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Names of God – HE WHO SITS IN THE HEAVENS – 295

2026-07-07

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO SITS IN THE HEAVENS

Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

I always liked this verse, but probably for the wrong reason. Hopefully it isn’t with evil intent, imagining our God in heaven, rubbing his hands together, laughing out loud because he knows the traps He has set for the “dirty sinners’ out there. Of course, I do not include myself amongst the intended victims. Maybe something wrong there! Yes there is something wrong when this old fellow thinks others deserve judgement but he is exempt from the fate.

This passage is dealing with the kings of the earth, those earthly rulers who seek to usurp control from the rightful King. In this context, the Lord on His throne and from that perspective, is reflecting the utter futility of the efforts of mere men, though they feel they rule over others.

When our passage speaks of the Lord holding them in derision, it speaks of a mockery of the situation. He is not concerned over any effort of man to dethrone Him. He is the Lord!

Yet the leaders of this world are drunk on power. They seek more and more authority over God’s creation, and in the process, reveal their mismanagement, and selfish motivations. Any desire of man to replace God as the King over any of creation is fraught with unassailable obstacles, most of which is the man’s own evil heart and wicked imaginations. Nothing good and meaningful can rise out of the self serving motivation of man.

Consider – even the King of Kings was a sacrificially serving man, One who sought out others, seeking their good as opposed to His will. Only the One who followed after God with all His life is worthy to lead, the One who showed His leadership by serving, His love by dying and His authority by rising up from the grave.

Yes, God mocks, laughing in derision those who oppose Him. Not in the manner I imagined, but in the futility of the effort. Mere man a king to replace Jesus.

He has risen and is the ONE WHO SITS IN THE HEAVENS.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

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Pay for Pew – Genesis 14:20

2026-07-06

As believers, we are called by God to follow after Jesus in all our actions and attitudes. How we relate to money in included in our following after Him.

As mentioned in my introduction to this series, my family and I have been impacted a number of times in our church attendance by what appears to be the pull of money on church leadership. During our Christian pilgrimage, a number of churches, through thier leadership, have made decisions that directly impacted our status within the body of believers.

Some of these instances provided us reason to dig into the Word, to find correction in our own personal relationship to money, to try to understand the wisdom of a church leader’s decision, and in the end to apply God’s will for our own finances.

Little did we know the tremendously corrosive power the love of money has over our own hearts, and by extrapolation, the church as a whole. This should not surprise the believer for Paul provided a harsh truth on this topic.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Alternately, the writer of Hebrews also provided no better command, (and for some believer’s no harder command) than found in Hebrews 13.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Many of our experiences have included the topic of tithing in the church. Personally, our denominational background considers tithing to be Biblically mandated on the New Testament believer. I understand many denominations consider tithing to be an important commmittment of the believers relationship to the church body.

Let’s take a look at this topic, and consider each passage that contains a reference to tithing.

This post will consider Genesis 14:20

and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

What a great verse to begin our study. It surely teaches us that tithing is not simply a teaching that is mandated by the Law of Moses, but was practiced by Abram the father of our faith. As such, we are following in the steps of Abram in giving a tenth (a tithe).

Note that Abram, a non-Jew. gave him (Melchizedek) a tithe of everything. This example of Abram surely teaches us a practice that applies to all who have faith.

But let us consider a bit of the context of this verse.

Genesis 14 is the recounting of Abram rescuing Lot from the kings of the region. The region was ruled by nine kings, and as power structures are defined, four of these kings, led by the king of Elam, waged war on the remaining five kings. After the battle, in securing the possessions of the victor, the armies swept though the area of Sodom and Gomorrah, picking up Abram’s nephew Lot.

Abram would have none of this. He gathered his army of 318 men to chase after this victorious army in order to retrieve Lot. Surely Abram was outnumbered, outskilled and unfamiliar with the task of defeating experienced soldiers. Yet he defeated the army, retrieved his nephew and returned home. Abram did not intend to simply steal Lots away from the army under cover of darkness, but he led his men in a defeat of an experienced and recently successful army.

He was motivated to retrieve his nephew and his family. In this endeavor, he brought back “all the possessions”

Genesis 14:16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Genesis 14:21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”

It seems that based on the King of Sodoms request, that Abram rescued the vanquished people also, and not merely his nephew.

After the victory and return to camp, Abram was visited by two kings. The king of Sodom and the king of Salem.

King of Sodom

It is good to consider the King of Sodom’s request in light of our topic. Seemingly the king of Sodom was so grateful for Abram’s rescue of his people, he offered Abram all the goods that were retrieved in the battle. He only wanted his people back.

Abram refused, for he spoke of his dedication to God, and that since God is the possessor of heaven and earth, it is to be God that provides Abram’s wealth. Abram would not take any funds or possessions from this king in order to clearly maintain his faith in the God who possesses everything! Quite a stellar faith! When freely offered possessions for a service to others, Abram refused.

King of Salem

During this meeting, the king of Salem, Melchizedek, brought out bread and wine. Melchizedk blessed Abram in the name of God Most High, the possessor or heaven and earth. Melchizedek claimed that it was this God who delivered Abrams’s enemies into his hand.

Note the difference between these two kings. Sodom offered Abram possessions, possibly as an act of payment for his mercenary efforts. Abram reacts by rejecting this offer, not wanting to be associated with the offering of the king of Sodom.

When it comes to Melchizedek, he provides Abram a truth claim (not possessions) that Abram embraces. In embracing this truth, Abram reacts by giving Melchizedek a tithe, or a tenth of everything.

Now, an issue rises in my mind. What in tarnation is “everything” that Abram tithes of referring to. All of Abrams possessions? Did Abram have an accounting of his net worth performed and then provide a check to the King of Salem? I jest of course, but when the passage refers to Abram giving a tenth, it is good to consider what the tenth is related to. I would suggest the context demands the “everything” refers to the spoils of the battle.

A few more observations I feel are pertinent.

Although Abram gave a tenth, which suggests this was a common percentage to offer to a god in his culture (which speaks loudly to Abrams understanding who Melchizedek is), the text does not indicate this was an ongoing practice.

In summary, in this passage, I find the description of a man who is committed to the Most High God who possesses all heaven and earth. He provided what most likely was a cultural offering back to the King of Salem, whom I understand to be the Lord Jesus. Abram’s gift implies the same identification of the King as the God who provides.

This passage does not provide a prescription for any tithing practice for modern day believers after the cross. It is good to remember that descriptions of the saints lives does not translate into prescriptions of activities for the Christian.

But if there are saints who seek to emulate Abram in this practice, I would suggest they consider the other descriptive activities we find in the passage also occur. Therefore, based on this passage alone, if a believer conquers an army, rescues a blood relative, rescues a people group of another king, acquires the bounty of a battle, and is approached by at least one King, the saint will be able to also mimic Abram in providing a tithe.

