And just as Jesus “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2), we look to the cross of Christ with joy, for through his death and resurrection, he has secured our redemption, reconciled us to God, and given us eternal life. This he did not by condoning sin but in perfect righteousness, not by compromising of his deity but by divine justice, and not by making himself “safe” but victorious. “’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you.”
Tag Archives: Abraham
The End of the Matter
And indeed life is, as the Hebrew word translated “vanity” means, short, a breath, a mist, and then it’s gone. James reminds us of the same, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Does this truth rob life of its meaning, or does it deepen it? The answer is found not in life itself but for what or for whom you are living it.
What the World Needs to Hear
But the faith that God gave Abraham did not falter, as it never will, but grew: “[Abraham] did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do” (Rom. 4:20-21 NET). Therefore, “In hope [Abraham] believed against hope.” Though his circumstances shouted hopelessness, Abraham had hope, not because he looked to himself and his faithfulness but because he looked to the One who promised.
Footsteps of the Faith
Like Abraham, there is nothing in us or anything that we have done that would persuade God to bestow his saving grace upon us, but he has. It is only by his grace through faith in Christ that “we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). And as God’s children, the life we live in the here and now we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us (Gal. 2:20). As sojourners and exiles we are faithful to preach this good news to ourselves and share it with others near and far, not living as those who have no hope, knowing like Abraham that by faith “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Though “here we have no lasting city,” by faith “we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14).
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 