Paul speaking of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:30. That Greek verb for risk, parabouleuomai, can be translated: “to play the gambler.” And it’s that word and the example set by Ephaphroditus that inspired the Parabolani Brotherhood, aka [...]

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Esther and Jesus

From the Desiring God blog, a reminder that the fingerprints of Jesus are everywhere in Scripture. Some places though, like those that don’t appear to be about Jesus, you just have to dust for those fingerprints a little more:
The Hebrew Scriptures point to Jesus in a myriad of ways. One way is narrative patterns, like [...]

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Offensive or Defensive Carefulness

I’ve spent some time thinking through Ephesians 5:15-16 recently:
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
The word “carefully” has jumped out at me, and since it’s in the context of walking, I think about how I go to check [...]

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The Rowboat, the Bassboat, and the Sailboat (Part II)

Yesterday’s post was about trying to get at how you be both actively and passively involved in being filled with the Spirit.
That’s the crux of the issue. We are commanded to be filled – that’s our responsibility. But the filling comes from somewhere else – that’s not our responsibility.
We’re not supposed to live like the [...]

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