Tag Archives: Loving God

Two, Yet One

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“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:40 ESV1

Read Matthew 22:34-40 & Mark 12:28-34

Sometimes two or more items are grouped to make one new entity. A mixture combines different elements, kinds, or quantities to form a unique blend. A merger joins two or more businesses into a single enterprise. An alloy is a composition of two or more metals, or a metal with a nonmetal, making a new substance. This incorporation of two into one is not only found in the physical realm but in the relational and spiritual realms as well. One of the interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees is evidence of this.

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Here Comes the Groom

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At midnight there was a cry, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.”  Matthew 25:6 ESV1

Read Matthew 25:1-13

A wise teacher introduces new subjects by reviewing what his/her students have previously learned. He/she increases the likelihood that learners will grasp new concepts by building upon what they already know. Jesus is the Good Teacher (see Luke 18:18). As Jesus instructed His audience, He often taught novel truths by connecting them with what was familiar. Several times, Jesus communicated the intricates of the Gospel by relating it to the ancient Jewish wedding ceremony.

Both the Old and New Testaments of The Bible include wedding imagery to explain the love relationship between God and His people. The Bible has been compared to a love letter and a marriage covenant detailing the intimacy individual believers can have with God. When we look at the Bible in this light, there is great value in modern, particularly non-Jewish Believers, familiarizing themselves with Jewish marriage practices. The ancient Jewish wedding progressed through several steps which, interestingly, parallel the aspects of Jesus’ relationship with His Bride, the Church.

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Search and Rescue

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“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine … and go in search of the one that went astray?” Matthew 18:12 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:1-14 & Luke 15:1-7

W. Phillip Keller, in his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, wrote, “The beautiful relationships given to us repeatedly in Scripture between God and man are those of a father to his children and a shepherd to his sheep. These concepts were first conceived in the mind of God our Father. They were made possible and practical through the work of Christ. They were confirmed and made real in me through the agency of the gracious Holy Spirit.”2 Mr. Keller continued, “It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep. The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways … Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance. Yet despite these adverse characteristics, Christ chooses us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own, and delights in caring for us.”3

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