Sin – Page 30 – The Nexus

Digging in Deeper: Isaiah 30:18

June 13, 2018June 6, 2018Leave a comment

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

The people of Israel were in a pretty hard spot. They had turned on the Lord. In fact, they had been turned away from the Lord for a long time. They had been turned away from the Lord for a long time and it was beginning to show. Their world was teetering on the edge. Some of them had started to realize just how dire their situation really was. They could read the international tea leaves. They saw the Assyrian army moving steadily in their direction, gobbling up nations in their path and spitting out nothing but ruin and destruction. But, instead of heeding Isaiah’s call to return to the Lord for their hope and salvation, they were running everywhere but to Him. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Joshua 7:7, 10

May 11, 2018May 7, 2018Leave a comment

“And Joshua said, ‘Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we have been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! . . .The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?'” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Joshua was devastated and dismayed. He had put his entire being on the line before the people that God was leading them to occupy this land and drive out its inhabitants entirely. They had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. They had conquered Jericho with its impregnable walls. There was nothing that could stand in their way for the Lord was obviously with them. And then they got beat by Ai. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Genesis 19:26

April 20, 2018April 17, 2018Leave a comment

“But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

This has always seemed like such an odd punishment to me. What would this have been like? Was it instant? Did she gradually start to transform from the feet up or the head down? Is there any kind of a natural explanation for this or was it entirely miraculous? Was Lot aware of it at first? Or, did he go on for some distance before realizing he couldn’t hear her trying to keep up any longer? If only they had smart phones back then! We could have gotten the whole thing on video. Imagine how many hits that would have received as a YouTube post… Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Isaiah 55:7

April 20, 2018April 17, 2018Leave a comment

“…let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

I love the last part of this. When our God pardons us from our sins, we are not just barely forgiven. He “abundantly pardons” us. God doesn’t just say, “Well, you didn’t really measure up, but I’ll let you slide in just under the radar.” No, He wipes our sins away as far as the east is from the west. He forgives us completely and we are able to stand perfectly clean in His sight. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Exodus 21:23-25

April 6, 2018April 4, 2018Leave a comment

“But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

We very naturally yearn for justice. We want things to be set right when they are wrong. The simplest reason for this is that we were created in the image of a God who is just. Read the rest…