Category: Bible
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The Identity of Holiness: You Are Set Apart for Such a Time as This
Peter wrote to the early Christians: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:14-16, HCSB) Holiness is…
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The Forerunner of Our Doubts (Refiner’s Fire, Pt 23)
NOTE: This is part 22 of the “Refiner’s Fire” series, now available as a book from Amazon and other retailers. To read it on the blog, go to the Matthew series and scroll down for the “Refiner’s Fire” section at the bottom. Earlier, we looked at one of the passages where Yahweh declared his intention…
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The Lord’s Prayer in a Time of Coronavirus
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! (Let there be healing, deliverance, and rescue. Let your presence be palpable in our midst. May you be exalted and lifted high. May we surrender to your working in every part of our…
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What Are YOU Looking For? (Refiner’s Fire, Pt 22)
NOTE: This is part 22 of the “Refiner’s Fire” series, now available as a book here. To read it on the blog, go to the Matthew series and scroll down for the “Refiner’s Fire” section at the bottom. Having answered John’s question, Jesus turned to the crowds and challenged them too. Essentially he asked them,…
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The Mystery Revealed (Refiner’s Fire, Pt 21)
NOTE: This is part 20 of the “Refiner’s Fire” series, now available as a book here. To read it on the blog, go to the Matthew series and scroll down for the “Refiner’s Fire” section at the bottom. Two thousand years after Jesus, we read Isaiah 53 and see no mystery at all. We immediately…
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The Mystery of the Servant Songs (Refiner’s Fire, Part 20)
NOTE: This is part 20 of the “Refiner’s Fire” series, now available as a book here. To read it on the blog, go to the Matthew series and scroll down for the “Refiner’s Fire” section at the bottom. More than thirty years after John’s conversation with Jesus—thirty years after John’s death, when the crucifixion and…
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Refiner’s Fire: Out Now!
“I hope this book will do several things. I hope it will give us freedom to ask questions and to express our fears and doubts. I don’t think we are served by stuffing these things away. More than that, I hope it will give the shaking, the rocked, and the devastated tools to process their…
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Getting the Story Wrong (Refiner’s Fire, Pt 19)
NOTE: “Refiner’s Fire” is a mini-series within my overall series on the gospel of Matthew. To start from the beginning, go here and look for the Refiner’s Fire section at the bottom. # By now it should be clear that two years into his ministry, Jesus was failing to live up to John’s expectations of…
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When Everything Goes Sideways (Refiner’s Fire, Pt 18)
NOTE: “Refiner’s Fire” is a mini-series within my overall series on the gospel of Matthew. To start from the beginning, go here and look for the Refiner’s Fire section at the bottom. # We’ve journeyed together now through John the Baptist’s understanding of the Scriptures. We’ve come to an understanding, as best as we are…
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In the Shadow of the Christ (Refiner’s Fire, Pt 17)
NOTE: “Refiner’s Fire” is a mini-series within my overall series on the gospel of Matthew. To start from the beginning, go here and look for the Refiner’s Fire section at the bottom. # The post-wilderness John was a recognized type in his own time and an almost incomprehensible one in ours. Even in his own…