Psalm 114:7-8: The Repentance Demanded by Jesus Christ
Psalm 114 closes with a roaring finale: [7] Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, [8] who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water. (Psalm 114:7-8) What you might not have noticed up to this point is [...]
The Whole World Lies in the Power of the Evil One
In the second “We have come to know” statements with which John closes his First Letter, he writes: We have come to know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19) The two halves of this verse speak to the infinite chasm between [...]
Thoughts on the End of the World
Today is supposed to be the day that the world ends, according to self-appointed prophesy expert Harold Camping. Of course, Jesus was very explicit that no one would be able to do this in Matthew 24:36. (A local pastor, Stu Kerns, had a great interview on the radio on this topic, which you can listen [...]
When Yahweh serves divorce papers
This is a painful post to write. It is difficult to read the utter severity of the language against Israel in Hosea 2:2-13 in view of my own sinfulness because of how vividly the passage portrays that God’s hatred of our sin. Every sin is a personal offense against him, no less personal than if [...]
The fear of Jesus
Mark weaves a magnificent and profound play on words in the last few verses of his account of Jesus’ calming the storm: And he [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you [...]
Augustine on Coercing People into the Kingdom
Does anyone doubt that it is preferable for people to be drawn to worship God by teaching rather than forced by fear of punishment or by pain? But because the one type of people are better, it does not mean that the others, who are not of that type, ought to be ignored. Experience has [...]
