“And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10). “Dear Lord, I…and me…and mine…” Of course it’s wise and needful to pray honestly for ourselves. But may the Lord enlarge our field of vision to include those around us. Many have never heard their names addressed to God in prayer; […]
“You would-be plotters of the curves of life…bound for me the mystic wild parabola of love.” —A. Rutledge In case we have forgotten who this man is, so engulfed in grief, he gives us a little reminder. “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and laid my head in the dust. My face is flushed from […]
JESUS as a MAN among MEN: “I am among you as the One who serves” (Lk 22:27). Why would common humans—weak humans, sinful humans, broken humans—not be repelled by the world’s only perfect Man? In fact, the opposite was true. “He could not be hidden” (Mk 7:24). Sinners like Zacchaeus actually sought Him out. Surely […]
“Then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech Thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small” (Amos 7:2, KJV). God is always looking for intercessors, those who plead the case of those in need. Abraham pled for Sodom (Gen 18:23-33). Moses pled for Israel (Ex 32:11-13). Stephen pled for His murderers (Acts […]
We who rally ’round the Cross know that, even there, “our God turned the curse into a blessing” (Neh 13:2). Job wants to refute a misunderstanding put forward by Eliphaz who accused Job of making a frontal attack on the Lord: “he stretches out his hand against God, and acts defiantly against the Almighty, running stubbornly against Him […]
JESUS the OFFERING for SIN: “When You make His soul an offering for sin…” (Isa 53:10). Who can fathom what it would mean for any man to bear the sin of another on his soul? But then think of all the sin of souls upon souls, nations upon nations, generations upon generations, wave upon wave […]
“Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I shall be safe…” (Ps 119:116-117). D.L. Moody tells the following: One time my little girl was teasing her mother to get her a muff, so one day her mother brought […]
JESUS the TENDER-HEARTED: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Deep beneath the city of Rome are the Catacombs, a maze of corridors and burial vaults that, if strung together, would stretch out some 600 miles. […]
“Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin’?” (Prov 20:9). No one, of course. But millions can give testimony that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed them from all unrighteousness! Merely feeling sorry will not do. There is a great difference between remorse and repentance. One regrets […]