hope (123)

Ian

Depths of Lent

Psalm 119:9–16; Isaiah 44:1–8; Acts 2:14–24 Lent has various aspects. The first is our mortality (“from dust you came; to dust you return”). The second is sin. Mortality and sin are connected. Without the original sin, there would be no death. Sin brought death to…

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Ian

Storms of Dust

Psalm 19; Exodus 19:16–25; Mark 9:2–8 Heaven is declaring God’s glory; the sky is proclaiming his handiwork. One day gushes the news to the next, and one night informs another what needs to be known. Of course, there’s no speech, no words— their voices can’t…

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Ian

What's In A Name?

Genesis 16:7–15; Mark 8:27–30 Relational abuse is not something we should tolerate. This is with the understanding that abuse is the regular, deliberate intent to harm or diminish another. It’s important to address this based on Hagar’s statement to the Lord’s messenger. Based upon the…

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Ian

It Is Written

Psalm 110:1–4; Job 19:23–27; 1 Timothy 3:14–16 Job’s words of optimism amid the words of anguish provides quite the contrast. The context seems to be that Job wants his words of trust in God to be recorded (written on a scroll). Then he goes further…

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Ian

You Stink!

Psalm 50:1–6; 1 Kings 11:26–40; 2 Corinthians 2:12–17 “You stink,” is not a compliment. In an era when most people bathe daily, human body odor has become almost offensive (exceptions being hard physical labor and workouts). It is quite probable that you have smelled a…

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