A Pristine Attitude As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8:22 Sometimes I envy Noah. When he and his family left the ark, they entered a pristine world freshly washed by the grace of God. God told them to “come out of the ark … …
Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles
Promises, Provision, and Presence for the Journey Take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God…Live in temporary shelters…so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. (from Leviticus 23:40-43) “Are we there yet?” …
Atonement
Road to Restoration On this day, atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. Leviticus 16:30 Imagine returning to your estranged parents’ home only to discover they have changed the locks on the doors and deny your request to enter. You’re willing to return and make amends, …
Rosh Hashanah
The Sound of the Shofar Say to the Israelites: “On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.” Leviticus 23:24 The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is a day of trumpet blowing. The trumpet used is a shofar, a hollowed out ram’s horn. It is …
Joseph, Legal Father of Jesus
A Significant Role An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 We don’t know when Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, but we know his reaction: he …
Resurrection Power
The Risen Christ Jesus said, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18 In most artistic renditions, Jesus appears to be a gentle man. But that isn’t the Jesus the apostle John saw …
Palm Sunday
The Message of the Donkey As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes … because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” from Luke 19:41-44 Jesus didn’t always …
Cross
Glory in the Cross? But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14 KJV) The Mosaic law said, “Anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23). In the first century BC, Roman statesman …