The Bible is very realistic about its heroes and villains. The human characters are very human – people we can usually identify with. King Jehoshaphat is one of those.
Palmer St. Podcast: An Ordinary Hero
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Tag Archives: Bible
Palmer St. Podcast: Rediscovering the Book
Josiah was among the greatest kings that ever reigned in Jerusalem. In 1 Kings 22, we will see what motivated King Josiah, namely the accidental discovery of an unusually important book.
Eternal Life: What’s That?
I love it when the Bible defines its terms. It helps clear the air or lift the fog and increase our biblical literacy. So much of the Bible’s vocabulary can seem like jargon. It’s like trying to enter a conversation about art, cars, computers, music or any sport when you’re sort of a newbie. The Scriptures throw things at us that we have either never heard of before, or can easily misunderstand for lack of a biblical definition.
The phrase eternal life is one such expression. Everlasting life is another way to say it. At first glance it seems obvious; it must be life that lasts forever – plain and simple. Now that’s correct as far as it goes, but it’s incomplete. There’s more to it than that and Jesus adds to our understanding in one of His prayers. In the Gospel of John He is speaking to His Father and, in passing, says the following:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. – John 17:3 (NKJV)
So this “life” is more than existence that goes on and on without stopping. It is life that is bound up in the relationship that we have with the Father and the Son – so much so that Jesus matter-of-factly says that it is that relationship. That is one compelling reason to deepen our connection with God. The very connection itself is eternal life. And that is a relationship that we will have all eternity to explore.
Bible Trivia: This is the only recorded spot in the Bible where our Lord refers to Himself as “Jesus Christ”.
Not Guilty
1 John 4:9-10 (NKJV) 9In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
All of us know what it’s like to feel guilt, some of it unwarranted, some of it genuine. As to the false guilt, it’s, well, false. We never really had to worry about that at all. In the case of false guilt, that sense of feeling guilty was always a lie.
The beautiful thing that God has done for us, by the offering of Christ for our sins, is that He has removed our real guilt. When we, in our hearts, reject our sin, turn to Him and ask for His forgiveness, He cleanses us. He declares us not guilty in His eyes.
Christ is the offering that removes our guilt. He is the propitiation for our sins – the offering that reconciles us to God. If God views us as not guilty, then we truly are not guilty; no higher standard is needed. There is no higher court that we will ever be tried in. So Christ takes care of our all-too-real guilt. And that is the kind of Savior we truly need.
Central Reflections 