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Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4)

It might be hard for us to fully grasp the significance of Deuteronomy 6:4. After all, as monotheists (mono – one; theos – God) we take for granted that there is only one God. As products of a Judeo-Christian culture our worldviews have been shaped from the day we were born to accept that there isn’t a pantheon of gods out there swarming around the heavens, but for the peoples of the ancient world this was as significant of a revelation as there is. When all the nations worshipped an array of deities, Israel stood alone as the people of the one and only God of the universe. As they prepared to cross into their promised land, it was imperative that they understood that there is but one God and that Israel owed its exclusive loyalty to him (Deut 5:9; 6:5). Jesus himself even affirmed this to be the greatest command of them all, to love the one God with all of your being (Mark 12:29). Continue reading God is One →

God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (I John 4:16b)

God is love. Three simple words that very well may be the deepest, most profound revelation in all of reality. John says he knows this revealed truth about God because he has seen it, heard it, touched it. “We proclaim to you what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life.” (I John 1:1, 3) It is because of the incarnation of Jesus Christ – God made man – that we can know and experience the deepest mysteries of God’s own inner life. His love is not like our love. His love precedes all human response and is freely offered to all, regardless of the condition of its object. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) The incarnation of Jesus did not occur because he was drawn to us. It occurred because he was thrust outward by his love. His desire was to abide with us, as one of us, so that we could abide in Him. Continue reading God Is Love →

And coming to Him as to a living stone…you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. (I Peter 2:4-5)

Peter’s first epistle was addressed to several Christian communities scattered throughout Asia Minor. From his description of their former lifestyle (1:14, 18; 4:3) it seems clear that these believers were predominantly Gentile in background. Peter, of course, was a Jew by birth and, prior to Christ, would have been raised to see the temple in Jerusalem as the center of worship of the Lord. Built of stone, the temple was meant to be the perpetual dwelling place of the glory of God. It is no accident that Peter speaks of Christ metaphorically as a “stone.” He is the real Temple, the fullest expression of God come to earth. Alive from eternity past and resurrected from the dead, Jesus Christ is a “living” stone, and as the foundation of the church he is strong, durable, and firm. Continue reading Living Stones →

It was given to [the Bride of Christ] to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. (Rev. 19:8)

Today, the Church celebrates All Saints Day, where we remember those who walked faithfully for Jesus before us, knowing that we will ultimately see them in the future. The book of Revelation labels the saints as victorious (15:2) and “conquerors” (e.g. 2:7). The irony throughout the book is that these “conquering” saints are constantly being persecuted and killed. In what ways are these defeated people conquerors? Because in the end, Jesus is victorious in establishing a new earth. Conquering is not asserting their force, but yielding themselves in obedience amidst persecution. Just as Jesus conquered through death on the cross, the saints likewise conquer. Continue reading The Saints Come Marching In →