“I give [my sheep] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) This is a great promise–if we are trusting in Christ to save us from our sins and have committed ourselves into his hands, we will live forever with Him and no one can snatch us out of his hands. He does of course specify that his sheep are those who hear his voiceRead More →

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:3-4) The suffering messiah so badly tortured he barely even looks human as they crucify him isn’t nearly as popular as the image of majestic  conquering king coming for his Bride that many a fluttering heart amongst us longs for. I imagine our hearts will say “you’re beautiful!” and I know weRead More →

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) We have a tendency to reason about what God would do and how he would act from our fallen sinful nature. We reason, since we love so-and-so, and we accept their behavior and love them just the way we are, since this is what our love does, surely that is what God’s love does, too. Nope. He loves us, but he doesn’t accept our sin–he wants us to surrender it to him, so he can in turn makeRead More →

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” (Colossians 3:12) Then tells us we need to ask: why are we, God’s chosen holy and beloved ones to put on compassion, kindness, meekness and patience? What are we missing by not asking why? The answer to that question for this verse, and to the same question regarding an earlier list of  sinful inclinations of our fallen flesh that we’re to put to death, is found in verses 1-4 and 11: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated atRead More →

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,” (Deuteronomy 7:9) Why do we know this? Verses 6-8 tells us we are his treasured possession, chosen out of all the world. He reminds us, in choosing the nation of Israel to be his (a nation whom we are joined to through the blood of His son) he choose not a nation great in numbers, but the fewest of all peoples. It doesn’t matter how small and insignificant you are to God. What mattersRead More →