All Things New

"My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:2) This passage begins with a very familiar refrain, one we all can identify with; the Psalmist is looking for help. He looks to the hills, a place that could represent danger, uncertainty, or just good old fashioned challenges. Then he asks the question we all eventually face: “Where will my help come from?”I love the profou...

"In the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 26:64) In this passage we find Jesus arrested, dragged before the Sanhedrin, and subjected to myriads of unfounded accusations. In verse 63 the final accusation is levied; “are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”  As He stood before these religious leaders, they saw Him as power...

"The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, enveloped in strength."  (Psalm 93:1) There’s a reason we spend every Tuesday discussing how the week’s anchor text impacts our worldview. Our worldview is shaped by whatever we believe is truly in control and determines how we see and respond to everything around us.Most people assume power belongs to governments, economies, military st...

"The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, enveloped in strength."  (Psalm 93:1) There’s a reason we spend every Tuesday discussing how the week’s anchor text impacts our worldview. Our worldview is shaped by whatever we believe is truly in control and determines how we see and respond to everything around us.Most people assume power belongs to governments, economies, military st...

"He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:14) If you read the works of 20 different Bible scholars you will get 20 different flavors of the particulars of what all the imagery in Daniel 7 means. Ou...

“I delight to do your will, my God, and your instruction is deep within me.” (Psalm 40:8) Psalm 40, to me, is one of the quintessential Psalms of praise. In it, the Psalmist remembers waiting, crying out, and being rescued from the pit. Not only did God set his feet on a rock, but He put a new song in his mouth. In this passage we see how worship flows from deliverance and obedience from deep grat...

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) It’s that time of year when homeowners receive their final tax papers and fight back, um, less than warm-hearted feelings about them and the tax collector. Multiply that many times over and that’s how first century Jewish people would have viewed Zacchaeus. He isn’t by anyone’s standard an obvious first candidate for renewal....

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) Accusation, particularly when it comes from within, doesn’t make soil well-suited for a new heart to grow well. Psalm 103, however, helps us remember the truth about the Lord: He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, and shows compassion. There’s no denial of the reality and pain of sin h...

“God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) Psalm 51 is one of the richest Psalms in the entire book. There’s so much truth for us to lean on as we navigate dealing with our own sin against God. These passages help teach us to see sin for what it is; an egregious rebellion against God. David doesn’t sugar coat his sin as a small mistake or a weak moment...

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26) Exile is quite the prolific theme throughout the Old Testament for the people of Israel. If nothing else, they are quite acquainted with the pain of suffering under foreign occupation and rule. Even more difficult would have been one of their prophets task...

“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before you,” (Psalm 22:27) If there has ever been a passage of scripture to be described as an emotional roller coaster, it’s Psalm 22. It begins in anguish and ends in worship. The suffering within its pages isn’t some ethereal metaphor, it’s very real and felt pain. Yet, somehow, someway,...

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Isaiah gave us a prophetic look at the Suffering Servant and His redemption of a broken humanity. In Mark 10, Jesus gathers up this prophetic hope into Himself; the Suffering Servant is no longer a future promise, but an incarnate reality walking down a road with His disciples...

“But as for me, LORD, my prayer to you is for a time of favor. In your abundant, faithful love, God, answer me with your sure salvation.” (Psalm 69:13) Over our adult life we’ve had more than our fair share of reasons to lament and cray out to God for this reason or that. From minor inconveniences to downright hateful and egregious treatment from church members to losing a child to crime and raisi...

“I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33) It’s easy for us, especially in days of trial and suffering, to hope that God’s answer to human failure will simply be better circumstances, better leadership, or even better national security. While all those things matter, they don’t go deep enough, they don’t matt...

“But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.” (Isaiah 53:5) This week we find a somewhat jarring turning point in the story. By now Israel is well-acquainted with suffering by way of exile, failure, judgment, and a deep longing. The nations are still fractured and the world bears the weight of...