my burg

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."  (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV) In the third chapter of his second letter to the Corinthian church the Apostle Paul gives at least eight differences between God's old covenant with Israel and his new covenant with all believers. 1)  The Law in the OT was written on stone tablets; in the NT it is written upon the heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27).  2)  The old covenant would result in death -- due to human inability to keep it -- whereas the new covenant gives life.  3)  The new covenant has a greater glory than the old (see also Hebrews 1). 4)  The old covenant was temporary and would give way to the new (see again Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36).  The glory of Moses would fade, but the glory of the Lord Jesus -- and the glory he gives us -- is eternal.  5)  The resu

And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."   (Matthew 28:9-10 ESV) The  resurrection of our Lord Jesus is ... 1)   Proof of Jesus’ messiahship, the coronation of the Servant of the Lord to be Christ and Lord, the Prince of life and Judge (Acts 2:36; 3:13-15; 5:31; 10:42). 2)   A seal of his eternal divine sonship (Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:3). 3)   A divine endorsement of his mediatorial work, a declaration of the power and value of his death, the “Amen!” of the Father upon the “It is finished!” of the Son (Acts 2:23-24; 4:11: 5:31; Rom. 6:4, 10).   4)   The inauguration of the exaltation he accomplished by his suffering (Luke 24:26; Acts 2:33; Rom 6:4; Phil. 2:9). 5)   The guarantee of our forgiveness and justification (Acts 5:31; Rom 4:25).    6)   The fountain of numerous sp

Increasingly, I am thankful for my parents' service with the U.S. armed forces.  My father served in the US Air Force for 25 years, first as a pilot and then as an attorney and judge with JAG (Judge Advocate General) and retired a full Colonel.  He also helped to begin the falconry program at the USAF Academy in Colorado, where we were stationed 1958-60.   My mother served with the WASPs (Women's Air Service Pilots) for a year and then a few years as a civilian pilot/contractor to the Air Force (then called Army Air Corps).  I'm very, very thankful for all who have served or are serving in the military!

"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  (Romans 10:9 ESV) "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."  (Hebrews 13:15 ESV)  Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck wrote in a lyrical prose that always tempts me to arrange it poetically.  So, here's my  framing of his words about the believer's confession of Christ...  As surely as we are sincere believers,      we confess this faith throughout our whole life,  for faith cannot do otherwise:       it must confess.   It does not ask whether good works must be done;       but before the question can even arise,       it has already done them.   Confession with mouth and heart,       word and deed,       in conduct and behavior       is inseparable from the faith of the heart.   It is the fruit

"This is what it means to be a Christian -- to embrace the whole Christ: the suffering Christ, the risen Christ, the reigning Christ, the coming Christ."   (John Piper)

"The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is not a problem of physics but of ethics. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man."   ( Albert Einstein)

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal  life."  (John 3:14-15 ESV)  "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on  me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over  a firstborn."  (Zechariah 12:10 ESV) Who would not be drawn to the Gate of Heaven, were it open to receive him? Yet nothing compels him, but that which forceth the Angels,  Commodity and Desire.  For these are things which the Angels desire to look into.  And of men it is written, "They shall look on Him whom they  have pierced."  Verily the Israelites did not more clearly see the brazen serpent upon the pole in the wilderness, than we may our Saviour upon  the Cross.  The serpent was seen with their eyes, the