If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 I grew up in a faith tradition that taught you could never be sure of your salvation. We did our best to follow the rules. When we messed up, we did what we could to make things right, and we hoped for the best. We believed no one got a free pass to heaven. Even if you lived a really good life, you’d have things you needed to set right when you die. So you’d go to a heavenly penitentiary for a…

For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:9-11 In Praying the Names of God in 52 Weeks, Ann Spangler notes that Christianity’s earliest confession is profound in its simplicity. Just three powerful words: Jesus is Lord. In Greek, it’s only two. Iesous Kyrios. (The present tense “is” is understood making Jesus Lord a complete thought.) You can’t get simpler than that!…

What’s in a name? I brought home a kitten last week, and the kids named him Leon Trotsky. “Why name him after a Communist who was murdered by a Russian dictator?” you ask. Well, we have a Babka, so it fits with the Russian theme. And the way the little guy trots is so cute. Bonus – it lends itself to all sorts of nicknames. How about Tater Trot? I think I’ll be calling him Leo – lion in Latin. What are lions like? Fierce, to be sure. Fearless. Protective of their own. Ruthless when the situation calls for it. A frightening enemy, but affectionate if you’re in fellowship with…

But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory. 1 Corinthians 2:7 Paul often speaks of mysteries–secrets or wisdom hidden until Christ came but are now revealed to us. The Greek word mysterion means a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding. This week’s name, The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, is a great illustration of the New Testament revealing a mystery hidden in the Old Testament. This name is introduced in the first book of the Bible and fulfilled in the last book of the Bible. In Genesis 49, Jacob (whose name was changed to…

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. – Revelation 22:16   Do you like to stargaze? I do. Or planet gaze, in this case. Venus is our nearest neighbor, the second from the sun. As such, it will always be in the direction of the sun. It shines brightly due to its proximity to Earth and the reflectivity of its dense atmosphere. That’s why, when Venus is visible, it’s right after sunset or right before dawn -the ancients called it the Morning Star. It meant hope, the herald…