Pantocrator Icon. This is a common depiction of Jesus among Orthodox Christians. Jesus is holding the scriptures, which shows that He watches over our doctrine. Some core Christian doctrines are represented in the icon. The three fingers on Jesus’s right hand touch to symbolize the Trinity. Two fingers above slightly overlap; the upper finger represents…
Tag: Jesus Christ
Evening THEN Morning?!?
“And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day” (Gen. 1:5). In the story of creation, have you ever wondered why each day concludes with the words, “And there was evening, and there was morning”? Wouldn’t a day be morning then evening? Have you especially wondered why this phrase occurs the first day,…
Purpose
Years ago, almost 15 years ago in fact, I sat waiting for someone to unlock the building next to our church. It had been a busy week. While I waited, I decided to pray. The Lord spoke a few short sentences. I have never forgotten them. These few short sentences continue to define my understanding…
New Birth Fundamentals–Mallory Patrick
This post is taken from New Birth Fundamentals, a book by Mallory Patrick. The first chapter is quoted below. New Birth Fundamentals was originally written as a curriculum for Freedom Christian Academy. Besides being an author, Mallory is a Bible teacher, editor, book worm, and my sister-in-law. Mallory chairs In Him Ministries and is affiliated with Christ…
Perfecting Jesus
“In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God…should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (Heb. 2:10) In what sense did Jesus need perfecting? In context, we are not talking about Jesus in some vacuous sense but about the author of salvation bringing many sons to glory. The eternal Word was…
Incomprehensible Union
Some good thoughts on the Lord’s supper from Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin… *** But as this mystery of the secret union of Christ with believers is incomprehensible by nature, he exhibits its figure and image in visible signs adapted to our capacity…. We now, therefore, understand the end which this mystical blessing has…
Can Wrestlers Baptize? (Part 2)
In part one, I asked readers what they thought about something John Calvin said about baptism in his book Institutes of the Christian Religion. Several readers made good comments on my Facebook page, and I thought I’d share them: [V]iewing the sacraments as only being able to be administered by clergy takes the emphasis off ‘Christ…
The Book of the Wretched Sins of Mankind (and Especially Yours)
“[T]he heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Ezek. 1:1). Ezekiel does not begin with man’s sin but with God. Sin is not the center of the universe, God’s thoughts, or His eternal plan. Unfortunately, in the way we often think about the Lord, sin usurps the place that belongs to God’s glory. …
Conversations with God
In other posts, I’ve talked about my conversion, talking myself out of my conversion, investigating eastern religions, and finally returning to Christianity. Soon after deciding to re-investigate Christianity, I ran into one of Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s) and got entangled with them for six months. I will spare you a long description of that little foray. One…
Little Dr. Christiansteins
“You bring stolen, lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?” asks the Lord. (Malachi 1:13). This verse addresses the Levites. The Levites were the priests of Israel, the keepers and teachers of God’s law. They knew that sacrificing a defective animal violated the law (Lev. 1:3, 10)….
The Voice of One 