Tag: God
The Called
God calls people. That much the Bible makes very clear. He called Noah to make an ark. He called Abraham out of his home and sent him on a journey to create an entire nation of people that would bless the entire world. He called Moses to lead this nation out of their slavery and subjugation by Egypt. He called Joshua to lead the same nation into their inherited land. I could go on through the entire Bible, pointing out more people but I think you get my point: God calls people to do amazing, crazy and wonderful things, all in His name. → Read more...
God is Sacred
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” – Exodus 20:7 When people ask me how I know that there’s a God or whether this Bible book thing is true, I tell them that I pay very close attention to the world around me. There are ordinary signs that one can easily miss if one is not looking for them. One of them, for me, is that there is a distinction that exists between the sacred and the profane. → Read more...
God is Central
I have been challenged lately in my study of the early Old Testament books of the Bible lately. In my last post, I wrote about atonement in Leviticus and how much blood it cost in order to be made holy. While the details of sacrifices take up the bulk of Leviticus, there are also pages upon pages that go into great detail of what to do and what not to do in order to stay within the Israelite camp. → Read more...
There Will Be Blood
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” – Leviticus 17:11 Blood is something that we’re all familiar with; we all have it and are all sustained, nourished, warmed and cleansed by it. It brings food and oxygen to our cells and organs and carries waste away. It regulates our body temperature, keeping us warm. → Read more...
Enough About Me
I’m tired of me. I’m tired of how petty, vain, selfish and needy I am. I am also insecure, inconsiderate, incapable and indulgent. I am quick to judge, slow to forgive. Sometimes I do the things I should, but more often than not, I do the things that I shouldn’t. The things I should let go, I don’t; the things I shouldn’t let go, I do. My mistakes, my sin, my folly, they all dog me, nipping at my heels, reminding me of a life lived imperfectly. → Read more...
The Responsibility of Being You
Last week, I talked about the wonderful truth of how special God has made all of us and about the concept that we’re all living unique lives that no one else will ever be able to duplicate. The reality of this truth means that you will have an unique perspective: yours. No one else has walked the path that you have walked or will walk. You have discovered many life truths by simply living your life. → Read more...
Only You Are Only You
Lately, I’ve been thinking about why we exist on this terrestrial ball in the first place. I know it’s a great question that has haunted philosophers and thinkers and kings and paupers alike for hundreds of years, if not centuries. Now, I’m not approaching this question from an existentialistic angle, e.g., how do I know I exist? (For me, it’s rather plain that I exist.) Rather, I’m approaching this question from the perspective of why did God create me and why did He create me the way I am? → Read more...
Our Children and Our Children’s Children
I know I’ve said this before and I will probably say it again and again: It is amazing how the Bible is truly a Living Word because it changes with us. There is always something new that speaks to us or suddenly is revealed in a profound way, even when we’ve read the same words over and over. Right now, my Bible studies have taken me to the Book of Exodus once again. This familiar story of the release of the Hebrews from the hardship of Egypt through miraculous signs and wonders, I’ve read almost constantly from grade school and onward. → Read more...
What It All Means
What is the meaning of life? That’s the question man has chased for centuries since he was first awoken on this planet. Why am I here? Indeed, after thousands of years, it seems that man is no closer to deciphering that answer. Like a dog chasing its tail, he keeps going around and around in circles, looking to science to discover the answer, looking to drugs to get out of solving for the answer, looking to philosophy and acquired knowledge to deduce the answer, looking to the heavens (what he can see of it) to detect the answer, looking everywhere he can to find the answer. → Read more...
Actually Love
February 14, 2013
Calvary
Comments Off on Actually Love
Matt
Someone once asked Jesus which commandment he thought was the most important. His reply is one of the most famous and oft-quoted passages in the Bible. Quoting from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, he replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” → Read more...
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