The Remnant Pleases God (Advent 4, 2022)

There is one notable exception in yesterday’s list: Enoch.  His name appears 13 times in Scripture, including the New Testament.  “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as […]

November 30, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

The Remnant’s Silent Heroes (Advent 3, 2022)

Do you ever feel like a nobody in God’s plan for this earth?  Like nothing you do really matters or is seen by God?  When Jesus was born to an uncelebrated Jewish virgin and a Jewish carpenter who adopted Jesus as his own, it was a bunch of nobodies in the world’s view.  Three people […]

November 29, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Remnant of Faith (Advent 2, 2022)

Continuing our look at the remnant visible in Jesus’ lineage, we can see that remnant not only as Adam’s true image in Seth, but Seth’s remnant of faith heralded with the birth of Enosh. Genesis 4:26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the […]

November 28, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Remnant, Not a Family Tree (Advent 1, 2022)

If you look at Jesus’ genealogies recorded in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:21-38, you’ll notice Matthew looks forward through the lens of Judaism beginning with Abraham. Luke’s record looks backward through the family of man, all the way to Creation.  Both display a remnant which is the theme for our 2022 Advent Devotionals. Let’s look […]

November 27, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Crucified and Shame Died

Can you imagine life if Christians were to look different after they commit their lives to following Christ? We could spot believers a mile away and focus our evangelism on those who still looked fallen…lost…or hopeless. But that’s not how it works. The Spirit is invisible, but His actions are visible.  As Jesus says in […]

November 10, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Awaken, Remnant-Advent 2022

Seriously?  During Advent?  Yes.  With Kanye West and Kyrie Irving in the news recently over accusations of antisemitism, God laid it on my heart to address Jesus’ lineage and patterns of a remnant I see in the Old Testament, with the threads of a remnant winding all the way to Revelation.  I see a time […]

November 9, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

No Shame for the New Nature

No amount of good works we do can provide us with a new nature.  This was a hard lesson for me.  There was pride involved in doing all the good I could to distract from the sinner Scripture says that I am.  I didn’t feel like a big sinner.  I wasn’t an axe murderer, terrorist, […]

November 6, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Shame and the Amazing Exchange

Jesus was no whipping boy or scapegoat.  There’s far more going on here than punishment which happened when He took away our sin (which was both the offense and the point source of all our guilt and shame).  Here’s the key: we don’t just start with a clean slate, as good news as that is.  […]

October 30, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Shame and Sin Offering

Now, whether you look at the Hebrew language or the Greek language of the Bible, the very same word for sin is, at times, also translated sin offering.  Doesn’t make sense, right? From a purely human perspective, sin cannot be a sin offering.  But from God’s viewpoint, all our iniquity (sin) was laid upon Jesus […]

October 27, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet

Shame and Two Realms

As I continue to ponder whether Jesus experienced shame, there is no denying what the Apostle Paul was careful to describe:  “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus had no sin.  That’s the easy part.  […]

October 19, 2022 in Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals by

No comments yet