Again I jest, for under our covenant, we may meet the King at any time, and our offering is not simply a tithe of some spoils of battle, but of our heart, mind and soul.

By the way, if you are headed out to conquer an army this week, you can call your accountant and tell him you don’t need a full audit of your possessions. Whatever spoil you take in your victory will be easily calculated!

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.

Thank you for your response. ✨

1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:10

2026-07-05

A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 4:10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,

Paul has just come off a topic that involves God as the avenger of a brother in the church, an avenger that will impact another soul in the church due to sexual immorality within the body of believers. A heavy discussion, even to the point of noting the rejection of God by the rejecting the message God provides.

But in the midst of this stain in the body, Paul does not loose sight of the bigger picture. He pivots to the topic of brotherly love, for the sake of the internal relationships within the Thessalonian body of believers, and confesses that thier witness of brotherly love is not simple a local phenomenom. Thier love is known throughout the churches of Macedonia.

Now I cannot imagine the size of the Thessalonian church by the time Paul has written this letter. At the birth of this congregation, according to Acts 17, the church accumulated “some Jews”, many devout Greeks and numerous leading women of the city as follower of Jesus.

Acts 17:4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

The church populated quickly and due to the persecution, the church learned to love each other, to lean on each other and to watch each other’s backs. After all, this is the nature of the believer, to mimic God in His saving acts towards those He loves.

For the Thessalonians, they took this matter to heart, not only internally within thier congregation, but throughout the Macedonian region.

Paul spoke of this zeal for others in the second Corinthian letter, a letter directed to a church just south of the Thessalonians in the Roman province of Achaia. He spoke of the grace of God given to the churhes of Macedonia, of thier readiness and thier support of the apostle.

2 Corinthians 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,

2 Corinthians 11:9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.

The thessalonian church was not restricted to thier city limits. Their impact was regional, and as Paul was exhorting them to reach farther out with thier brotherly love, the witness of this little church was immortalized in the Scriptures. Thier impact of brotherly love to other believers has become global as the good news is spread throughout the world,

This church is a stellar example of brotherly love, encouraging and leading many, even to this day, to sacrifice for our brothers.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Psalms for Psome – Ps 76.02

2026-07-04

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 76:4 Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.
Psalm 76:5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.
Psalm 76:6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.

In our last post, we considered the the passage in light of a picture of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, residing in the nations capital, ready to strike. It was a picture of Jerusalem acting as the den for a lion to hide in until the attack.

We also suggested that the attack was the mighty and complete defeat of the Assyrian army under Hezekiah’s reign, and was triggered by the heartfelt repentant prayer of the king. Many factors surely played into the complete decimation of an army of 185,000 men, including the taunting of the Lord’s people, in that fateful night. But one direct, humble and helpless prayer, lit a fire under the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the Assyrian’s had no chance.

If this picture is accurate as I have developed it in my mind, Asaph has a response to this salvation the Lion has provided.

Praise. Praise to the One who delivered His people by striking them as a lion from a hidden den.

And yet the Psalmist speaks of the mountains full of prey. Is the psalmist continuing with his description of the defeat of Sennacheribs army, or is Asaph simply changing his topic and beginning a new discussion on mountains?

A key consideration is that Jerusalem in surrounted by mountains, (or by hills if we are thinking of mountains as Everest.) Current names of some of the mountains in the region of Jerusalmem include Mount Zion, the Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount, Mount Scopus, Mount Herzl, Mount of Rest, Mount Hotzvim, and Har Nof.

If this is Asaph’s context, then the Assyrian army could be the object of Asaph’s description of prey. Again, the psalmist describes the defeat in a metaphor of hunting, with the Lion being so much greater than the hunted.

Verse 5 refers to the stouthearted, or the proud “sinking” into a sleep. A metaphor for falling dead! The men of war were helpless against the One from Jerusalem. Asaph goes on to state both the horse and the rider, the formidable power of the Assyrian army, “lay stunned”, as in a deep sleep. There was no waking of these mighty soldiers!

In those ancient days, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah rebuked the mighty army of Assyria. An army that had defeated over twenty cities of the nation of Israel. Israel was in tatters, but the capital stood, and Jerusalem remained.

After all, it was the Lion’s den! And for now there were a people who looked to the Lion for thier help.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Names of God – HE WHO SITS ABOVE THE CIRCLE OF THE EARTH – 294

2026-07-03

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO SITS ABOVE THE CIRCLE OF THE EARTH

Isaiah 40:22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.

Isaiah is in the process of comparing the God of Israel with idols, by way of questioning his people.

Isaiah 40:21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Questions are a great way to stimulate a discussion. Jesus often asked questions. Questions are a fantastic teaching tool!

Don’t you think so?

As a question is provided, a recipient naturally builds a defence in thier mind. Once a question has been understood, hopefully a discussion can occur, an argument can be entered into, and minds can be changed. And when I say minds can be changed, I am referring to the Biblical concept of repentance! This obviously is the intent of Isaiah and he is brutal!

One question would be sufficient for Isaiah to deliver to the saints, considering the topic of the discussion. One well placed question about the God of Israel should “stop thier mouths”.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Of course, when Isaiah “machine guns” multiple questions to God’s people, the recipients will not only be speechless, but dumbfounded. That is, if they are honest with themselves, with Isaiah and with the God they are related to.

Four questions were blasted to the saints regarding the difference of thier God compared with idols.

Do you not know?
- Of all the people of the earth, these folks knew God was unlike idols!
Do you not hear?
- Of all the people of the earth, these folks heard God speak, unlike an idol!
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
- Of all the people of the earth, these folks had been introduced to God at the beginning of their formation as a nation! Idols were to be rejected by this people from the very beginning.
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
- Of all the people of the earth, these folks understood God hated idols.

Yet they worshipped idols.

Isaiah then begins to describe – once more for this people who knew and understood thier God – of the God they had walked away from.

Thier God is the One who is over, or above the circle of the earth.

He is over creation, not a part of it.

Whether the word “circle” can be describing the earth as a sphere or simply the horizon each man sees, the point is clear. The God they had abandoned, the God they were being called back to, the God who was leading, guiding, disciplining and teaching is not of this creation, but above.

And when Isaiah says above, though the immediate message is that God is in the heavens, above the creation in relation to distance, I want to consider it is more applicable that Isaiah is referring to God as being over the circle of the earth in relation to His authority over all.

God is in authority over all of His creation. He is in charge, unlike the idols that are merely stone and wood, made of the creation God created.

Yes, our God is more than any idol, much more! He is on His throne, and not only reigns by the authority of His creative acts, but more so through His defeat of death. Though the creation was plummetted into death by our decision, He has rescued it by defeating death itself. Death itself has died, and He rules!

