There are two New Testament concepts concerning sin — conviction and condemnation. Simply defined, conviction means knowing something is wrong. The Apostle John writes . . . And when the Spirit comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8, ESV). In the New Covenant, the Spirit teaches us about God’s …
Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing his servant with peace (v. 27, NLT). Psalm 35 has a great ending, perhaps the best of any Psalm. Let me repeat it . . . Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing his servant with peace. Peace! We can all use peace. Psalm 35 depicts a story …
Jesus arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them (Luke 4:38-39, ESV). I’ve been to Israel six …
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10, NLT). We are masterpieces planned before we were born for God’s work. Do we feel like great works of art, or do we believe ourselves inadequate and …
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15, NLT). I’ve been to several ordinations of pastors, and all the vows of commitment contained this phrase . . . …
Put off your old self . . . Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22, ESV). When people travel, they post selfies. Very common are beautiful views of creation, with a distorted-by-camera-angle face, in front of the landscape. And also beach scenes, with a …
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away (James 1:14, NLT). The book of James uses an interesting phrase describing the impact that a strong desire can have upon us . . . Drag us away! How often have we determined not to do something, and then we stumble? How …
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1, ESV) Psalm 27 gives a strategy for overcoming fear. I’ve written recently about “latter-day” fear in this blog, and Psalm 27 is my “go-to” antidote passage against this fear. What do I mean …
Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16, ESV). “Rejoice always” in 1 Thessalonians is the shortest verse in the Bible. For those who are more scholastic, you may disagree and say that John 11:35 is the shortest verse. This verse reads, “Jesus wept.” Being the responsible semi-scholastic author of Interruptions, I went to the Greek and found …
It is good to give thanks to the Lord (Psalm 92:1). Our family Thanksgiving started yesterday. For the past two years, my son-in-law Jason has enlisted family and friends to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner that’s served on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at the local soup kitchen. Last year, Jason had me scooping cranberry sauce …