Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence … More Why does the heavenly holy place need to be cleansed?
In my research on Luke 23, I came across this wonderful sermon by Pastor Steven Cole, of Flagstaff, AZ. He tells of Simon of Cyrene through the eyes of his son, Rufus. The Roman soldiers in our day got a sadistic kick out of making a condemned man carry his own cross to the site … More Learning from the son of Simon of Cyrene
Proverbs 26:4-5 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. Hmm…which is it? When we come to confusing passages, we can approach it in one of two ways: “Do these verses contradict each other? Sure … More A fool: answer him or not?
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and … More Piper: Why Do We So Deeply Cherish God’s Sovereignty?
….how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. —Hebrews 9:14 ESV John Piper on Hebrews 9: So here we are in the modern age, the age of science, space travel—E-mail, heart transplants, instant … More The only answer to a guilty conscience
But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to … More Just like Barabbas?
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. —Proverbs 25:21-22 From the ESV Study Bible: Although interpreters differ about the meaning of the metaphor of heaping burning coals … More Heap burning coals?
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. —Isaiah 41:10 ESV John Piper, in a sermon, “Fear Not, I Am with You, I Am Your … More The crucial factor in fearless living
John Piper, on coming to something in the Bible that is ” Old and Strange and Foreign to Me”(as in Hebrews 8 ) It’s almost inevitable that people who live in the modern world of computers and jets and television and antibiotics will read these verses with a sense of tremendous foreignness. That is not my world, … More How do you deal with the old and strange and culturally foreign stuff in the Bible?
J.C. Ryle on Luke 23:1-12 Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, what false accusations were laid to our Lord Jesus Christ’s charge.We are told that the Jews accused Him of “subverting the nation, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and stirring up the people.” In all this indictment, we know, there was … More Satan’s favorite weapons
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 