365 Reflections

Deuteronomy 5:22–24 (ESV) “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire , the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire , you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire . This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. The physical manifestation of God's voice being spoken to ancient Israel is repeatedly fire . When God gives them the law, He does through fire here and in Exodus 20. When Gideon sees the Lord, there's fire that consumes the offering. When Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal, his challenge is this: "and the God who answers by fire ...

Leviticus 6:8–9 (ESV)   The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it....  Leviticus 6:13 (ESV)  Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out. The fire on the burnt offering was to never go out. That is a lot of responsibility for the priests. I have a stove in my house that requires constant attention in winter. Yet even on my best days, it eventually goes out. God mentions several times that this fire was to never die. What does this point to in our relationship with Christ? First, we must remember that it was the priests responsibility to keep the fire going. This was not the job of an average Israelite. God says, "Command Aaron and his sons!" However, as we will observe in Israel, eventually the priests would fail in this resp...

This is why I love studying the Bible through the lens of Jesus as the Son of God.  It burns in our hearts... That was the response of the men on the road to Emmaus: Luke 24:32 (ESV) 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures ?” There are many who study the Bible apart from that lens, purely academic... I honestly don't know why they bother. Scripture outside of the context of the revelation of Christ is empty and hollow. For even Jesus said of the Pharisees they studied the scriptures diligently and missed Him! Scripture and Jesus are a combination of combustible power in the heart of a Christian. Seeing Christ in the pages of scripture sets us ablaze with passion! Take Daniel in the lion's den. A great story no doubt. But now see the event as a type of Christ... - The rulers conspire to put him to death out of jealousy (like the Pharisees). - He descends into the pit (lik...

We have quoted this verse an enormous amount of times in church: 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV) The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. I have read hyper-Calvinists dance around with this verse suggesting that the "you" is carried into the word, "any" in regards to those who perish.  That God is patient with them that any of them should not perish.  This is done to justify the argument that God has only desired to save the elect.  But look at the next sentence: "but that all should reach repentance."  Come on!  If Peter is talking about only the elect, why then do the elect need to "reach repentance"?  Any way.  I imagine that we could argue this back and forth in some way, shape or form.  I know what I believe and I think correlates with the heart of Jesus in the parables.  This verse encompasses the largen...