Category Archives: Bible Insights

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What Does God Look Like?

Just look at Jesus

SYNOPSIS: No one has ever seen God and lived to tell about it. But if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen God. Colossians 1:15 & 19 tell us, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God … For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In Jesus, God has identified with you so you can identify with Him. In Jesus, God has come near to you so you can come near to God. In Jesus, God has made a way for you to live before Him with complete confidence and daring prayerfulness. In Jesus, you get a live demonstration of what God is like. That means today, even at this very moment, you can experience all of God through Jesus. How? Simply and confidently “come boldly to the throne of your gracious God, and there you will receive His mercy and you will find His grace to help you when you need it most.” (Heb 4:16)

New Article: What God Is Like

Moments With God // Mark 10:13-14

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”

What does God look like? No human being has ever seen him and lived to tell about it. So we are left to wonder.

I love the story of the little girl who was drawing a picture when her mother asked, “Honey, what are you drawing?” Quite confidently, the little girl said, “I’m drawing a picture of God!” The mother reminded her that no one really knows what God looks like. To which the little girl said, “They will when I get done.”

In Jesus’ day, the people of Israel had never seen God. They only knew of him from their wooden rituals, vacuous traditions, and misguided theologies. They had no visible clue as to what God was like, but Jesus came along and said, “They will when I get done.”

So what does God looks like? Just look at Jesus. The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 1:15, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God.” Verse 19 says, “For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

In other words, when you see Jesus, you’re seeing God himself. Jesus is the perfect picture of God; the absolutely accurate image of the Father. Jesus is the invisible God made visible.

So what does watching Jesus tell us about God here in Mark 10? Well, how does God feel about your marriage? Just look at Jesus telling the Pharisees, “What God has joined together let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9)

How does God feel about your children? Just look at Jesus gathering up a bunch of kids in his arms and saying, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” (Mark 10:14)

How does God feel about your struggle to let go of earthly dependencies? Just look at Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” (Mark 10:21)

How does God feel about your competitiveness with others? Just look at Jesus saying to his disciples, “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.” (Mark 10:44)

How does God feel about the things you care about? Just look at Jesus asking blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51)

What is God like? What does he look like? How does he feel about you? Just take a look at Jesus—it will really encourage you. Take a moment just to drink in what Hebrews 4:15 (The Message) has to say about it:

In Jesus, we don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

In Jesus, God has identified with us so we can identify with him. In Jesus, God has come near to us so we can come near to God. In Jesus, God has made a way for us to live before him with complete confidence and daring prayerfulness—we can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God, and there we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Wow! In Jesus, we get a live demonstration of what God is like. And that’s a good deal for us way beyond description!

Take A Moment: Offer this prayer of gratitude that God has revealed himself to you by his Son, Jesus Christ: “Father, thank you for making yourself known to me in Jesus. And thank you for making a way through Jesus for me to come into your presence to receive the mercy and find the grace that I need to make it through this day in victorious fashion.”

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God Did It!

He Finishes What He Starts

SYNOPSIS: All I need to know about anything and everything I learn in Genesis 1, which is simple yet profoundly this: God did it! In the opening line of the Bible, the first thing I discover about God is that he is the creator of all, and the second thing I learn is that he hovers over the chaos, bringing order, beauty, and glory from it. And that is a great comfort to my soul, for that is his ongoing work in me—and you, too!

New Article: God Did It!

Moments With God // Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

The first thing we learn about God in reading the Bible is that he is Creator. The second thing we learn is that he hovers over the chaos and brings order, beauty, and glory from it.

Now the writer of Hebrews tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus, who is God, whom John tells us was the agent of creation (John 1:1-4) is still actively creating and ordering in the lives of his followers.

I am grateful that through Jesus, creating and ordering is still God’s activity in my life. He is still forming beauty and glory out of my unruly, empty, dark chaotic life. And while it seems that I am a long way from being finished, I am at the present moment his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

Thank God for a Creator who finishes his work, for “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Take A Moment: What do we learn from Genesis 1? Simply this: God did it. He started it all from nothing, he is shepherding what he started, and he will bring it to the completion he desires—he will finish it in fine fashion. That includes his work in your life, too. Take a moment to offer your gratitude for the Author and Finisher of your faith.

