The theme of thirst, or neediness, is reiterated in Isaiah 55:1: come, he who has no money. We come with pockets empty; we come without way to pay for the help we need. We see that our hearts are desperately wicked—that we cannot tame them ourselves, that our only hope is a power outside of ourselves. We come with no money, but when we come in that manner, we find that we are gifted the right to buy!

To only one man are we to submit our lives without exception because only one man’s obedience could yield righteousness for any who choose to believe: “by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Only one man deserves our unquestioning concurrence and unqualified trust, because only one deserves to define for us what life is to consist in and be.

Think of God’s kindness to provide for His children in the ways that suits us, personally. Consider that His eyes are on us who believe; He knows the concerns and fears that proceed from our individual hearts (Psalm 34:15, Psalm 33:18). And have wonder in the ways that God has done more in your life—such that you might know His exceeding love—than you would have conceived to ask for yourself (Ephesians 3:20).

Unaddressed sins permeate life; the sins of youth become the sins of this day—until we meet the Lord in them. Good and upright is the Lord, we can meet Him and be instructed. He leads us out of entwining lies to Himself.

We are to learn of Christ, who is meek in suffering. He is the one who did not demand His due honor. He is the one who set aside glory so that He could give salvation to us. A cross was His crown! It was through the pathway of lowliness and sacrifice that Christ received exaltation and the prize of His blood-bought people. So, we are called to follow His pattern.

In Paul’s concern for these believers, he exemplifies for them what gives him courage as an apostle and member of Christ’s temple. He builds them up in the way of spiritual strength through a prayer about the saints’ shared love of God and oneness in Christ (Ephesians 2:15).

We must not view positivity or personal aims as the ultimate correctives for our life’s visions. No, the joy and endurance we all equally require for the course of this life has been defined by Scripture as God Himself and His ways — and all that flows from Him alone.

The Lord's Prayer begins with this request: "Hallowed be Thy name." This hallowing of God is essential to our worship of Him.

I sat across from my grandfather holding only my protests as he tottered in my mind between being biblical and unbiblical on this point of tradition. Yet, by the end of our meeting, I had shifted, seeing a need to slow my Millennial mind’s propensity toward forming snap judgments. Could I be persuadable, if offered a more biblical case than my own?

As God sets out upon initiating His plan to rescue the Israelites from slavery, we can note at least six facets of His character and of His work with regard to Moses, who was selected to lead this deliverance. Examining principles from God’s calling of Moses of how He interacted with His people can help us understand God better.

The Reformer Martin Luther said, “All teachers of Scripture concludes that the essence and the nature of prayer are nothing else than the raising of the heart, it follows that everything which is not a lifting up of the heart is not prayer.” At the consideration of this teaching, falsehood in prayer falls away. Banished is the attempt to impress the living God with our words, or to control Him with demands.

According to Oxford Dictionary, the definition of prayer is: "a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship." But what does prayer really look like in the Christian life? Is there a right way to pray?

Following from Luther’s statement and definition above of a Scriptural teaching on prayer, I make two observations: prayer requires honesty and upward direction.

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We all know that Jesus, the promised Messiah, made his entrance to the world in Bethlehem, as had been foretold. But if we look back a few generations, there was another baby born in Bethlehem who foreshadowed this grace and redemption of Christ.

When you pause and look at the world today, no matter what, we can all agree that we need more godly leaders. But it can be hard to tell just what makes a godly leader. That's why our good Father gave us examples in His Word, specifically in Jude's letter. Here we see a leader who isn't afraid to confront false teaching, who isn't seeking praise or accolades, and who effectively mimics the leadership of Christ.

"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His purpose." Philippians 2:12-23

Salvation, according to Paul, is to be worked out on this earth with “fear and trembling”. And intriguingly, Jude’s letter that contains warnings about future judgment is addressed not to unbelievers or false teachers, but to the church (Jude 1). Scripture commands fear and trembling for all who believe, and Scripture also provides the means for fulfilling this command — like in its warning passages.

Warnings, such as in Jude, are replete with themes of wrath, eternal fire, condemnation, and destruction. As we explore the character and impact of these themes of Scripture — when we take them to heart in their full potency — we can move past any natural impulse to dilute or rationalize into obscurity Paul’s admonition for fear and trembling. Instead, we can come to want more doses of it.

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