There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. — Romans 8:1 Into the Word Paul could have written that there is no condemnation for those who try hard, or for those who feel forgiven. He wrote “for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). If we count close variations… Continue reading What Does It Mean to Be “In Christ”?
Can We Be Right and Still Lose Love?
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. — Revelation 2:4 Into the Word Of the seven churches in Revelation, Ephesus received the first letter. It was the leading city of the Roman province of Asia, home to the great temple of Artemis, and the place where… Continue reading Can We Be Right and Still Lose Love?
Untied to Be Tied Again
Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine. — Genesis 49:11 Into the Word Jesus sent two disciples ahead into a village near Jerusalem with an unusual errand. They would find a colt “tied at a door outside in the street” (Mark 11:4), one no one had ever ridden.… Continue reading Untied to Be Tied Again
Why Did God Appear Through a Thornbush?
The Deliverer, Part 3. On the bush that was not consumed. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. — Exodus 3:2 Into the Word Moses was tending his… Continue reading Why Did God Appear Through a Thornbush?
How God Turns the Years That Look Wasted Into a Calling
The Deliverer, Part 2. On forty years in the wilderness. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. — Exodus 2:24–25 Into the Word Moses sat down by a well in Midian (Exod. 2:15). He had left Egypt… Continue reading How God Turns the Years That Look Wasted Into a Calling
What Did Moses Learn in Pharaoh’s Palace?
The Deliverer, Part 1. On the right heart and the wrong way. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. — Exodus 2:12 Into the Word Stephen tells us Moses was forty years old when it came into his heart to visit… Continue reading What Did Moses Learn in Pharaoh’s Palace?
Who Was Waiting at the River
The River, Part 4. On who God had waiting at the river. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” — Exodus 2:6 Into the Word The basket was not left completely alone. Moses’ sister… Continue reading Who Was Waiting at the River
If You Could Give Your Child Only One Thing
The River, Part 3. On the basket she wove. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. — Exodus 2:3 Into the Word Pharaoh… Continue reading If You Could Give Your Child Only One Thing
Can Fear Save You?
The River, Part 2. On the midwives who feared God. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. — Exodus 1:17 Into the Word Pharaoh’s first plan had failed. He worked the Hebrews from morning to night, hoping exhaustion would keep… Continue reading Can Fear Save You?
Egypt Forgot Joseph. Israel Carried His Bones.
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. — Exodus 1:8 Into the Word Egypt forgot more than a name. It forgot that it had once been starving. Through seven years of famine, the grain Joseph had stored kept the country alive (Genesis 41:53-57), and Pharaoh gave Joseph’s family the… Continue reading Egypt Forgot Joseph. Israel Carried His Bones.