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God’s Unseen But Unstoppable Work On Your Behalf

There’s More Going On That What You See

SYNOPSIS: You may not see what God is up to, but He’s up to good. He’s fulfilling His purposes for His own glory and working out the details of your life for your good. Don’t let circumstances tell you otherwise. You may be tempted to flee in fear and God’s enemies may be fighting mad—at you. But at the same time, God is repurposing even the most unlikely sources, the Rahabs in your world, as instruments of faith.

Unseen But Not Unstoppable

Moments With God // Joshua 2:7-11

So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

God is always at work, even when we cannot see it. God is always fulfilling His glorious purposes, which includes perfecting everything that concerns you and me. That is what King David reminds us of in Psalm 138:8

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.

At times, God is working in visible, dramatic, undeniable ways. We will see an example of that very thing a few chapters later in Joshua when the walls of the city of Jericho miraculously fall. Those kinds of stories are strategically placed throughout scripture to build our confidence in God.

But between those faith stories which are long stretches of times — we might call it the “in-between times” — God’s work is not so visible. He is not inactive, mind you; His work is just invisible. You see, most of the time God is behind the scenes, working in unseen ways, as is the case here in Joshua 2. The Israelite spies that Joshua sent out to size up Jericho have made their way into the city, but word has gotten out and now the authorities are looking for them. Their lives are at risk. They don’t see that God is at work — yet. For all they know, they’re toast!

Then Rehab rescues the day. Yes, Rahab—an idol worshipping, street walking, “lady of the night.” At great risk to her own life, and that of her family, she hides the spies and tricks the authorities, making it possible for the two deep cover Israeli agents to make it out alive. What the two spies didn’t know at the time was that God was working on their behalf by working on a prostitute, whom He would use in such a significant act of faith that her bravery would land her in God’s Great Hall of Faith. (Heb 11:30-31)

As she spoke with the spies, this lady of questionable character was laying down some unquestionable theology: the work of God on Israel’s behalf was striking fear in the hearts of Israel’s enemies. His mighty acts of deliverance forty years prior in Egypt and over the decades of Israel’s wandering out in the desert had been sending shock waves into the unseen realm, and the principalities and powers that opposed God, and everything of God, were now quaking in their boots. God had been at work all along on Israel’s behalf, and they didn’t even know it.

What is interesting here is how the different actors respond. The enemies of God are fighting mad. The men of God are fleeing in fear. The woman of the night is responding in faith. And over it all, God is at work, fulfilling His purposes and perfecting everything that concerns His people—redeeming a prostitute, rescuing the spies, and redirecting the bounty hunters.

That is true for you too. You may not see what God is up to, but He is up to good. He is fulfilling His purposes for His own glory, and He is working out the details of your life for your good. Don’t let circumstances tell you otherwise. You may be tempted to flee in fear and God’s enemies may be fighting mad—at you. But at the same time, God will be repurposing even the most unlikely sources, the Rahabs in your world, as instruments of faith.

What you see isn’t all that is going on. Never forget that. And learn to trust God’s unseen but unstoppable work on your behalf.

Take A Moment: You may be facing forces today that are out to cause you harm. Take courage: God is also aligning a Rahab or two to work on your behalf. Take a moment to thank God for the good he is bringing about, even if you don’t see it yet.

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Love Is Never Glad About Injustice

Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere

SYNOPSIS: Let’s long for the day when God metes out retributive justice, but at a much greater ratio, let’s put love into action by conduiting his reparative justice to those who have unjustly suffered at the hands of bad people and evil systems. Perhaps the most enlightening yet challenging insight on the blend of this two-sided justice coin comes from Micah 6:8: “God has shown you what is good and what He requires of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Do you want to be a conduit of agape love in your world? Then embody justice in your actions, but make sure the scales are tipped in favor of mercy, and for sure, stay humble before the God who can rightly meet out His justice upon you but instead put it upon Jesus in your place.

