Genesis 29:14 through 30:24 tells how Jacob came to have wives and children. Jacob first works seven years to marry Rachel but his father-in-law, Laban, sneaks his older daughter, Leah, into Jacob’s tent on the wedding night. Jacob is furious but receives Rachel also after celebrating his wedding to Leah for a week. Then there’s…
Tag: Christ in you
Following, Losing, and Living
Art by Patrick Murphy The following is a meditation on Luke 9:23-24 from my personal journal. *** “If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will…
God with the Smelly and Beastly
With Christmas just past, I’ve been thinking about one of the names by which Jesus was announced: Immanuel, “God with us.” “God with us” was a prophetic name first uttered by Isaiah in a prophecy (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew tells us Jesus fulfilled this prophetic appellation when he was born (Matt. 1:23). Jesus’s birth as a…
House of God (Reprise)
Art by Patrick Murphy “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen. 28:16). As we said before, the Lord revealed to Jacob that God was in His house. Bethel means, “House of God.” It shows Christ and His people as God’s dwelling, God’s house. The Lord is in us!…
House of God, Gate of Heaven
On his way to Haran, Jacob stops for the night. He puts a stone beneath his head and sleeps. He dreams of a staircase that goes from earth to heaven with angels traveling up and down. Echoing His promise to Abraham, the Lord tells Jacob He will give him the land and bless all peoples…
Clyde’s Interesting Habit
Clyde the ghost from Atari’s “Pac-Man“. Clyde usually wandered off on his own. One of my children (let’s call her Clyde) has an interesting habit. As in any parent/child relationship, I often ask Clyde to do something when she’s in the middle of doing something she’d rather do. Clyde’s interesting habit is this: instead of…
Doctrine Himself
Lately, I’ve been meditating on a line from Psalm 73: “God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). I’ve known God is my portion for years. But for those same years I have lived with dissatisfaction. The truth I knew didn’t make up for the grief I felt about what I…
An Apology for the True Christian Divinity–Barclay
Last year, I became acquainted with Quakerism. I thought Quakers peddled new age, oatmeal mysticism. I was surprised to learn of their deeply Christian origins. I began to read the writings of George Fox, founder of the Quaker movement. Next, I moved on to An Apology for the True Christian Divinity by Robert Barclay (1675)….
The Christian’s Electra Complex
Genesis 19 sees the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels who visited Abraham warn Lot about the destruction. Lot flees with his wife and two daughters. Lot’s wife famously looks back and turns into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26). After escaping, Lot lives in the mountains with his daughters. It must’ve been remote…
God Has the Last Laugh
In Genesis 18, the Lord (in the form of 3 men) visits Abraham. The Lord restates His promise that Abraham will have a son by Sarah and says this will happen in a year (Gen. 18:10). When Sarah hears this, she laughs: “After I have become shriveled up and my lord is old, will I…
The Voice of One 