After the promises made in Isaiah 44:1-5, the Lord Yahweh speaks once more to remind Israel of his uniqueness, that he is the one and only God, and to reassure them there is no one else who can be their sure foundation. Rather than be like the nations, who seek deliverance from idols, God’s people […]
Isaiah 11 describes the hope of a renewed world and a redeemed people under a righteous King. There, we learned that this King is none other than the Lord Jesus, our Immanuel. Isaiah 12 concludes the first major section of Isaiah by describing the response of those who belong to this kingdom. This chapter is […]
To worship God is to give him all honor and glory for who he is and what he has done. Yet this worship must be offered rightly, since God alone defines what worship is acceptable to him. Today, however, many understand worship to be nothing more than performance based on emotion. Worship is simply the […]
Jesus said that if the world hated him, then it would hate those who follow him (John 15:18-21). It wasn’t long before the early church found this to be true. In Acts 7, we find Stephen’s response to the false accusations brought against him—that he had spoken against Moses and the temple. Yet, instead of […]
After the triumphal entry, our Lord’s first order of business was not with the Roman occupation but with the Jews and their temple. Rather than fulfilling its role as a “house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:6-7), the temple had become a “den of robbers” (Jer. 7:9-11)—a sanctuary for the wicked and hypocritical, the […]
The puritan preacher, John Flavel, once remarked: “Every man loves the mercies of God, but a saint loves the God of mercies.” In times of trial, suffering, and need, anyone will gladly receive blessings from God; it doesn’t take the new birth to appreciate his mercies. In fact, anyone can perform religious duties and portray […]
The scene described in Revelation 5 is one of cosmic significance. Here we see, in the right hand of him seated on the throne, a scroll sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5:1). This scroll is a symbol of the sovereign purposes of God for all creation. But the question the angel poses (Rev. 5:2) is […]
The Scriptures are abundantly clear that God is not merely concerned with our outward appearance, which man can see, but with the inward condition of our heart (1 Sam 15:22; 16:7; Hos. 6:6). While there are certainly good works that accompany true saving faith (Eph. 2:10), we are often tempted to substitute religious activity for […]
The healing of the centurion’s servant—like the many other miracle accounts in the Gospels—is often understood to be highlighting the faith or belief of the centurion. Indeed, he is an admirable character, one to whom Jesus marvels and says, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Luke 7:9). However, while his posture […]
