The pro basketball championship series has ended and with it, another season. Two main lessons/takeaways for me from this season-ending, summer-summoning series (one of the many great benefits of Bible memory especially on a regular, systematic basis is that literally EVERYTHING in life reminds one of something in the Bible, EVERY event big or small or in between brings back a Bible verse or lesson or principle or sermon previously ingested).
The first takeaway is that the Celtics had the #1 defense in the entire league for the season… and the Warriors #2.
It wouldn’t be prudent, um, wouldn’t be worth the time (Ephesians 5:16) to research the actual statistics but let’s just say it’s very, very common, in ANY sport, for the team with the #1 defense during the season to end up in the championship series. And they’re often joined by the team with the #2 defense.
And that reminds me of something I alluded to in a recent post, that the Christian life on OUR end is ALL ABOUT de-fense, de-fense, de-fense!
- “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:9)
Note that it doesn’t say “Attack him (the devil, Satan, per verse 8)” or “Hunt him” or “Destroy him”. But rather, to just “RESIST him.” Clearly DE-FENSE. Why? Why are we to relegate ourselves to DEFENSE in the Christian life? Because the Lord Jesus has already taken care of the offense, He has already secured VICTORY!
- “… that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14b-15)
- “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Colossians 2:15)
- “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
And just as we have ALREADY been adopted by God as sons and daughters and therefore siblings of our Lord Jesus Christ…
- “… you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [our sibling, our brother as clearly stated in Hebrews 2:11]…” (Romans 8:15b-17a)
… but haven’t yet experienced the final and complete consummation of such…
- “… even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23b)
… so also Christ has ALREADY secured the victory per the verses above but the final and complete consummation of that will be delivered by God.
- “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20a)
To borrow another sports illustration, we’re currently like an Olympian has won the race but the medal ceremony hasn’t yet taken place. The victory is a DONE DEAL, has ALREADY OCCURRED, but the final consummation of that will take place shortly (relatively speaking, in terms of eternity, as clearly explained in 2 Peter 3:8). That’s why we needn’t “go on the offensive” at all, ever, in the Christian life but rather are commanded to simply “resist” the devil and evil and sin and temptation. And further proving this to be true is what I mentioned in a recent post, that the “sword” of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17 could rightly be interpreted as “knife” or “dirk” or “dagger”, a weapon not intended for offense but defense due to its short length.
Through the years I’ve heard of many people who have “gone on the offense” against the devil and that deeper dive into the demonic realm destroyed them, destroyed their minds and lives. Because our role as Christians is NOT to “go on offense” but rather to leave THAT to our “Field Commander”, the Lord Jesus Christ, and instead to be humble, peaceful, loving, and kind when it comes to others and to just “resist” and “stand firm” when it comes to the devil and his minions and schemes.
The second takeaway from the just-ended pro basketball championship series is that, as stated a number of times in past posts but always well-worth repeating, it’s not how one STARTS the really counts but rather how one FINISHES.
That’s true of individuals and also of teams.
In this case, in this series, the Celtics had a great START, winning Game 1 on the Warriors’ home court (thus taking away from them home-court advantage in the series) and then winning Game 3 at home to go up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. But they didn’t have a great FINISH, losing the next three games straight and thus the series.
And that reminded me of a fellow in the Bible named Demas.
He too had a GREAT, fantastic, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious START, making it all the way to the innermost circle of the Apostle Paul himself, and Mark and Luke…
- “as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.” (Philemon 24)
- “Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.” (Colossians 4:14)
… but a horrific FINISH.
- “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me [i.e., and the faith]” (2 Timothy 4:10a)
Like Daniel in the Old Testament, let’s trust God and “purpose in our hearts” not to end up, not to follow the path and model and example of Demas but rather that of Paul, who had a horrific START…
- “… I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and TRIED TO DESTROY IT” (Galatians 1:13b, nuff said)
… but, humanly-speaking, no doubt the GREATEST-EVER FINISH outside of our Lord Himself.
Because what truly counts is not how you or I started but how we finish.
And that is one of my main daily motivations in life. One day may it be said of you and me that we too “fought the good fight… finished the course… kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7), knowing that “in the future there is laid up for [us] the crown of righteousness” (verse 8).
Medal ceremony!!!
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Quick Thought: Like Shoes or Shade
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryRecently I went for another one of my multi-hour, marathon walks.
