Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Summary: Forgiveness is a tricky business. If we are going to forgive others, we have to have been forgiven to have some to give. Fortunately, we have a God with an infinite supply of forgiveness.
Continue reading “Colossians 3:13 – Truly Forgiven”
…“by his wounds you have been healed.”
As we work our way through Peter’s letter, I find myself marveling at how much information Peter was able to pack into a few words. I also admire how well it correlates with the rest of the Bible. In a way, it is as if Peter has handed us a key to understanding the rest of Scripture.
In “Innocence Found” (1 Peter 2:24 (a)), we explored a thought experiment that ended with a close-up view of Jesus on the cross. To say that we have been healed by Jesus’ wounds is, at the very least, thought-provoking. How does that work? We know what kind of wounds Jesus suffered for our sake, but what kind of wound were we healed from?
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:24 (c) — The Back Side of the Page”
Have you ever thought about why Jesus used mud when he healed the man’s blindness? After all, Jesus had already calmed the storm, walked on water, and healed the man at the pool called Bethesda simply by telling him to get up and walk.
Continue reading “Magic”
When my youngest son was in high school, he had worn glasses for most of his life and as was the custom for many young people, he had let his hair grow quite long. When he decided to switch to contacts instead of glasses, he also arranged to cut his hair short so that when he went back to school the next Monday he looked like a different kid. In fact, he looked so different that nobody recognized him. For a whole day, he enjoyed being the “new kid” until his friends finally figured it out.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ” Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.
Others said, ” No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, ” I am the man.”