Romans 8:28, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Many of us have probably read this passage dozens of times, and it’s rather comforting. But as comforting as it is, it may also leave us confused and inquisitive, especially…
This entire series is my 30-paged bachelor thesis I submitted to the theology department at Concordia University-Ann Arbor—a higher Lutheran education university—as part of the requirement to graduate from the Pre-Seminary programme. It has been reformatted to fit this blog. So far, we have seen Adamic fear as fearing God’s wrath as a result of…
Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” I love food. Food is a motif throughout Scripture both for physical providence and for joy. God provided manna for the Israelites so they might live (Exodus 16) and the Scriptures speak on a joyful feast…
Psalm 25:14, The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. 1 Kings 19:1-8, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to…
Job 14:4, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing? There is not one.” Sometimes we make big messes that are hard to clean up—wine on our shirt or carpet, grease on our jeans after working on our car. What’s even worse is that sometimes our best efforts to clean up the mess…
This entry has been modified to fit the audience of this blog from an essay written for the upper religion course, Gospel of Luke, at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In ancient Roman society, it was common practise to exalt the mighty and bring down the humble to even lower positions. This worldview has…
Mark 10:17-22, And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder,…
