“The Lord’s anger burned against Israel again, and he stirred up David against them to say: ‘Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
This is a really uncomfortable chapter. It raises a couple of really hard questions. I’ll treat them as they come starting with this one: Why would the Lord cause David to do something for which He then punished him? How is that just or fair or right or good or whatever other adjective you want to throw in there?
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“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Two verses over from this one is the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept. Here, we are told He was deeply moved and greatly troubled. Basically, Jesus was really emotional. This provides fodder for some theological pondering, which is fine, but it should also be really encouraging for us. Here’s why. Read the rest…
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Jesus says two really important things here. The first gives us the rubric for having confidence in our fellowship. The second gives us the dual result of this state of affairs. Read the rest…
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
There are two ideas in Jesus’ words here that are absolutely essential to understand if we are going to do life well during our time on earth. The first reminds us that how we live now matters. The second reminds us of our desperate need for grace. We’ll tackle one this morning, and one on Monday morning. Read the rest…
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
At first read, this is a pretty far-out there claim for Paul to make. I mean, as far as an objective fact goes it is totally false. He was not crucified with Christ. As far as we know, he was not anywhere nearby when Jesus was crucified. More than that, given where he was theologically then, he would have been part of the crowd cheering on the event. He would likely have been glad to have been able to drive the nails into His hands and feet himself. So what does he mean? Read the rest…
The Nexus 