Yes – Jesus is better! He is the One WHO SITS ABOVE THE CIRCLE OF THE EARTH

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Pay for Pew Scripture Texts – Old Testament & New Testament Download

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Pay for Pew – Scripture Texts

2026-07-02

This post is simply a vehichle to provide my reader a downloadable document (pdf or doc) of the passages I hope to consider in future posts.

Please use for your independent study, for distribution with those who have an interest and for reference as we journey through this topic.

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Song Squawk – Gimme

2026-07-01

In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.

(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)

I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.

The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.

To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.

Occassionaly I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!

This post will consider the song

Gimme – by Alice Cooper

As you might be noticing, I come back to Alice often in this series. He is such a surpise and has had such a consistent witness for the Lord for decades now.

I know all your desires
Your heart is so full of pain
Is there something I can provide?
When you feel like life’s passed you by I’m on your side

Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that

Please don’t ask me my name
Does it matter? I’m just here for you
Trust me, just let yourself go
And that’s all you need to know

I’m on your side
Sincerely
I’m your only friend
Yes I’m on your side
Sincerely

Don’t you wish you had it all?
Don’t you deserve to have it all?
Kneel down and tell me what you need
Fame and money all for you, I can make your every dream come true

Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that

Tell me who’s more important than you?
You’re the apple of my ancient eyes
How could the world be so cruel?
I’ll make you my own precious jewel

I’m on your side
Sincerely
I’m the only one that cares
Yes I’m on your side
Sincerely

Don’t you wish you had it all?
Don’t you deserve to have it all?
Kneel down and tell me what you need
Fame and money all for you
I can make your every dream come true

There is one thing
I mean, everything has a price
I really hate to repeat myself, but nothing’s free

Yes I’m on your side
Sincerely
I’m the only one that cares
Oh, I’m on your side
Sincerely

Don’t you wish you had it all?
Don’t you deserve to have it all?
Kneel down and tell me what you need
Don’t you wish you had it all?
Don’t you deserve to have it all?
Don’t you wish you had it all?
Don’t you deserve to have it all?
Kneel down and tell me what you need
Fame and money all for you
I can make your every dream come true

Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that
Gimme this, gimme that

The song screams give me everything, fame money, status! Anything to avoid the hole in our heart that can be satisfied and completely filled (to overbrimming) by the person of Jesus.

How much stuff do you want? Someone may give it to you.

Take a listen!

Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Thank you for your response. ✨

Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 12

2026-06-30

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

SEALED TOMB

Daniel 6:16,17 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

Matthew 27:64, 65 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”

There are unbelievers and skeptics that claim fulfillment of Biblical prophecies were orchestrated by the Lord Jesus in an attempt to “prop up” His claim to the status of Messiah.

How patently foolish!

Though this particular fullfillment does not directly address the person of the Lord Jesus, His undeniable righteous character, His vicarious death for sinners, His complete obedience to the Father, even to the point of death, this typological fulfillment of His tomb being sealed in like manner of the saint Daniel is one more picture for the saint to consider.

Notice that in both instances, the tomb (or in Daniel’s case, the intended tomb) was sealed by a reluctant authority. Darius provided a seal via his own signet ring, even as he begged for Daniels God to rescue him, and Pilate provided guards to effectively seal the tomb of Jesus, though he tried to release Him to the mobs.

It turns out the sealing of the tombs were for naught, for as Darius saw the next morning, Daniel was alive and well, even as he stood amongst the lions. For Pilate, it was three days later that his seal was proven to be of no effect.

How could mere humans resist the resurrected One. As proven that death had no hold on Him, it is foolishness to think mere Roman guards were of any effective sealing.

Both tombs were sealed to no lasting effect, other than to identify death. The sealing of each tomb provided the necessary statement for all to witness that death occured.

The only problem is that when God is involved, and the picture of the Lord Jesus’ victory over the grave was to be displayed, seals were of no import.

Daniel and the Lord’s tomb were sealed but for a very short time!

Thank you Jesus for giving us a picture of your death in the life of Daniel!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Names of God – HE WHO SEARCHES MIND AND HEART – 293

2026-06-29

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO SEARCHES MIND AND HEART

Revelation 2:23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

We touched on this verse in the previous post, observing a consistency of teaching in the Word about God giving according to our works based on His searching of the mind and heart.

This general teaching of a man’s works flowing from his heart and mind is a truth all honest people give mental assent to. It is a different matter when it comes to the heart accepting it when specific instances occur in a persons life.

What do I mean?

In the theoretical world, and due to our mind craving justice, we have no qualms with works recieving appropriate judgement. Good works naturally should recieve a good reward. Bad works naturally should recieve a bad reward. This truth makes sense logically.

In the practical world, and in specific cases, our hearts and emotional sensitivities get in the way of seeing this truth worked out in our experience.

Our culture, a reflection of a societies heart, increasingly seeks to protect the wrong doer, and to punish the righteous one. There are many instances in the news where it seems justice is upside down, where the acceptance of wrong is considered right.

Isaiah spoke of the tendency of a people to call evil good and good evil.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Even at the judgement of the Lord, during His humiliation in front of His accuser’s, the crowd sought the guilty and condemend the Righteous One.

Luke 23:18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”–

So it is natural, even expected that when we come to a harsh truth such as in the Lord’s message to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2, that we tend to shy away from such stark statements.

Statements such as…

Revelation 2:22 ….I will throw her onto a sickbed

Revelation 2:22 ….those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation,

Revelation 2:23 …I will strike her children dead

We tend to admit in our minds that evil works demand justice, but then we see the reference to children being struck dead. That is a heart wrencher!

But wait. What is it to be a child of “that woman Jezebel”? What is it that this woman, and any association with her, causes such a seemingly harsh judgement of the Lord Jesus?

A few verses back provides some guidance.

Revelation 2:20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

The church is tolerating Jezebel. This is the rebuke to the believers. Could it be a rebuke to a specific leader in the church? Maybe, for some of the ancient transcripts speak of “your woman Jezebel”, possibly referring to a leaders wife or his close associate.

As for Jezebel herself, she claims she is a prophetess, assigning God’s authority to herself. Incredible hutzpah for one to claim the authority of God as a prophetess, but seemingly an easy thing for some to assume, even in our day!

As a self styled prophetess, she influences the saints, and possibly her husband, an elder in the church, to enjoin into sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. Immorality and idolatry? Where have we seen this attack on the faithful before? She not only teaches the mind, but seduces the heart of the saints into both of these sins for the church.

It is noteworthy to understand that both of these sins were closely associated with the trade guilds of the city this church resided in. Somewhat similar to a union nowadays, but this guild would require participation in these activities to continue finding work, and therefore make a living.

To bring this post back to our original verse, it is important to note that Jesus has a problem with the church tolerating this teaching. Bad teaching is to be rejected from the body.

But judgement was falling on Jezebel, and her children. Those children most assuredly were adherents to this sinful teaching, following this self styled sinning woman. Those within the church had to repent, or judgement would fall on them.