I put on some shoes, which protect my feet from stray nails which appear on the roads/paths/sidewalks from time to time.
It was very hot that day, even though I started a few hours earlier than usual but the heat/humidity was already lingering in the air, inescapable… UNTIL I walked in the shade of a long row of fruit trees for fifteen minutes or so. That shade instantly made me feel a good ten degrees cooler, whew! What welcome relief!
And this is EXACTLY how Bible memory functions in our lives! Like shoes protect a pedestrian’s feet from nails and glass and stray stones, and like shade protects one from the harsh heat and humidity borne of a bright summer sun, so also Bible memory protects a person’s soul and spirit and mind and even body (Proverbs 4:22 – God’s words, not mine) from all sorts of harmful things in this world: sin, despair, lethargy and every other similar thing.
We simply need to ingest, to internalize His words and Word, the Bible, and we’ll be thankful and happy on an ongoing basis. Even in the midst of a “crooked and perverse generation” (Philippians 2:15), even while wandering through such a weird, whacky world system.
Few of us would go for a multi-mile walk in the city without wearing shoes to protect our feet. May we be at least that wise when it comes to our soul and spirit. May we protect such with the “shoes” of His Holy Word, the Bible!
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Theme Song!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThe Lord has blessed me with some personal strengths but I can assure you that a good singing voice is NOT one of them. No how, no way, no day. This is probably why whenever a singer has told me that they admire my love for and focus on Bible memory, I’ve usually responded by sharing how much I admire THEM for having such a good singing voice… it’s actually a fantastic illustration of how the Lord designed His body, the Church, to function: we ALL have at least one great strength/gift, and in that way we “complete” one another, and thus we “complete” the body of Christ on earth.
I recall one time in particular when I was honored to spend an evening (dessert) with a really nice woman who oh by the way just happened to be the reigning Miss America at the time (I was 19 and smittennnn) and she had a terrific singing voice (it was what she went with for the “talent” portion of that year’s pageant along with playing the piano) and someone had told her that I loved memorizing Bible verses and she said, “I’m so jealous! I would LOVE to be able to memorize a lot of Scripture, I can’t tell you how much I admire that!” and I immediately replied, “You’re jealous? I’M jealous of your amazing musical talent!”
The Lord could have blessed me with that had He so desired, but it’s clear that He didn’t… but one of the (countless) AMAZING things I’ve seen firsthand about the Bible in general and Bible memory in specific is that it not only “turbo-charges” the human mind, the human brain, but it can also enable and empower a person – even one so hopelessly non-musically-inclined as I – to write a song, so without further ado I’ll end by just saying that I’m both humbled and thrilled about how it turned out and to be able to share it for the very first time with you, my audience and friends and fellow workers and servants of our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ – please feel free to SHARE IT (via YouTube, or this entire post via the Social Media buttons below) with your friends, family, fellow congregation members, and social media followers… it just might make their day! And it’ll “plant some seeds” for Bible memory in any case. (And you just might hear them humming it the next time you see them. =)
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Life Lessons from the Basketball Championship Series
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThe pro basketball championship series has ended and with it, another season. Two main lessons/takeaways for me from this season-ending, summer-summoning series (one of the many great benefits of Bible memory especially on a regular, systematic basis is that literally EVERYTHING in life reminds one of something in the Bible, EVERY event big or small or in between brings back a Bible verse or lesson or principle or sermon previously ingested).
The first takeaway is that the Celtics had the #1 defense in the entire league for the season… and the Warriors #2.
It wouldn’t be prudent, um, wouldn’t be worth the time (Ephesians 5:16) to research the actual statistics but let’s just say it’s very, very common, in ANY sport, for the team with the #1 defense during the season to end up in the championship series. And they’re often joined by the team with the #2 defense.
And that reminds me of something I alluded to in a recent post, that the Christian life on OUR end is ALL ABOUT de-fense, de-fense, de-fense!
Note that it doesn’t say “Attack him (the devil, Satan, per verse 8)” or “Hunt him” or “Destroy him”. But rather, to just “RESIST him.” Clearly DE-FENSE. Why? Why are we to relegate ourselves to DEFENSE in the Christian life? Because the Lord Jesus has already taken care of the offense, He has already secured VICTORY!
And just as we have ALREADY been adopted by God as sons and daughters and therefore siblings of our Lord Jesus Christ…
… but haven’t yet experienced the final and complete consummation of such…
… so also Christ has ALREADY secured the victory per the verses above but the final and complete consummation of that will be delivered by God.