New Article: Love is never glad about injustice

Making Love Work // 1 Corinthians 13:6

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

God’s love flowing through us—agape love—is deliriously happy when His justice rules the day. Of course, “justice” has become a political flashpoint these days—just mention social justice to your friends, and depending on their political orientation, especially in extremis, they’ll either air-kiss in the vicinity of both your cheeks or ghost you like a weird uncle.

Don’t forget, however, that God is a just God, and he expects us to love justice as well—both theologically AND practically.

What does justice look like? Theologian Herman Bavinck says God’s justice doesn’t just punish evildoers (boy we love that one!), but it repairs those who are victims of injustice (give that some thought!). Furthermore, Bavnick notes, “God’s [reparative] justice is far more prominent in Scripture than his retributive justice.”

Yes, let’s long for the day when God metes out retributive justice, but at a much greater ratio, let’s put love into action by conduiting his reparative justice to those who have unjustly suffered at the hands of bad people and evil systems.

Perhaps the most enlightening yet challenging insight on the blend of this two-sided justice coin comes from Micah 6:8: “God has shown you what is good and what He requires of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Do you want to be a conduit of agape love in your world? Then embody justice in your actions, but make sure the scales are tipped in favor of mercy, and for sure, stay humble before the God who can rightly meet out His justice upon you but instead put it upon Jesus in your place.

To then embody God’s justice in your actions, make sure the scales are tipped in favor of mercy.

Take A Moment: Benjamin Franklin noted, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” Out of a loving heart, consider who in your personal world has been the victim of an injustice, and while you may not be able to right their wrong, do what is within your power to offer them comfort and friendship. That act of love may be the most life-giving expression they will ever receive.

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Somebody Save Me From Me

Learn To Lean Into The Great Rescuer

Each of us has an area where we do what we shouldn’t and don’t do what we should, and like the Apostle Paul, we cry out in exasperation, “O wretch that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” That’s the question, isn’t it: who will rescue me since I don’t have much of a track record of self-rescue? The answer, Paul discovered, was the Great Rescuer: “Thanks be to God—it is through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Moments With God // Romans 7:15,19,24

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do… For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice… O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Huh? Did you catch that? Paul had a convoluted way of saying something pretty straightforward, which was simply this: “I do what I shouldn’t and I don’t do what I should—man, I’m in big trouble!”

Can you relate to Paul? I sure can. He was in a wrestling match with sin, and sin was smacking him around. It was frustrating because Paul knew what he shouldn’t be doing—yet he was drawn to sin like a moth to the flame.

Let me ask you this: Where are you most vulnerable to temptation? What represents your moth-attracting-flame? Maybe it’s a whole container of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey®—perhaps you are an overeater. Maybe you are a sucker for anything that says, “Red Tag Sale”—perhaps you are an over-spender. Maybe it’s an adult site on the Internet—perhaps you’ve got a compulsion for porn. Perhaps it’s alcohol or drugs or gambling or gossiping or griping.

Each of us has an area where we do what we shouldn’t and don’t do what we should. “What a sicko I am! Who will rescue me from the Chunky Monkey®?” That is the question: who will rescue me since I don’t have a track record of self-rescue?

Jesus will! That’s what Paul said in Romans 7:25, “Thanks be to God—it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord!” When Jesus died, he broke the power of sin, so it no longer has a hold on us. Through the power of the resurrection, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God has provided a way out from under every temptation:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Did you catch that? Your battle with temptation is winnable. The last part of the verse says, “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out.”

That’s good news. There’s always an escape route—always. When you’re tempted, God himself will provide a way out; He will make a way. God has provided a door! But here’s the deal: you must look for it and walk through it!

So, just what are those escape routes?

One way of escape is to immerse yourself in Scripture. Psalm 119:9 & 11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word…I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

That’s how Jesus battled temptation in the wilderness. Every time the tempter came at Jesus with something that would tear Him away from the Father, Jesus came back at Satan with the truth of scripture. There is no more potent weapon against temptation in your life than in reading systematically, meditating daily, and memorizing strategically God’s Word.