As an aside, if those within the church community were true believers, how does my reader understand the Lord’s reference of the Lord striking her children dead? I have addressed this topic in a past post for those who many be curious – Conditional Security – Revelation 2:18-26

One of the outcomes of this judgement is that the church would know that God is the One WHO SEARCHES MIND AND HEART. He knows what is going on in the depths of our person. Those thoughts and emotions, if allowed to fester and grow, will produce works of a similar nature, and though He is ever patient, He is not One that will allow corruption in the body forever.

Galations 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

He is the ONE WHO SEARCHES MIND AND HEART. For those seeking the Lord’s will, this is a comfort, and as mentioned in our previous post, we have the mind of the Spirit, which produces the right thoughts. A blessing we surely do not deserve!

For those following after anyone else, be it a false religion, a false prophetess, or a corrupt teacher, beware. He is seaching your heart and mind even as we draw our next breath.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:9

2026-06-28

A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,

Paul has given direction to the saints on the will of God for their lives in the previous passage, specifically in the area of sex. He speaks of the saint’s sanctification, and the specific call of God on the believer to abstain from sexual immorality.

He doesn’t bring up the topic of theft, or lying, or anger. All of these topics are completely in line with the sancification of the saints life.

Of course I suggested that this line of teaching was fueled buy a specific act of sexual immorality in the church by a brother against a brother, and though Paul does not name names for us, it surely was obvious in the church body of the tresspass.

He addresses the transgressor (and the entire church), bringing to note that the “Lord is an avenger in all these things”.

Sexual immorality in a saint’s life will result in the Lord making things right. To avenge a man’s right for his wife has got to involve serious actions on the part of the Lord. As considered, the best situation the transgressor could hope for is that he fall into a contrite repentance before the church, seek reparation and restoration of relationships he has destroyed, and plead for mercy from the Lord.

And brace for the inevitable consequences of his actions!

Now that I have given a brief overview of what I think is happening in the church in relation to the beginning portion of chapter 4, it is amazing that Paul pulls in our verse this morning.

Brotherly love.

Emotions must have been running high in the church, for if Paul had heard of this sin amongst the believers, being many miles away, we can safely say that the local rumor mill produced stories for the church to hear. And as such, attitudes and opinions would flare up, with each believer taking sides on story, justifying or excusing those they stood by.

Is it right? Of course not. God is the judge, and Paul has clearly laid that out.

It is human to take side. Oh my gosh – Do bears peepee in the woods?

But Paul leads off after a brutal discussion on a sinful situation in a small body of believers, with the topic of brotherly love. Does he not know of the pain, the emotional turmoil the believers are experiencing?

This is the very reason he brings the topic of brotherly love up, for the emotional strife that may be going on in the body has the potential for completely splitting the church, destroying the unity of the Spirit and damaging many lives!

He will teach, as we shall see in future posts, of the general truth of botherly love being worked out amongst the believers and before the world around them.

But for those in the church, this topic is the balm that they need to hear. The call of God to exercise brotherly love includes honest communication with each other, not simply listening to gossip. Brotherly love includes the forgiveness of each others faults and frailty, knowing we all fall into the base nature too often! Brotherly love includes the repair of any relationship amongst the sainsts that is damaged through misunderstandings, though listening to half truths, or simply believing all the gossip! Broterly love does not include judgement and condemnation.

Brotherly love is actually the very thing these saints need to exercise, instead of emotional tirades against each other, statements of judgement being flung about and feelings of hurt and pain being nursed by others.

Let me remind those who are reading this post, that brotherly love is not a feeling that we are given at salvation, that provides us the “warm fuzzies”. Brotherly love involves hard decisions to follow up with in the hope it is for the best of the brothers. Truth and grace is to be exercised amongst the saints, and brotherly love is the grease that makes this healing process happen.

So for Paul to bring up this topic right after a sinful act was exposed within the church makes perfect sense. And this approach is instructive for those of us who seek to lead others. Emotional distress is not to be catered to as it destroys relationships with the body. Brotherly love involves truth telling, forgiveness as required, a calmness of mind, an understanding heart and grace towards others, along with the rejection of gossip within the body, story telling to gain adherents and whispers of destruction.

My friends – if there is sin in your church, remember Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonians. Practice brotherly love and bring healing to the body!

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Names of God – HE WHO SEARCHES HEARTS – 292

2026-06-27

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO SEARCHES HEARTS

Romans 8:27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

To search implies there is an examination, an effort to find something, to investigate, even to hunt. To search is that something is being sought, that in the search there is a hunter and the hunted.

We see this image in the the Old Testament when Jeremiah reminds the saints in his 17th chapter

Vs 10 -“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

The Lord is looking, searching the heart of man. Pursuing after the motives, hidden though they may be from the man himself, exposing the intents of our hearts, if we are honest with Him.

But note the difference in the two passages. In the Old Testament, there was a sense of exposure and justice, that with the exposure of the heart, equal and appropriate rewards would be granted out.

Now it depends on your stance regarding the heart of man in how you see the “rewards” being granted out by the Lord in this searching, but I would suggest the context is definitely of sin, death and judgement being meted out, for the very previous verse speaks of the deceitfulness of our hearts, and of the utter frustration of the man in understanding his own heart.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

So with Jeremiah, the context speaks of God searching out the heart of man, primarily for the exposure of this deceit, and the just recompence of his deeds, which is sourced out of his heart!

This teaching is not of the Old Testament only, for we find this very thought coming from the lips of Jesus in Revelation 2:23

Revelation 2:23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

The churches will know that the Lord, in striking Jezebel’s children dead, is He who searches the heart. In this verse, the Lord is revealing the at the death of the (spiritual) children of Jezebel, and the tribulation/sickbed that Jezebel in thrown into, will provide ample evidence of Jesus searching hearts and rewarding according to each ones works.

Now that we have established the searching of hearts resulting in just rewards, lets come back to our beginning verse in Romans 8.

Romans 8:27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit…

No recompense is mentioned in this verse. Notice that we have the heart and mind mentioned in this verse, much like the previous verses, but it is the saints heart and the Spirit’s mind that is discussed. No just recompence due to evil hearts, and wicked minds, but as the remainder of the verse indicates,

…the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Intercession occurs by the Spirit. Prayer and pleading for the saint.

Paul knew his Old Testament, and how the heart and mind were revealed by God in His searches, and the resultant “rewards” provided. Even in the church age, when those who rebel as Jezebel, this truth remains.

But Paul is speaking of life in the Spirit, of the grace filled, sacrificial love of God ruling in the saint’s life. Consider the difference, for the gospel of the Messiah provides His people the Spirit, and in the giving, provides support and encouragement we do not deserve.

