“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10, ESV) Joy is defined as “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.” I have experienced many things that have given me joy, but no experience has ever surpassed the joy I felt the night I trusted Christ as my personal Savior....
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9, NIV) My wife and I have eleven precious grandchildren who get so excited during the Christmas season that they affect the entire family. Sometimes this obscures the true meaning of Christmas...
The gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1...
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. (Revelation 1:12...
Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7, NIV) One of my sweetest Christmas memories is riding in the backseat with my four-year-old granddaughter as we oohed and aahed over the dazzling celebration of lights hung throughout her New Jersey neighborhood: illuminated candy houses, full-size reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh, ablaze manger scenes with angels and shepherds. We’d point out the best ones, laugh, and exchange impressions while our eyes danced with the radiant splendor of the season. But the brightest and most beautiful choreographed lights and music displays pale in comparison to the Transfiguration of Jesus in Mark 9....
“And behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.” (Daniel 7:13, NASB) By Darrell L. Bock Jesus’s favorite way to refer to Himself during His ministry was to use the title “Son of Man.” Many think this is a title that points to Jesus’s humanity. That is only half right. “Son of Man” does mean son of a person, like son of James or son of Janet, which connects someone to someone else. But Jesus’s connection to “Son of Man” is not like other such phrases. Part of this is hinted at in the peculiar ways the Gospel of Luke refers to this phrase as the Son of Man in the original Greek. It points to a unique figure. When Jesus tied the title to Scripture, He cited Daniel 7:13...
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1, NET) Mark 1:1 is something of a superscription; it is not a sentence having no verb. Yet, it tells us much about the special season that is upon us, the exuberant celebration of the greatest event in history: the coming into this world of its creator and redeemer....
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NIV) There is a Kodak moment with first-time pilgrims in Israel. On the journey north from Tel Aviv to Tiberius, fresh off a long international flight, bleary-eyed tourists press their noses against the bus window for a glimpse of the region where Jesus walked. Upon first gaze of the Sea of Galilee, someone inevitably says through teary eyes: “He was here!”...
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, NRSV) The Incarnation, God becoming man, is one of the most profound and significant mysteries. The thought that our all-powerful, omnipotent God would willingly share in our humanity is difficult to comprehend and accept. So much so that throughout history people have attempted to water down this truth. The simple, albeit difficult, truth is that Jesus was fully God and fully human. Implications of this are countless. I will focus on only one, highlighted by Hebrews 4:15....
An Invitation to Touch the Skin of Infinite God By Charles R. Swindoll “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23, NKJV)...
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10, ESV) Joy is defined as “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.” I have experienced many things that have given me joy, but no experience has ever surpassed the joy I felt the n...
Keep Reading This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9, NIV) My wife and I have eleven precious grandchildren who get so excited during the Christmas season that they affect the entire family. Sometimes this obscures the true meaning of Christmas...
Keep Reading The gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1...
Keep Reading I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glow...
Keep Reading Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7, NIV) One of my sweetest Christmas memories is riding in the backseat with my four-year-old granddaughter as we oohed and aahed over the dazzling celebration of lights hung throughout her New Jersey neighborhood: illuminated candy house...
Keep Reading “And behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.” (Daniel 7:13, NASB) By Darrell L. Bock Jesus’s favorite way to refer to Himself during His ministry was to use the title “Son of Man.” Many think this is a title that points to Jesus’s humanity. That is only half r...
Keep Reading The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1, NET) Mark 1:1 is something of a superscription; it is not a sentence having no verb. Yet, it tells us much about the special season that is upon us, the exuberant celebration of the greatest event in history: the coming into this world of its creator and redeemer....
Keep Reading “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NIV) There is a Kodak moment with first-time pilgrims in Israel. On the journey north from Tel Aviv to Tiberius, fresh off a long international flight, bleary-eyed tourists press their noses against the bus window for a glimpse of the region where Jesus walked. Upon first gaze of the Sea of...
Keep Reading “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, NRSV) The Incarnation, God becoming man, is one of the most profound and significant mysteries. The thought that our all-powerful, omnipotent God would willingly share in our humanity i...
Keep Reading An Invitation to Touch the Skin of Infinite God By Charles R. Swindoll “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23, NKJV)...
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