To borrow another sports illustration, we’re currently like an Olympian has won the race but the medal ceremony hasn’t yet taken place. The victory is a DONE DEAL, has ALREADY OCCURRED, but the final consummation of that will take place shortly (relatively speaking, in terms of eternity, as clearly explained in 2 Peter 3:8). That’s why we needn’t “go on the offensive” at all, ever, in the Christian life but rather are commanded to simply “resist” the devil and evil and sin and temptation. And further proving this to be true is what I mentioned in a recent post, that the “sword” of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17 could rightly be interpreted as “knife” or “dirk” or “dagger”, a weapon not intended for offense but defense due to its short length.
Through the years I’ve heard of many people who have “gone on the offense” against the devil and that deeper dive into the demonic realm destroyed them, destroyed their minds and lives. Because our role as Christians is NOT to “go on offense” but rather to leave THAT to our “Field Commander”, the Lord Jesus Christ, and instead to be humble, peaceful, loving, and kind when it comes to others and to just “resist” and “stand firm” when it comes to the devil and his minions and schemes.
The second takeaway from the just-ended pro basketball championship series is that, as stated a number of times in past posts but always well-worth repeating, it’s not how one STARTS the really counts but rather how one FINISHES.
That’s true of individuals and also of teams.
In this case, in this series, the Celtics had a great START, winning Game 1 on the Warriors’ home court (thus taking away from them home-court advantage in the series) and then winning Game 3 at home to go up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. But they didn’t have a great FINISH, losing the next three games straight and thus the series.
And that reminded me of a fellow in the Bible named Demas.
He too had a GREAT, fantastic, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious START, making it all the way to the innermost circle of the Apostle Paul himself, and Mark and Luke…
… but a horrific FINISH.
Like Daniel in the Old Testament, let’s trust God and “purpose in our hearts” not to end up, not to follow the path and model and example of Demas but rather that of Paul, who had a horrific START…
… but, humanly-speaking, no doubt the GREATEST-EVER FINISH outside of our Lord Himself.
Because what truly counts is not how you or I started but how we finish.
And that is one of my main daily motivations in life. One day may it be said of you and me that we too “fought the good fight… finished the course… kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7), knowing that “in the future there is laid up for [us] the crown of righteousness” (verse 8).
Medal ceremony!!!
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Picking Out
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryPackets of taco sauce are a terrible thing to waste.
Before I sold my only vehicle in order to finish building this website, I used to visit the Taco Bell drive-thru every week or two and they’d usually give me a few packets of sauce too many so I just got into the habit of sticking them in a big plastic shopping bag in one of my kitchen cupboards. And after I sold my car I haven’t been to Taco Bell even a single time so that bag drifted its way out of my mind for that entire time… until last week when I had occasion to delve into that cupboard for something else and, wa-la, there was the big bag of taco sauce packets right beside it… bingo! Because I had since bought a lot of frozen burritos and chimichangas and the time had come to start working my way through those but I prefer not to eat those plain, definitely need some sauce so the timing was perfect and the bonus was warmly welcomed.
But I immediately noticed an issue: over the several years I had accumulated those taco sauce packets, some had gone bad at least on the outside of the packet, at least in terms of appearance but that was plenty sufficient for me to toss those questionable ones into the trash and start putting the good ones to good use. 🙂
So I took that big bag from the cupboard and dumped all of those packets onto the (newly-swept) kitchen floor and starting “picking out” the good packets and pushing the bad ones out of the way to form their own pile which I proceeded to toss in the trash can when I was done with this timely task… and while I was doing this it immediately directed my mind to the passage in the Bible which says that this is exactly what the Lord is going to do when He returns: He’ll “pick out” the “wheat” and later toss the “chaff” into the trash bin of hell.
I can’t think of anything which is at once so sad and so blissful a thought! Sad for all those who will have rejected the gospel, the “love of the truth”, God’s plan of salvation…
… but beyond blissful for all those who WILL have put their faith in Christ and Christ alone for the payment of their sins, paving the path for God’s full forgiveness so we can have a relationship no longer of enmity and strife but of peace and love with Him now and spend all eternity in heaven when this mortal, finite, temporal life is over, be that through physical death or the Rapture.
It’s a simple yet excellent illustration of the most important matter in this life: where one will spend the life to come, eternity.
