"In the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New Testament the Old is revealed."
--Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.)
"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
--George Washington
Friday, May 1, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
And this morning I saw this
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
(Isaiah 30:18)
and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
(Isaiah 30:18)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Mighty Fortress
Tonight I've been reading about the anxiety that's in the air these days. I thought it might be a good idea to post this psalm. This lovely psalm has a lot to say about those who run to, trust in, and love God.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust!"
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
and under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
or of the arrow that flies by day;
of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand;
but it shall not approach you.
You will only look on with your eyes,
and see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him, and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him,
and let him behold My salvation."
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust!"
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
and under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
or of the arrow that flies by day;
of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand;
but it shall not approach you.
You will only look on with your eyes,
and see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him, and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him,
and let him behold My salvation."
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Two more quotes
"I must confess to you that the majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me...."
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"I know the Bible is inspired because it finds me at greater depths of my being than any other book."
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"I know the Bible is inspired because it finds me at greater depths of my being than any other book."
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Search, and see
True or false: most people who reject the Bible outright do so because of the creation account in Genesis.
Okay, I don't really know the answer to that. But I suspect it's true, at least in the Western world.
But what if, as you read the rest of Bible, you see over and over again, by a thousand little proofs in the other 1,187 chapters, that it really is true? What then?
Here's one of those little proofs.
One time, the Pharisees were arguing about Jesus:
Nicodemus [one of the Pharisees] said to them..."Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?"
They answered and said to him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee." (John 7:50-52)
Very soon afterward, Jesus stood in the temple and said this about Himself, in the presence of the Pharisees:
"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)
I think Jesus was reminding everyone willing to listen that the Scriptures did have something to say about Galilee. Something very important. If the Pharisees could have looked up the word "Galilee" in the Scriptures on the spot, they would have seen that the prophet Isaiah had written about Galilee, seven centuries earlier. And in the same chapter, he wrote about the people who walked in darkness, and light of the world who appears to them. We have a copy of that chapter today, dated ~125 B.C., among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Like us, anyone in Jesus' day could have seen for themselves what Isaiah chapter nine says:
....in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them....
Four verses later it continues:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:1-2,6)
Those words in that Dead Sea Scrolls chapter predate Christ.
Why would Isaiah, a pre-Christian era writer, choose Galilee?
Has there been any other light that has made Galilee glorious?
Okay, I don't really know the answer to that. But I suspect it's true, at least in the Western world.
But what if, as you read the rest of Bible, you see over and over again, by a thousand little proofs in the other 1,187 chapters, that it really is true? What then?
Here's one of those little proofs.
One time, the Pharisees were arguing about Jesus:
Nicodemus [one of the Pharisees] said to them..."Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?"
They answered and said to him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee." (John 7:50-52)
Very soon afterward, Jesus stood in the temple and said this about Himself, in the presence of the Pharisees:
"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)
I think Jesus was reminding everyone willing to listen that the Scriptures did have something to say about Galilee. Something very important. If the Pharisees could have looked up the word "Galilee" in the Scriptures on the spot, they would have seen that the prophet Isaiah had written about Galilee, seven centuries earlier. And in the same chapter, he wrote about the people who walked in darkness, and light of the world who appears to them. We have a copy of that chapter today, dated ~125 B.C., among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Like us, anyone in Jesus' day could have seen for themselves what Isaiah chapter nine says:
....in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them....
Four verses later it continues:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:1-2,6)
Those words in that Dead Sea Scrolls chapter predate Christ.
Why would Isaiah, a pre-Christian era writer, choose Galilee?
Has there been any other light that has made Galilee glorious?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
A couple of interesting quotes
"There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history."
--Sir Isaac Newton
"The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it."
--Napoleon
--Sir Isaac Newton
"The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it."
--Napoleon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
