The Lord’s prayer

In prayer (when we are genuine and truthful), our hearts are exposed and revealed as in no other way. That is true as well of the heart of Christ, which makes the Lord’s prayer in John 17 a particularly rich and stimulating passage of Scripture. Of this passage, Melanchthon wrote, “There is no voice which […]

Christ, the Servant

Jesus is the greatest of all men. He is greatest not because He is like every other man, but better. He is greatest because as a man, He is incomparable. He is the God-Man (both fully God and fully man), and that separates Him from every other person in the category of men. There is […]

“It must happen this way”

Last week was the Passion week, which culminated in Easter Sunday. Many spent the week reading and contemplating the final events of Christ’s life before the cross. And then this week our Bible reading plan has taken us to that same week again. Isn’t that just too much about the cross? Do we really need […]

Sunday Leftovers — The Supremacy of Christ

Christ is supreme over all things. He always has been. When creation began, He was already in existence, co-eternal with God the Father. He was, in fact, the One who created all things. And one week after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He demonstrated that supremacy for all men to see with His resurrection. That […]

When Christ returns

When Christ returns (see Luke 21:25-38), He will come “with power and great glory” (v. 27). He is the Son of Man — a title that emphasizes His humanity, but also is a reference to His Messianic authority — I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like […]

You can reject Christ

Paul tells Timothy to “remember Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:8). Specifically, Timothy is told to remember the resurrection of Christ and the Messianic fulfillment of Christ. In keeping with that command, this week is the great remembrance of Christ and His work. There is nothing that Jesus did or does that surpasses what was accomplished […]

What happened when Jesus died

Jesus made His way into Jerusalem with the praise and adulation of the crowds on Palm Sunday. And when it was over, the people went home and the Pharisees said to each other, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him” (Jn. 12:19). They were wrong and […]

Pictures of Jesus

M’Cheyne wrote, “Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief.” Reading Scripture is always because of its value to transform us and sanctify us (2 Tim. 3:16-17). […]

Jesus and money

Entertainer Sophie Tucker reputedly said, “From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents, from 18 to 35 she needs good looks, from 35 to 55 she needs a good personality, and from 55 on she needs cash.” And on another occasion she suggested, “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.” But […]

The Good Shepherd

One Saturday afternoon while running errands, I noticed that one of my care tires was almost completely flat. I was not too far from the tire store, so rather than taking the time to change the tire, I slowly made my way to the shop. There was a long line and wait leaving me mildly […]

Christ, the dividing line

Christ is the division point of history, marking the transition from B.C. to A.D. And Christ is the division point between men. What individuals believe about Christ will either unite them together or separate them from each other. This is exceedingly clear in John 7. The half-brothers of Jesus, having seen His life and ministry […]

Sunday Leftovers — the God-Man, Christ Jesus

Louise Owen is a woman with a remarkable ability. She has what has been called hyperthymesia, or “highly superior autobiographical memory.” That is, she has an unusual ability to remember things that happened in her life. In fact, she can remember what has happened every day of her life since she was about 11 years […]

He cares — another demonstration

After writing this morning that Jesus cares for us, I came across the blog post, “He is Able to Sympathize” by Erik Raymond: When I read a passage like the one above [Heb. 4:15] I am driven to the gospels to analyze the context of some of the days within the context of Christ’s earthly […]

He does all things well

It’s just one tiny sentence at the end of a story, but it’s the key to understanding the story. After Jesus healed the Syrophoenician’s daughter of the demon and healed the deaf man by touching him with His saliva (Mark 7), along with other unnamed miracles, the crowd declared, “He has done all things well…” […]

Amazed by unbelief

It is not for lack of evidence that belief that people don’t believe in Christ. They do not believe in spite of the evidence that they are given. As one writer has noted, “What a man does not want to believe, he can find a way to deny.” Unbelief has always been a common response […]