So next time you find yourself “picking out” a certain flavor of Starbursts or color of M&M’s or your preferred type of snacking nut (cashews and almonds for me, though I like them all) think about the “picking out” of believers from unbelievers, sheep from wolves, wheat from chaff which the Lord will do some day (and sooner rather than later methinks, me feels it in me bones… the sky is getting pretty red and “threatening”, my friends, the sky is getting pret-ty red and “threatening” – Matthew 16:3).
And if you see someone else doing this with candy or nuts or anything else, that might be a great “doorway” for the gospel, just to mention to them that after reading this post, watching them reminds you of that coming day and perhaps simply and lovingly ask them if they KNOW which group THEY’LL be in at that time… who knows where the Holy Spirit might take that notion inside of that person’s mind and heart and soul. May each of us do our part (the Lord through us) to share the gospel with as many people as possible so the following lyrics can be said of as few people as possible.
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:
1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!
2. Encourage as many people as you can to support this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/support (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches to the green box and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
3. Add your name to my Prayer List!
4. Encourage as many of our fellow Christians as you can to pray for this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/pray (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
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SERIES: These are a few of my favorite… 5-word Phrases
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThis is the first post of a new series called “These are a few of my favorite…”
While life and society and culture couldn’t possibly be deemed to have been perfect when that phrase was musically made famous, it was clearly a LOT CLOSER to perfect than today in many, many a way (stronger morals among the masses, God was welcomed into every facet of life and the Ten Commandments boldly and beneficially hung in every school, sin was widely and roundly frowned upon, etc.) – just watch some of the TV shows from then and now and you’ll see exactly what I mean, starkly.
In this inaugural post of this new series, I’m sharing “a few of my favorite” 5-word phrases from the Bible.
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SERIES: Big BUTs: Temptation
/in Uncategorized /by Bible Memory[In that first verse we have a small but followed by a BIG BUT! It’s good that the temptations we all face aren’t unique to us but rather are experienced by all of us (per this third verse) but I’m even more thankful for the second ”but” in that verse, i.e., not just that the temptations which confront us are common to all but even more that temptation itself can be conquered, that God ALWAYS provides the (not “a”) way of escape for us!]
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SERIES: Big BUTs: Salvation
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThis is the first post of a new series. I remember the very first time I attended a certain megachurch, one of the most famous in the nation and indeed world. And I LOVED LOVED LOVED E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G about it. About that service. About that church. The wonderful, accordant singing by the congregation, and the opera-caliber, Broadway-worthy music rendered by the orchestra and choir and especially when the offering was being taken. I loved the prayer from the pulpit. And the second prayer. And the third. And the fourth. I had never and have never seen so much prayer in a single service! Wonderful. I loved the friendly, family-like fellowship before and after. But what I loved most of all was the preaching. Pure Bible. 100% Word. Solely Scripture. While I had been blessed by Bible teaching literally my entire life (literally… my father felt called to be a pastor and quit his Fortune 500 management position to attend seminary soon after I was born, a total toddler) I had never heard preaching like THAT! Wow. Double-wow. The pastor of that megachurch preached from Philippians 2 and the ENTIRE 90-minute (but seemed more like nine) message didn’t deal with a single verse, no no no, it dealt with a single WORD in a single verse. It was something else and while the pre-sermon singing and praise and worship were wonderful indeed, it was after hearing that sermon on ONE WORD that I KNEW I had found and was going to LOVE my new church for the year or two I would be living in that area.
So I dedicate this particular series of posts to that profound, pure-hearted, prince of a pastor. Because if, as noted in a recent post, my old friend Haddon Robinson was “the prince of preachers” then my new friend at the time was definitely “the prince of pastors”, bar none. Here’s to you, old friend… you’re still going strong even after all these years and I pray we’ll meet again. In person as in your kind, thoughtful note not too long ago.
Okay, on to the inaugural post of this new series, which I’m (cheekily, er, tongue-in-cheek) calling “Big BUTs” because I’ll be sharing verses where that TINY word makes a WORLD of difference, as you’re about to see with these first three… there will be many more I’m sure which is why I’m making it a series.
Now THAT’S what I call some big BUTs!
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ALL that He deserves?
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThis thought just hit me: while our worship in this life can be acceptable and indeed pleasing in God’s sight…
… it’s clear to me that it’s not fully SUFFICIENT in terms of what He DESERVES.
