expectation (56)

Ian

The First Sunday of Advent

Psalm 122, Isaiah 32:1–20, Ezekiel 37:26–28 (read online ⧉) There was a (awful) Superman movie in the ’80s called the Quest for Peace. In it, Superman takes care of the bad guy (of course) and takes care of (i.e., eliminates) all the nuclear weapons (which…

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Ian

Rules of Mercy

Exodus 25:16–22, Isaiah 33:17–22, Psalm 118 (read online ⧉) So much of the Levitical law was about the dos and don’ts. Israelites and (later) Christians became overly concerned about the blood being shed, and all the sins committed requiring it. Yet, God set out an…

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Ian

Who Restores

Deuteronomy 30:1–5, Jonah 2:2–9, Isaiah 44:24–28 Have you ever recognized that there is an implied title and character of God that gets missed? Restorer. We use Healer, often, which is close. Another word could be Reconciler. We don’t use Restorer or Reconciler, because in most…

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Ian

Blind to the Signs

Ezekiel 12:21–28, Jeremiah 32:17–23, Matthew 16:1–4 In the Post-Enlightenment or Scientific Age (depending on how you want to define either or both), evidence has been crucial. It’s not as if we are all that different than the Israelites. Ezekiel’s words come at a time when…

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Ian

Burden Bearing / Burden Sharing

Psalm 119:169–176, Psalm 121, 1 Peter 5:1–11 No matter how strong your faith, there has been (or will be) a time when you desire nothing more than to be relieved from your burdens. It may be a job, finances, family, health, death. Often we just…

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