A man finds a treasure buried in a field. This reminds me of those people you may have seen on the beach sweeping with a metal detector. When the beeping goes off, they dig and pull up whatever it is they’ve found. The point is they are looking for buried treasure. Most people in life…
Month: November 2011
“All It Means” ( Acts 5: 20, NEB ) by Carley Evans
The High Priest and colleagues who are Sadducees arrest the apostles at Solomon’s Portico in Jerusalem. Apparently all the apostles are imprisoned. But an angel of the Lord releases them by opening the prison door during the night. After all, what good is it for all the apostles to be imprisoned together at the same…
“Treasure In Clay Jars” ( 2 Corinthians 4: 7, NIV ) by Carley Evans
Here and there, Paul makes a quick statement to his audience that encapsulates a truth so important it is surprising that he issues it as an aside. Paul speaks to the church at Corinth about “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,” (2 Corinthians 4:4) then…
“Victory Known” ( Psalm 98: 2, NEB ) by Carley Evans
“O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew Him And all my love is due Him, He plunged me to victory, Beneath the cleansing flood.”(E.M. Bartlett © 1939) David, the psalmist whom God declares is a man after His own…
“Enter God’s Rest” ( Hebrews 4: 11, NIV ) by Carley Evans
God rests on the seventh day after He creates the universe, every world, every living thing, and us. God calls us to a “Sabbath-rest” of our own, saying through His Holy Spirit that “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God does from His.” (Hebrews 4:10) God’s “work has…
“Both Are Made Holy” ( Hebrews 2: 11, NIV ) by Carley Evans
“Both the One who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” And because men are flesh and blood, Jesus also is flesh and blood. “He too shares in their humanity.” (Hebrews 2:14) “He is made like His brothers in…
“Be Thankful” ( Colossians 3: 14 – 16, ESV ) by Carley Evans
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish…
“Not By Flesh And Blood” ( Matthew 16: 17, NIV ) by Carley Evans
People are wondering who this man Jesus is. Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13) Some people think Jesus is John the Baptist come back from the dead after being unjustly beheaded; others think Jesus is a resurrected Elijah or Jeremiah or some other well-known, well-respected prophet…
“Given This, What Are We To Do?” ( John 17: 17, ESV ) by Carley Evans
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is Truth.” (John 17:17 ESV) John, perhaps the disciple whom Jesus loves, understands God the Holy Spirit’s intention when He writes “Your Word is Truth.” John, God’s scribe, has heard Jesus proclaim that He is “the bread of Life” and “the Way and the Truth and the Life.”…
“The Sting And Power Of Sin” ( 1 Corinthians 15: 56, NIV ) by Carley Evans
“Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:50) Rather, the mortal will clothe itself with immortality, says Paul. When? At the last trumpet. At that moment, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, death will be swallowed up in victory. We know “the sting of death is sin, and…
“How Do You Know Me?” ( John 1: 48, NIV ) by Carley Evans
Nathanael wants to understand how Jesus knows him before even meeting him. A legitimate question, don’t you think? Nathanael has judged Jesus before meeting Him, but this judgment is based upon where Jesus comes from, not on who Jesus is or is not. When Philip tells Nathanael he and Andrew and Peter “have found the…
“He Is The Image” ( Colossians 1: 15, NIV ) by Carley Evans
Paul tells us that Jesus Christ “is the image of the invisible God.” “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17) The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ “is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful…
