Spring 2024

Pied Beauty

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him.

Consider Jesus!

Genesis 22:7 – “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
John 1:29 – Ecce Agnus: Behold the Lamb!

Isaiah 50:2 – “Why was there no man when I came?”
John 19:5 – Ecce Homo: Behold the Man!

Hosea 13:10 – “Where now is your king that he may save you?”
John 19:14 – Ecce Rex Vester: Behold your King!

Reckoned Righteous

Genesis 15:5-6 – Abraham believed God and was reckoned righteous.
Psalm 106:28-31- Phinehas stood up for God and was reckoned righteous.

James 2:26
“…as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Philippians 3:8-10
“…but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith [derives from] the power of His resurrection…”

A New World is Coming

The voice of Abel speaks – A sacrifice is required.
The witness of Enoch testifies – Judgment is certain.
The message of Noah preaches – A new world is coming.

“But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” – 2 Peter 3:13

Imago Dei

1 Thessalonians 2:7 – A tender mother.
1 Thessalonians 2:11 – An encouraging father.

Genesis 1:27
“God created man in His own image…male and female…”

2 Corinthians 4:4
“…Christ…is the image of God.”
Hebrews 1:3
“…and the exact representation of His nature…”

All Souls Matter

Ezekiel 18:4
“Behold, all souls are Mine…the soul who sins will die.”

Romans 3:23
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

Romans 3:24
“…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…”

Prince and Savior

Exodus 4:1-9
The serpent grasped = The devil defeated.
The leprosy cleansed = Sinful flesh restored.
The water turned to blood = The world judged.

Acts 7:35
Moses…God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer…”

Acts 5:30-31
Jesus…God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior…”

Children of God

Acts 17:28-29 – ALL are God’s created children by natural birth.
Romans 8:14-17 – SOME are legally adopted heirs by faith in Christ.
Hebrews 1:1-4 – ONE is the only begotten heir: Jesus Christ by eternal right.

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Servant, Friend, Son

Numbers 12:7 – Moses the faithful servant.
Isaiah 41:8 – Abraham the faithful friend.
Matthew 3:17 – Jesus Christ the faithful Son.

Hebrews 3:6 – “…but Christ was faithful as a Son over [God’s] house…”

John 13:16 – “slaves” = obedience
John 15:14-15 – “friends” = fellowship
John 20:17 – “brethren” = inheritance

Hebrews 2:11 – “…[Jesus] is not ashamed to call them brethren.”
Romans 8:17 – “…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…”

All Things

Genesis 25:5 – “Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac…”
Matthew 11:27 – Jesus: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father…”

John 3:35 – “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.”

Three in One

Isaiah 33:22 –
The Lord is our judge.
The Lord is our lawgiver.
The Lord is our king.

Jesus:
John 5:30 – “As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just…”
John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give to you…”
John 18:37 – “You say correctly that I am a king…”

If A=B and B=C, then A=C; ergo Jesus is the Lord.

The Apple Tree of God

Song of Solomon 2:3 – “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men…”

Proverbs 25:11 – “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.”

Luke 4:22 – “And all were speaking well of [Jesus], and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips…”

John 6:63 – Jesus: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Three Mountains

John 4:21 – We worship neither in this earthly mountain [Mt. Gerizim], nor that one [Mt. Sinai].

Hebrews 12:18-24 – Rather, we have come to a heavenly mountain, that growing crest of God [Mt. Zion].

Daniel 2:31-44 – The stone cut without hands [Jesus] will become a great mountain filling the whole earth.

Revelation 21:10 – “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

Psalm 90:1-2 – “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

Three Thrones

Isaiah 6:1-3 – A holy throne.

Hebrews 4:16 – A gracious throne.

Matthew 25:31-33 – A glorious throne.

Jesus:
Revelation 3:21 – “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Co-Workers with God

Genesis 2:5 – “…no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.”

1 Corinthians 3:8-9 – “Now he who plants and he who waters are one…we are God’s fellow workers…”

“We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God….” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I Am the Way”

Jeremiah 6:16 – “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls…”

Jesus:
John 14:6 – “…I am the way, and the truth, and the life…”
Matthew 11:28-29 – “Come to Me…and you will find rest for your souls…”
Hebrews 10:19-20 – “…enter the holy place…by a new and living way…”

Thou My Portion, Lord

Joshua 13:14 – “the offerings by fire to the Lord…are their inheritance…”
Joshua 13:33 – “…the Lord, the God of Israel is their inheritance…”
Joshua 18:7 – “…the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance…”

Revelation 1:6 – “and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

“Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be, I ask no more, complete in Thee.” – Aaron R. Wolfe

Angels Long to Look

Exodus 25:20 – “…the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.”
2 Chronicles 3:13 – “…these cherubim…stood on their feet facing the main room.”

1 Peter 1:11-12 – “…the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow…things into which angels long to look.”

Distinguished Among His Brothers

Deuteronomy 17:15 – A king from among your countrymen…
Deuteronomy 18:2 – A priest from among their countrymen…
Deuteronomy 18:15 – A prophet from among you, from your countrymen…

Deuteronomy 33:16 – “Let [favor] come…to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.”

Hebrews 2:14 – “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, [Jesus] Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…”

Colossians 1:18 – “[Christ] is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”