There is a very real cause and effect in our practical lives, and bad decisions cause bad consequences. Yet for the Spirit led believer, there is a very real truth that God does not “give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

We are a most blessed people, having been offered “the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.

Yes, we are a most blessed people!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Pay for Pew – An Introduction

2026-06-26

It was years ago in a tiny little brethren church that my wife and I, along with our five chillun, experienced a somewhat disturbing act.

Let me try to paint a picture of what seems so vivid in my memory.

The church was bustling with activity, with the standard chairs lined up for the formal church service on a bright sunny Sunday morning. My wifey and I, along with our youngun’s were sitting in the middle of the back row, somewhat quiet prior to the service beginning, when one of the elders of the church approached me.

Carl, can you move your family over to the left side of the sanctuary? We have a doctor and his wife that we want to provide these seats for. I was somewhat taken aback by this request. Of course we complied and as we left our seats, we noticed the doctor and his wife come into the sanctuary, with just the tiniest bit of fanfare. It turns out that this couple was considering joining the church, and as a successful doctor, he would definitely be a valuable member of the congregation.

It was the decision by this elder that left a sour taste in my mouth. I’m convinced the doctor and his wife did not know what was going on. It seemed obvious this decision of the elder was based on either a desire to attract men of status to join the church, or men of means to join the church. I simply did not have the nerve to ask this particular elder of his motivations. I think that was a mistake, but I buried my feelings and questions and soldiered on.

That particular instance was the first time my wife and I were impacted with how powerful money can influence a church body, and it’s leadership.

Little did we understand this power!

Since then, we have wrestled with how money influences a church congregation and it’s leadership. Some of these rastling matches have provided us clarity as to God’s wishes for the New Testament believer, some have caused heartache and disappointment, and some have challenged us to a rethinking of how to steward what the Lord provides.

During the last few decades of of these rastling matches, many things have changed in our minds in relation to money and the church, and this series will seek to provide some of my findings, and hopefully find Biblical correction if I appear to be falling off the rails.

Initially this series will look into the topic of tithing, for that is the initial topic that challenged us.

As for the elder I mentioned earlier, I’m afraid his efforts were for nought, for the doctor and his wife did not return. We did, and we stayed in the church until we moved away.

For this young Christian couple, things shifted in our minds that day, and as we experienced future money issues in the church we served in, we found we were touching a topic that seemed to be “perty dang” critical for some believers!

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 11

2026-06-25

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Thrown to the Lions

Daniel 6:16 – Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

Psalm 22:12, 13, 21
Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Daniel was thrown to the lions. Death was a certainty.

To be “thrown to the lions” is a common saying. It speaks of being a sacrificial offering for some greater good, or of a treachery received to preserve some self serving peer or “friend”. We all have experienced “being thrown to the lions”

For Daniel, it was no euphemism, for he faced real lions in a real den. And the treachery of it all. It is hard to fathom.

Until the Lord arrives on the earth, and He ruffles some feathers. His message of love and acceptance, of a call to a holy life beyond rules and regulations, really ticked off some rule keepers. His message caused their righteous appearance to be unveiled as hypocrisy before God, and all the world saw it.

This was not to be allowed. Those in power, who had their righteous appearance stripped from them, would not tolerate this shaming.

As we read in the Psalms, our Messiah’s enemies acted as lions in their voracious desire to consume Him, to destroy Him. As with Daniel, these lions were ready to destroy, and this time, they found success. Those lions successfully destroyed the Messiah’s body, made His blood flow, and snuffed out His life.

Yet Jesus is so much better than Daniel, in that He entered the lions den of His own will, suffered under their wickedness and triumphed over all their attacks. Even at the point of His greatest suffering, He asked for His lions to be forgiven. What an incredible Savior!

Daniel was thrown to the lions, and death was expected. Jesus was thrown to the lions and death was experienced.

Both were thrown to the lions! But Jesus is so much better!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Prayers of an ol’ fool – 87

2026-06-24

Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

As many who follow may know, I have had the privilege to know the Lord for over 40 years. During those decades, He has proved Himself to be a faithful, kind and loving Savior. And as I have learned to lean on Jesus, He has shown Himself to be a merciful Savior, never wavering, even in some very dark times.

This topical series will try to provide a snapshot of an ol’ fools prayers, the weakness and selfishness of his prayers, and the ever increasing goodness of God in His responses the those prayers.

I hope my witness to the goodness and faithfulness of God will be an encouragement to those reading, and will spur us all on to a deeper, more consistent time of being in the Lord’s presence.

Please visit with me as I tell the story of a faithful God and His care for an ol’ fool. Though David considered himself a poor man, I freely admit, I am just an “ol’ fool” looking to the Lord.

87

I’m a numbers guy. Numbers are a big part of my life. As an engineer, numbers help me make decisions that will benefit others. My favorite number is 73. A surprising number with many properties make it stand out amongst it’s kin. Properties that I will not bore you with.

When it comes to answered prayer, 87 became my favorite number decades ago. This post will try to tell the story of how God impressed my wife and I with 87.

My sweetiepie and I had just moved into the United States. We were seeking to serve the Lord on a mission field, and the two year training period in Michigan forced us to live by faith. As Canadians, we could not legally work in the US, and the purpose of the training was to prepare us for difficult missionary work. Prior to leaving Canada, we were blessed to have one couple offer assistance in our training. Other than that support, we were fully dependent on the Lord for tuition, rent, food, and travel needs.

Oh, and a key player in this prayer is our firstborn son. He was born in early December, and we were in Michigan for the first of January.

The initial “honeymoon” phase of moving in and beginning the training was wonderful. We met many wonderful saints. One couple took us under their wings in so many ways. I don’t know if we ever thanked Dave and Marsha properly. (If you stumble on this post, let it be known we are thankful, even these decades later, for your love and care.)

As we settled into the training, both my wife and I determined not to speak of our needs to any one, but to the Lord only.

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Even in our early walk with the Lord, we had seen saints who spoke of their need at every opportunity. It seemed they were trusting their skill at manipulating the emotional strings of others and not in the Lord. That surely was unfair, but we wanted to avoid that appearance.

Some suppers were popcorn, or spaghetti. One lunch was a watermelon. All the students had access to the Mission barrel and we sometimes found food stuffs there. One common source of sustenance was canned LaChoy. It showed up often, and when available, we consumed LaChoy. Funny how we haven’t purchased any since!

Now, as I mentioned, we had a small one, and my wife was breastfeeding this young one. As we entered a somewhat “restricted diet”, it became apparent to my wifey that Joshua was needing some supplementation. He was a voracious consumer, and his momma realized this problem early on.

One night, as she fed our son, she quietly reached out to the Father and asked for some additional milk for Josh. What she exactly prayed, only her and the Father know. But the next morning, after classes was finished, she retrieved Josh from the nursery as I went down to the mailbox.

