Why?

From today's entries on Cross Point's Bible Reading Blog.

Matthew 27:46 - This also tells us that something more was going on than the physical suffering that eyewitnesses could have seen. Jesus was suffering the wrath of His Father, which included being forsaken by the One with whom He had enjoyed perfect fellowship from eternity past. Imagine a child calling for help from his father, only to have his father turn and walk the other way. His cry, "Why have your forsaken me?" would not be a noble, symbolic statement, but a cry of desperation and rejection. This, I am convinced, is how we should hear Jesus' cry here.

Who was St. Patrick?

Who was St. Patrick that he should have his own holiday? This article by Mark Driscoll gives us an answer. St. Patrick was "one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived."

"Patrick gave his life to the people who had enslaved him until he died at 77 years of age. He had seen untold thousands of people convert as between 30-40 of the 150 tribes had become substantially Christian. He had trained 1000 pastors, planted 700 churches, and was the first noted person in history to take a strong public stand against slavery."

You can read the whole thing here.

"O Sovereign Lord"

Last night, I read with my kids David's prayer in the second half of 2 Samuel chapter 7. Over and over, David calls God "Sovereign Lord." To be sovereign is to have absolute authority. No one has authority over someone who is sovereign. If God is the Sovereign Lord, then no one in the universe can make Him do what He doesn't want to do, or keep Him from doing what He wants to do. When we think about what God is like, is His sovereignty one of the first things we think of? Perhaps it should be.

Psalm 51:1

From my Bible reading this morning...

Psalm 51:1 - On what basis do we ask God for forgiveness? Not on the basis of our other good works, but on the basis of the greatness of His compassion. This is surely good news. We don't have to ask, "Have I done enough to be forgiven?" We only need to ask, "Is God compassionate enough to forgive?" And the answer is always, "Yes!"

Free Audio Books

Each month, ChristianAudio.com offers free audio books. This month, there are two free options (you can get both) - Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic, The Cost of Discipleship, on John Piper's more recent excellent little book, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. You can go straight to the free download page by clicking here.

An Unhindered Prisoner

Here is one of my comments from this morning on our church's Bible reading blog.

Acts 28:30-31 - Could Acts possibly end on a better note? Paul was being held as a prisoner. So what? He was able to welcome (receive) all who came to him. He was preaching "the kingdom of God" (there it is again) and was "teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ". He was doing this "with all openness." He didn't have to hide what he was doing. And then there is the beautiful final word of the book - unhindered. Paul was a prisoner. But nothing was hindering his proclamation of the Gospel of the kingdom.