There’s zero contradiction in those two realities since He knows and has known in advance, before the beginning of creation, that even just our humanity, our finite, flesh-enveloped status, would make if impossible to give Him ALL of the worship and praise and thanks to which He is truly and fully due.
I think the principle is the same as the fact that He NEVER condones yet ALWAYS forgives our sins when we confess and repent. Zero contradiction.
I think it’s also the same principle as the equal and concurrent realities of His perfect will and His permissive will.
His perfect will was that ancient Israel wouldn’t prefer and choose to have a human king (that passage of Scripture should definitely appear in the dictionary under “bonehead choice/decision” or “d’oh!”) but His permissive will allowed that and He continued to intimately walk and work with them (e.g., David, Solomon, and others).
Likewise, His perfect will is that NONE of us EVER sins. Yet His permissive will forgives those very sins when we confess and repent and indeed, it was for that VERY PURPOSE that Christ lived and died.
Therefore, it fully follows that our worship and thanks and praise can be ENOUGH to please Him and yet NOT all that He deserves.
But here’s the main part of the thought that hit me just a few minutes ago, before beginning this post: what about our worship when we’re in HEAVEN, will THAT be everything He deserves?
Interesting question. I’m not even trying to answer this, not pursuing a takeaway because what I do know for sure is that we can’t know things like this while on earth, on this side of the eternal divide, given our finite faith and minds…
… but it’s great food for thought.
How great Thou art, Lord God, how great Thou art indeed. Thank You for patiently putting up with our inherent inability to give You ALL of the worship and praise and thanks and affection and attention and focus that You deserve. Indeed, thank You for giving us even the ability to give you a sufficient level of those things so as to garner and produce Your pleasure like we just read in Hebrews 13:15-16.
May we be diligent and determined to AT LEAST give Him that. Each and every day.
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Quick Thought: Dirty Feet
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI’m certainly not a “neat freak” but do enjoy cleanliness but only spend as little time cleaning as needed (Ephesians 5:16).
One such occurrence was the other day, and I noticed that while on one of my marathon, hours-long jog-n-walks (okay, mostly walk) that morning, despite my careful efforts I must’ve stepped in some of the dried tar the road construction workers were laying. That’s right, after vacuuming every inch of my home barefooted, I looked down and noticed that the bottom of both feet were black from stepping in that roadside soot.
It reminded me of a Bible verse (everything does 🙂 ). You see, just as I had no need whatsoever to take another shower just because my feet got dirty, so also we Christians don’t need to be saved over and over but rather only need to confess and repent of our subsequent sins since spiritually our entire body doesn’t become dirty post-salvation, only our feet from time to time.
It’s downright amazing, absolutely stunning that things written THOUSANDS of YEARS ago are so relevant and spot-on and wise and practical TODAY!
What a tremendous TREASURE the Bible truly is.
May we never, ever, ever take it for granted.
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:
1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!
2. Encourage as many people as you can to support this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/support (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches to the green box and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
3. Add your name to my Prayer List!
4. Encourage as many of our fellow Christians as you can to pray for this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/pray (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
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Running a Red Light
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryAs noted in a prior post, three years ago I sold my only car mainly so I could finish building this website but buttressed by the fact that I was sure I wouldn’t mind the extra exercise that “biking it” would bring, that this would be wonderful and a welcome change. (Warning: going carless isn’t for everyone.)
Ergo, I didn’t run a red light yesterday but while out walking I saw a car that did, with a second car a nanosecond ahead of it and that made me remember the time in high school that I did run a red light since it was clear that the car two inches behind me in the next lane over wasn’t going to stop either. So as the yellow light was just turning red, whoosh, there our two cars went right through.
I remember my exact thought and feeling at that very instant: how comforting it was that someone else was going through that just-turned-red light, too.
That returned to me like a bolt of lightning yesterday, but this time a second sensation hit me right after that memory: that’s very similar to how it is spiritually!
I didn’t have to suffer in sin all alone because Jesus was right beside me, having gone through the exact same situations and temptations and sufferings which I and every other person will ever experience (and then some, in His case).
What a comfort!
But it’s not just that He experienced those same things we do (EVERYTHING BUT the sinning) …
… but that He went so much further and B-E-C-A-M-E sin on our behalf, so that we could stop being dead and rather be born / become alive spiritually…
… and become the righteousness of God in Him.
What a Savior. What a friend.
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