The mail box was where we received support, and it had been a while since any “blessing” had been received. As I pulled a lone envelope from our box, it seemed somewhat clunky, and when I got back to the apartment, opened it up and found 87 cents. Paula’s eyes brightened, and asked if I could go to the commissary to buy a little carton of milk for Josh.

Now I ask my reader. How much do you think milk cost in 1983? At this particular store, at this particular time, for this particular need, the milk I was able to purchase cost us 87 cents. No one knew of our need and provided funds. No one knew of our need and adjusted the price at the commissary to fit the funds we received. No one knew of the amount of money we needed for that particular need.

Except for One. He knew, and He provided. Let that sink in!

It was a few days later that I was chatting with the financial office of the school, and I asked him about the 87 cents. It turns out that a previous gift we had received in Canadian funds had been exchanged at an improper rate. 87 cents was the result.

Our God is good, even to the answering of a young mother’s quiet prayer in the middle of the night for her child.

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Names of God – HE WHO SANCTIFIES – 291

2026-06-23

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO SANCTIFIES

Hebrews 2:11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

The apostle, (or his representative) is writing to the Hebrews, describing the salvation provided by Jesus, and that Jesus is far superior to every past blessing and experience of the faithful. In every instance of comparison, Jesus far outshines any claim to fame the faithful Hebrew might make.

There is simply no comparison! Jesus is better! Better than anything or anyone associated with the prior covenant.

Our passage highlights the act of sanctification, and the first consideration is to note that it is God who sanctifies. It is not that God tries to sanctify, or that He wants to sanctify, or that it is His pleasure to sanctify, but the He Himself sanctifies.

But what does that mean?

Well…

In the book of Hebrews there are two truths regarding sanctification, and to review these truths it is necessary to consider Hebrews 10

Hebrews 10:10-14

10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Notice in verse 10, that belivers are sanctified by the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The sanctification of the believer is complete, and completely dependent on the Lord Jesus, His past act on the cross, and according to the covenant He has provided.

It is done!

But wait. In just a few short verses, the apostle brings to us a process of being sanctified, for we must notice that he states that “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified”

The eternal perfecting of the believer, is for those who are currently being sanctified.

Hold up now. Are we sanctified once and for all or are we in process of being sanctified?

You see now why I was hesitant earlier to define what is going on in the book of Hebrews. When we see a portion of Scripture that seems to contradict itself, we must consider that a mark of inspiration, a sort of proof that truth may have two faces. Let me try to explain, at least the way I understand it .

For the believer, the blood and body of Christ on the cross was the defining moment of sanctification for the believer. In the mind and heart of God the Father, the saint was one with the Savior, fully accepted, fully set apart and fully committed to the will of the Father.

But the apostle goes further, helping the believer understand that ths sanctification is to be experienced, pursued, chased after, desired and clung to. Our positional sanctification, which is such a precious truth, such a lofty possession of the believer, such a blessing only found in Jesus, is to be experieinced in our daily lives.

It is not enough to only be sanctified in the heavens, but to be sanctified in the earth, where we get dirty, where we stumble and toss about. Sanctification in the war we live in is the battle for the believer today. To know we are fully sanctified before the Father due to the body of Christ is the magnet that keeps pulling us to Him. The draw of the Son on the believer is never ending, a ceaseless effort of the Holy One to make us holy, to be sancitified before Him.

To be before Him, we must be holy.

Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

For this we must be thankful that HE WHO SANCTIFIES is He who has sanctified us by His own death.

It is an astounding salvation, and I just need to say it one more time.

Jesus is better!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Calvin’s Concerns – A Plea to the Calvinist – Short

2026-06-22

I hope all is well in your world.

In my journey out of Calvinism, I discovered some you tube shorts from Dr Leighton, teacher at Soteriology 101.

As I may have spoken of earlier in my posts, I spent many years consumed with the Calvinistic teaching, only to break free because of men like Dr. Flowers, who offer alternative views that make more sense and glorify God, making Him purer, and more loving.

This particular short is a plea to the Calvinist to consider releasing some preconceived ideas, and to consider an alternate approach to understanding God. In my own journey, to allow considering an alternate approach to understanding God was a fearful thing, for I had been convinced that I was right.

Yet the truth does not need to be protected. If we truly want the truth, we should expect to be challenged occasionally by the Lord to repent, to revise and to reconsider.

I will let Dr. Flowers share his heart.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Psalms for Psome – Ps 76.01

2026-06-21

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 76:1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.
Psalm 76:2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
Psalm 76:3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

Many of the psalms of Asaph are difficult to place historically, and there are reasons to believe that a possible direct descendent of Asaph may have written this particular psalm. In our next post on this psalm, we will find a possible reference to the victory of Israel over Sennacherib, the Assyrian general whose army of 185,000 soldiers was wiped out in one night.

This psalm is a psalm that speaks of the might of the Lord and the proper fear to be granted to our God.

The psalmist speaks of the knowledge of God. This knowledge is not merely the evidentiary knowledge of nature, where the soul who is honest, can see evidence of the God of creation in everything around us.

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

No, for in Judah, God is known personally, as He has revealed Himself to the people of God, revealing His nature, His laws, His specific will, His covenant mercy and His protective power. It is the protective power that this psalm displays.

The psalmist continues to identify the One who is God, as to where He is known. He is known in Judah, but the focus becomes tighter, as it is in Salem (Jerusalem) that the Lord has His abode. His temple has been in Jerusalem since the days of David.

But most interesting to this saint is the next description of the Lord. When the psalmist describes the Lord as having a “dwelling place” he is using a word that is often associated with a den of lions.

Job 37:8 Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens.
Job 38:40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket?
Song of Songs 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.
Amos 3:4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
Nahum 2:12 The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.

The psalmist is painting an image of the Lord’s “dwelling place” similar to a lions den. With this image, the Old Testament saint could imagine the Lord Himself in Jerusalem, crouching in His “den”, waiting to pounce on the victim.

If this psalm was written during the Assyrian invasion, this picture is very powerful. Before the fateful night, all the power seemed to reside in the Assyrian generals hands. Yet lurking in the city, the city that was on the brink of disaster, a city that was close to starvation, a lion was ready to pounce.

A reading of 2 Kings seems to fit our picture of the lion ready to pounce, and it is instructive to notice the flow of narrative in 2 Kings.

Hezekiah enters the temple in sackcloth 2 Kings 19:1
He appeals to the prophets Isaiah 2 Kings 19:5
The enemies threats increase, defying God’s protection. 2 Kings 19:10
Hezekiah prays 2 Kings 19:15
Isaiah encourages Hezekiah with a message of his prayer heard. 2 Kings 19:20
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah pounces 2 Kings 19:35

Over and over again, the Lord has provided protection for His people as they rely on Him, seeking His face. In this psalm, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah responded to the prayer of the king, pounced on the enemy and delivered His people from certain death.

