Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The Holy Kinship, 1786.
Martin Johann Schmidt (Austrian, 1718-1801)
Jesus is here depicted alongside a young John the Baptiser.
Deuteronomy 6:5
The great and first commandment.
And you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength.
Philippians 1:12-14
Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 14:26
When you come together,
each one has a hymn, a lesson,
a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.
Let all things be done for building up.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Romans 15:14-18
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed.
The hour has come for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone; the day is at hand.
So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.
Sleeping Man
Irena Jablonski
Romans 7:21-24
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.
Acts 15:37-40
A rare soap-opera moment causes Paul and Barnabus to go their separate ways. Luke spills the beans on fellow disciple Mark...
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
I wonder what stories Manaen might have had to tell.
Detail from Adoration of the Magi, by the workshop of Gerard David, Netherlandish, c.1514
oil on wood panel
Acts 7:35-39
Watching Stephen destroying the High Priest and elders' Council must have been electric. One of my heroes from the early Church.
John 14:2-3
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus answered them,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
John 2:23-25
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.
But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
Luke 21:25-28
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 19:37-40
As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives— the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Luke 18:11-14
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Luke 16:27-31
Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’
Luke 12:24
Consider the ravens:
they neither sow nor reap,
they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them.
Of how much more value are you than the birds!
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Luke 10:13-16
The one who hears you hears me,
and the one who rejects you rejects me,
and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.
Luke 4:1-4
Satan's bid to tempt Jesus is risible. At any moment Christ could call upon the almighty power of His divinity to sate His hunger; bring about His earthly kingdom; summon Angels to lift Him. But that time is not yet. Scripture suffices.
