Submerged into Him
Mark 15:5 “Pilate was amazed.” Observation: Jesus found Himself in the belly of legal and religious systems run amok. Religious leaders clamored for His crucifixion while Pilate, the political leader, knew what a premium Rome put on keeping the peace at all costs. So...
Finding God’s Seat
Job 23:3 “O that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!” Observation: In this reading, Job declared his great longing for God. The security, comfort, and health he had once known had been stripped away, and the counsel of his friends, while well...
Blathering
Mark 9:7 “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” Observation: Peter, James, and John had gone with Jesus to a high mountain where Jesus was transfigured into a heavenly being whose garments radiated such whiteness as to be otherworldly. Elijah and Moses then appeared...
The Paperwork Problem
Acts 25:25-27 “’I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before...
Prancing Giftedness
Psalm 101:2 "I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing" (NIV). Observation: In this brief psalm David beautifully expressed a heart set on pursuit of God alone. He promised to sing of God’s love and justice (v. 1) and to...
Thin Ice
Romans 14:4a: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” (NIV). Observation: Paul’s question is intended to build harmony within the body by pointing out that all believers are fellow servants of the same Lord, Jesus Christ. The examples upon which Paul builds his...
Snagged By God’s Judgments
Romans 13:1--2: “The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves” (NIV). Observation: Paul’s...
Reading Of The Will
Romans 8:17: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory” (NIV). Observation: Life lived by the Spirit is our only gateway to assured resurrection...
Leaners Don’t Count
2 Chronicles 9:12: “Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country” (NIV). Observation: This verse concludes the chronicle of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon. Extensive trade was consummated and a warm personal relationship established before she...
Higher Form of Ooze
Romans 5:12: “Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin . . . ” (NIV). Observation: Romans 5 is a robust passage uniquely used in the development and defense of the Christian faith. It opens with Paul’s declaration of justification...