Our God is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has delivered us from death by hanging on the cruel cross. And He will deliver us from all of our enemies!

Praise to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

1 Thessalonian Bits – 4:8

2026-06-20

A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 4:8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Paul clearly understood he was speaking for God.

It is one thing to encourage in the name of God, to provide comfort in Jesus name, to build up and establish the saints in God’s name. These are activities that all believers can and should take part in, for we are to strengthen each other.

But to speak as Paul speaks in this verse is telling me that Paul, without a doubt, is speaking directly as of from the Lord. He is telling his faithful that though he is speaking the words from his mouth, though his secretary is writing the words on the parchment, the message is to be taken as directly from the Lord.

Paul is not providing his opinion, or the consensus of those with him. His words are the message of God for the sinning brother. Pay attention!

Yet this emphasis of Paul identifying God as the author of the message is not a lone message in the Word. Paul is apostolic, having been granted the authority of the Risen Christ in his message to the world.

Thankfully we have much of his message recorded for our edification, and in this particular instance, for our warning! This message is dire.

To disregard is not the same as to ignore. I think he may have rightly assumed the sinning brother would hear of this letter, and would read it, either on his own or by proxy, through a teacher in the church. Whichever way this brother hears Paul’s message, Paul wanted to make it clear. If this matter isn’t cleared up, it is because the brother has disregarded the matter.

It isn’t as if the brother did not have the conviction, for any saint that has the Spirit must surely have the inner conviction of the Lord in this instance. Beyond that, the written message of Paul would only compound the knowledge this saint had. Internal and external knowledge of his sin.

No restoration and repentance by the sinning brother would equal disregarding the conviction of the Lord, both internally and externally. To “disregard”, according to the Greek dictionaries, is to cast off, despise, disannul, frustrate, bring to naught or to reject.

To reject.

Paul is not mincing words here. He is speaking of the need for holiness in the life of the saint, which includes the abstaining of sexual immorality. If the saint does not respond, Paul is speaking of the rejection of God for his life.

If I understand this passage, Paul is saying much more than I first assumed. Given the synonyms for “disregard”, could not we replace the word disregard with reject, and get a somewhat clearer message?

Whoever rejects this message, rejects not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

As a matter of fact, a number of translations do that very replacement.

NKJV – Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

NLT – Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

NIV – Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

CSB – Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

NASB20 – Therefore, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the Godwho givesHis HolySpirit to you.

This passage speaks of Paul’s authority to pronounce the oracle of God, a message from God for a sinning brother. A message that indicates the consequence (rejecting God) of rejecting a message (from God)

This is the common refrain of the Word, that to reject the message is to reject the messenger.

Paul is God’s messenger!

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Names of God – HE WHO REMEMBERED US IN OUR LOW ESTATE – 290

2026-06-19

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

HE WHO REMEMBERED US IN OUR LOW ESTATE

Psalm 136:23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever;

In our psalm this morning, if we were to read the entire 136th Psalm, we would find the psalmist referring to the Lord’s mercy and steadfast love in the past for His people.

Over and over again the psalmist recounted the many acts of the God of Israel for His people. From creation through the deliverance of the exodus, along with battles fought to gain and maintain their time on the promised land, the Lord had proven His steadfast love to the nation in the past.

Our verse this morning speaks of the current time, of the times the psalmist lived in. It was no longer recounting days of old that the Lord proved His love, but the very time the psalmist lived in, the present situation.

And the psalmist claims the Lord remembered.

Now of course the psalmist is not merely referring to the fact that the Lord, who is all knowing, has a set of facts about His people before His eyes. The psalmist isn’t speaking of the Lord’s ability to recall He has a people. Does that even make sense, knowing the God we serve?

When the Old Testament speaks of the Lord remembering, it is not merely that God recalls his people. God never “recalls” a fact or a situation. He is all knowing. When the Old Testament speaks of God remembering, it is telling us that God is acting for His people, delivering them from a trial, or even refraining from a justified discipline. Examples are many.

Noah is a good example.

Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

God remembered Noah and acted. Another example was Rachel, and her childbearing.

Genesis 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

God remembered Rachel and acted. An example of God remembering not, (or not acting) may be found in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 34C… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

God’s act of remembering in this instance, or should I say His active non-remembrance, entailed the death of His Son, the torture and crucifixion of His Only begotten.

Even in His promise to not remember, God acted.

So for our passage this morning, the psalmist speaks of the Lord remembering His people. For us today, we need the Lord to act on our behalf, to bring to life the Body of Christ that is dormant, quiet and self satisfied.

The psalmist speaks to us today, for if we are to see God “remember” us, it will be due to our lowly state, a time of humility, of lowliness.

A people of God that is proud, self sufficient and haughty will not see God remember them, acting on their behalf.

Yes it is likely the psalmist was speaking of an inflicted lowliness for God’s people, a difficult time for the people of God due to outer forces being unleashed on them. They had been humbled, and in the humbling, God acted.

The humbling of the people of God continues to be the playbook of the Lord, that those who are humbled are ready for grace, they are open to God “remembering” them. It is a consistent truth we would do well in remembering!

James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The psalmist may have spoke of an inflicted humbling, yet for us today, we have the command to humble ourselves.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

In both of the verses above, the humbling comes with an exaltation, with the Lord remembering and acting on behalf of the humble.

Our God hasn’t changed. He is the God Who remembers us in our lowly state. May we experience the exaltation, understanding it is through humility and seeking the low estate!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 10

2026-06-18

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Prayer Leads to Persecution

Daniel 6:11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.
Daniel 6:13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
Daniel 6:16a Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions.

John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
John 18:3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Daniel prayed every day, in the direction of Jerusalem, to the God who sustained him, directed him and protected him. For decades, he had established this habit, and as his enemies had witnessed this man of God live his life, they had found one activity that they could make illegal.

We have spoke on how it was envy of Daniels peers that fueled this persecution, that the king was unwilling to prosecute the judgement, and that the death sentence was completely unjust. In all of this unfairness, this contradiction of righteousness, Daniel did not abandon his practice of reaching out to the God he served.

He could have adjusted his time to pray, prayed in his “closet”, or justified a break in his prayers due to this act of persecution. After all, it was simply for 30 days this law was in effect. In allowing a break in his faithful duties in prayer, he would be succumbing to the persecutors more devious plot. They were seeking death, either by his obedience or disobedience/

In Daniel’s obedience, he would be gulped by the lions. In his disobedience, the plotters would successfully compromise Daniel. His God was not the primary motivator in his life, and the plotters found a way to manipulate him.

Persecution seeks death or control. Nothing else. Daniel’s prayer provided the strength to enter persecution, and triggered the persecution to commence.

Jesus also entered the garden, knowing His time had come. He, like Daniel, knew that the time of prayer He was to enter into would provide His plotters the opportunity to execute their plot to destroy.