Another escape route from temptation is to become accountable to another believer, especially for your particular weakness. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” We need to bring our temptation into the light of accountability to other people—as difficult as that may be.

Proverbs 27:5-6 says, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” You would do yourself a huge favor by finding someone with whom you can be accountable for your weakness.

And yet another way out is to ask God to deliver you daily from the tempter. Jesus taught us to pray a daily prayer that acknowledges both our weakness and our need for divine power in this area: “Deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13) As simple as that sounds, the amazing thing is, God hears those prayers. And He provides a way out.

Who will rescue you from this body of death? As Paul says in Romans 7:25,

Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.

Take A Moment: Memorize Romans 7:24-25, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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Confidence In The Un-Random God

God’s Always Working His Plan

SYNOPSIS: There’s nothing random about God; He leaves nothing up to chance. That means for the believer, coincidence is simply God choosing to remain anonymous. As sovereign Lord of the universe, He is ruling over the details of history to bring about His flawless plan. What may seem like happenstance or fate, God has foreordained, caused, or permitted in His perfect will. Coincidence is simply a sovereign act for which He chooses to remain unseen, a miracle for which He prefers anonymity. Yes, He is in control of all things — and that includes your life. So today, and every day, put your confidence in the unrandom God!

Confidence in the un-random God

MOMENTS WITH GOD // Claim Matthew 2:5,15,18,23

For thus it is written in the prophets…

The birth and life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, was not the product of random events. It was the direct result of prophetic fulfillment. Thus the phrase linking Christ’s life to Old Testament prophecy is repeated four times in this second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

Those details of Jesus’ life had been laid out in the mind of God from eternity past and had been written down in the inspired utterances of the prophets of old hundreds of years before Christ was born. The fulfillment of scores of prophecies in minute detail of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus leaves us with a pretty amazing track record of prophetic accuracy…leaving no doubt that those prophecies detailing His second coming will most certainly be fulfilled, too.

There is nothing random about God; nothing is left up to chance. The God of the Bible is the sovereign Lord of the universe and is ruling over the details of history to bring about His flawless plan. What may seem like happenstance or coincidence, God has foreordained, caused, or permitted in His perfect will. Coincidence is simply a sovereign act of God for which He chooses to remain unseen, a miracle for which He prefers anonymity.

God is in control of all things, and that includes your life. David wrote in Psalm 139:16,

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

God’s Word invites you to live with amazing confidence today, knowing that He is in control of all things, including even the smallest details of your life. Therefore you can say, “all things will work together for my good and His glory.”

Take A Moment: Offer this prayer of confidence to God: Lord, I will live confidently and expectantly this day, and this year, knowing that my life is a part of Your greater plan. Take over my life completely and may every detail of my existence serve Your purposes perfectly and bring great glory to Your great name.”

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Are There Limits To Unselfish Love?

Love Is Not Selfish—Some Clarifying Thoughts

SYNOPSIS: If a relationship goes off the rails, when is it time to, in Christ’s famous words, shake the dust off your feet and move on or to keep offering patient, unselfish, sacrificial love? The key to understanding which is appropriate is the biblical context for either option. The shake-the-dust context was hostile unbelievers and the love-is-not-selfish context was relationships in the body of Christ. Big difference! And in each context, back then and right now, God expects us to exhibit a merciful heart. Mercy, which is simply loving-kindness flowing in our thoughts, words, and actions, triumphs over judgment as we respond to both insolent unbelievers — even when divine judgment is forthcoming — as well as believers who irritate us — even when divine discipline is forthcoming. In the case of the latter, keep in mind that irritation is not the same as a moral offense — and it is wisdom to discern the difference —  so keep the default set to unselfish love.

Make Love Work // 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)

Love does not demand its own way.

Last week, after my Love Is Not Selfish post where I appealed to believers to reject the cancel culture/ghosting a friend secular mentality that has invaded the American Church, a friend wrote to me with a great question: “What about washing the dust from your feet and declaring them — evil people — a lost cause, as Paul wrote in the New Testament?”