Both men, in their prayers, would enter persecution. Both men, as they sought their God, knew their prayers would lead into persecution and death.

And both men prayed!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Prayers of an ol’ fool – North or South

2026-06-17

Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

As many who follow may know, I have had the privilege to know the Lord for over 40 years. During those decades, He has proved Himself to be a faithful, kind and loving Savior. And as I have learned to lean on Jesus, He has shown Himself to be a merciful Savior, never wavering, even in some very dark times.

This topical series will try to provide a snapshot of an ol’ fools prayers, the weakness and selfishness of his prayers, and the ever increasing goodness of God in His responses the those prayers.

I hope my witness to the goodness and faithfulness of God will be an encouragement to those reading, and will spur us all on to a deeper, more consistent time of being in the Lord’s presence.

Please visit with me as I tell the story of a faithful God and His care for an ol’ fool. Though David considered himself a poor man, I freely admit, I am just an “ol’ fool” looking to the Lord.

North or South

Many who have followed this blog realize I am a transplanted Canadian, settled deep in the heart of Texas. All my siblings remain in the Great White North, and at times I think they don’t quite understand our desire, determination and delight in living in the Lone Star state. But this isn’t about Texas! This post is about the timing and kindness, and the evident direction provided by the Father above for a drifting saint.

We had been in Texas for over a decade when I began to wonder if we were to remain. You see, the economy had soured and though we had attained a green card, allowing me to work anywhere in the states, career opportunities for yours’s truly were few and far between. The rare interview that I did gain, I found I was woefully unprepared for. My previous skill set was not matching the employment opportunities in the region, and my times of unemployment were extending into months. Things were become strained.

During a scouring of employment sites, I tripped over an opportunity in Canada, in the province of Alberta. In my desperation to provide for my loved ones, (and understanding that Alberta is basically a Texas wannabe culture), I reached out and provided my resume.

And then I was convicted.

Carl – you have fought to stay in Texas, and now you are loosing patience? Can you not trust God, and lean on Him? Thoughts swirled in my mind, swinging my attentions from a need to provide to a need to trust. If you have been in a similar situation, I am sure you can relate.

But I was convicted. I knew that even if the position in Canada was promising, and the position in Canada was perfect, the position in Canada would be a wrong move! Or at least I hoped it would be a wrong move. (I wanted to stay in Texas!)

It felt like I was between a rock and a hard place. But what am I going to do. I have to provide. I have to support my family. No matter what I did, I felt I would be disappointing God. Stay here and not provide. Move back to Canada and give up on the direction we had received.

So, as you may have expected, because the subject of the blog is prayer, I began to ask for direction. Specific direction. If I needed to go to Canada, I could work there and have my family follow after I was established in the position. If I was to stay in Texas, I needed to have that direction provided also.

I just wanted to have direction from the Lord.

In the background of all my worrying, a little woman started throwing out my resume to firms in the area that were not associated with the headhunters I was leaning on. It has been over a decade ago, but if I recall, I think she simply scoured the area for engineering firms and sent my resume off in a shotgun approach. This little woman sent my resume off to a particular firm in the city just days prior my prayer. And lo and behold, a day after my prayer, an email popped up in my inbox asking me to come for an interview.

The timing of the Lord in His answers to prayer is such a blessing. How is it that in the midst of all that was going on, I had a Father who was actively orchestrating a situation even before my will was bent to His.

I was at that firm for close to seven years, met many good folks, learned much, and never looked back.

God is good, even to those who are slipping in their trust!

Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Calvin’s Concerns – Who Does God Show Mercy to – Short

2026-06-16

I hope all is well in your world.

A few days back I discovered some additional shorts from Dr Leighton, teacher at Soteriology 101.

As I may have spoken of earlier in my posts, I spent many years consumed with the Calvinistic teaching, only to break free because of men like Dr. Flowers, who offer alternative views that make more sense and glorify God, making Him purer, and more loving.

I do hope you will consider the teaching with an open mind.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Names of God – HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS – 289

2026-06-15

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

289

HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS

Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Notice how clear Paul is in his description of the God who gives us life. He brings to the believer’s attention a number of clarifications that may be worthy of considering.

First, Paul speaks of the God who raised Christ Jesus as Spirit. His emphasis is on the person of God, not any moral codes, regulations, rules, bylaws or religion that we may be associated with. It is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in each of us that Paul speaks of.

Which brings to our attention a second point to consider, that is the dwelling of the Spirit of God in the believer. Some may refer to this as the indwelling, and is an emphasis of the apostle Paul in this passage. His first reference to “dwelling” is in 7:17, where he speaks of sin dwelling in the body.

Romans 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

For the remainder of chapter 7, he speaks repeatedly of sin dwelling in the body, but shifts gears in chapter 8.

Now in chapter 8, we are not considering death and sin in the body, dwelling and destroying, but the Spirit of God dwelling and enlivening the body.

Paul had laid a framework in our minds regarding the concept of dwelling in the previous chapter, helping us identify a parallel condition. Sin dwelled in our bodies. Dwelled throughout our lives, deeply in our innermost being, permanently in our actions and thoughts (seemingly), and without any respite or rest from it’s ravages.

It is that type of dwelling that we carry over into the next chapter, yet all the negative aspects of this dwelling will be turned on it’s head. It is not death dealing sin that dwells in our body as believers, but life giving Spirit permeating our lives.

Easy to say Paul, for you surely are using flowery words to build up your teaching. Au contraire, mon ami, Paul is not one to make a claim and then hope for the best. Paul is linking the life giving Spirit in our lives with the Life giving Spirit that RAISED JESUS from death. He refers to the most astounding, historically proven, evidentiary phenomenon ever witnessed on earth. The raising of the Son of God from a cruel torturous death.

Story Time

We had our grandsons out on the farm this weekend and as I was reading the Word to them as a bedtime story, I so happened to be in John 11, with the story of Lazarus.

As I provided more and more expression to the story of Jesus amongst those crying at the death of His friend, I ended the story as Lazarus came out of the grave, and then closed the Bible. I looked at my oldest grandson, and emphasized that no one has done this before. A man was dead and Jesus simply said to come forth. And he did!

His eyes expanded a wee bit, and though he has not experienced death in his young life, his expression reinforced the wonder of this miracle.

Yet as I considered the Messiah’s resurrection, I was reminded again that it is unlike Lazarus in many ways. Lazarus was raised to die again. It was as if he was resuscitated from death. Now I do not want to make light of the miracle of Lazarus, but in comparison to the raising of Jesus from the dead, it was a mere shadow of the reality.

Jesus was raised from the dead, never to die again. Never. Death has been killed, dying by the hand of God as the Messiah was called forth from the tomb!

This is the God we serve.

HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS is the Spirit that resides in us, dwelling in our lives and providing guidance, compassion, strength and love.

He is good!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.