So let me clarify my thoughts. As always, context is king. In 1 Corinthians, Paul is generally speaking to issues and abuses among brothers and sisters in the Corinthian church, and there were a bunch!

Specifically, in chapter 13, Paul is talking about propriety in worship: how the believers are to carry out loving relationships within that church and how they are to offer their everyday lives as an offering to God (which, broadly, is what worship truly is, see Romans 12:1-2) as well as how they are to lift their praise in songs and through spiritual gifts during corporate gatherings (which is worship narrowly defined). In the case of worship, both broadly and narrowly defined, they are to treat each other with the deferential, edifying love Paul describes in chapter 13, which he defines in verses 4-8a,

Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.…love goes on forever.

From this context, we then can apply that deferential love to general Christian brother and sister relationships, as I am doing in these “Love Is” blog posts. When a relationship in that context goes off the rails because of indisputable moral grievances (and not just things that rub our preferences the wrong way), in Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus gave us a process for taking the conflict to church leaders for resolution.

According to Jesus, to resolve a conflict with a God-honoring outcome, the most foundational and critical principle that must be followed comes from His opening words: “If a brother sins against you.” The operative word is “if.” That is, the offended party must assess whether the offense was truly a sin, or if it was simply an act that irritated or violated their personal preferences.

In my experience facilitating conflict resolution, much of what people find offensive never rises to the level of a sin that needs to be confronted. In these cases, the offended party was, in reality, the culprit, and simply needed to grow thicker skin, develop greater tolerance, and/or learn to more effectively communicate their upset with the offender with grace and love.

Jesus also provided another essential to conflict resolution: once it has been determined that the offense was indeed the result of a sin, the issue is to first be addressed privately, just between the two parties. Too many people are quick to jump past this hoop and go right to group involvement. If you have not first addressed your hurt with the offender, do not take it to others and try to get them on your side. God will not honor that kind of action, and it will not produce what God desires most within His family: reconciliation in broken relationships.

However, Jesus does provide a clause by which others should be drawn into the dispute if the sinning party won’t listen to you. That is when others may need to be brought in to mediate and reconcile the offense. These participants should be godly and objective representatives of Christ’s church (not necessarily church officials, but simply mature, respectable Christians, although church leaders do, or should, carry the weight of final authority in disputes). And here is something very important that believers must recognize: Christ himself has placed His mantle of authority on this group to settle the dispute and if need be, administer discipline to an unrepentant brother or sister—discipline that will stand up even in the courts of heaven: What you bind on earth is bound in heaven; what you release on earth is released in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

A final essential piece to conflict resolution is that the desired outcome is restoration. Jesus said, “If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.” Unfortunately, some people believe that getting what they want is the goal. It is not. Resolving the dispute, forgiving the offense, restoring the relationship, and preserving the harmony of the church is the outcome most honoring to God.

You can read more on Jesus’ approach to conflict resolution in a blog I wrote.

Now about “Shake the dust off your feet.” This is an altogether different context, which has to do with proclaiming the gospel and calling for repentance to a resistant, if not hostile, group of unbelieving people. Only when you have exhausted your gospel appeal can you then proclaim God’s judgment and walk away. Yet even then we must remember how Jesus modeled the proclamation of impending judgment to an unbelieving city: He wept over Jerusalem when she had rejected him? “O Jerusalem, how I would gather you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings … but now your city will be left desolate.” (Matt 23:37) There was no glee as Jesus announced judgment; rather, love is still pouring forth from His broken heart.

So, the context of both “love is not selfish” and “shake the dust off your feet” is the key to balancing when to nurture a loving relationship with someone who has offended you and when to proclaim loving judgment upon a hostile unbeliever. Mercy, which is nothing more than loving-kindness flowing from our hearts, triumphs over judgment as we respond to both wayward believers— even though loving discipline is on the way, as well as wicked unbelievers — even though God’s righteous judgment is on the way.

Take A Moment: Check out my post Merciful Judgment for a deeper look at this idea of merciful judgment.