“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship)
“The great masquerade of evil has played havoc with all our ethical concepts. For evil to appear disguised as light, charity, historical necessity or social justice is quite bewildering to anyone brought up on our traditional ethical concepts, while for the Christian who bases his life on the Bible, it merely confirms the fundamental wickedness of evil.”
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Letters and Papers from Prison — 1967; 1997)
“There remains an experience of incomparable value. We have for once learned to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated — in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. Mere waiting and looking on is not Christian behavior. Christians are called to compassion and to action.”
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Letters from Prison, p.16)
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
“By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“I discovered later, and I’m still discovering right up to this moment, that is it only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes and failures. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, is faith.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others…not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
“If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. … How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
“While we exert ourselves to grow beyond our humanity, to leave the human behind us, God becomes human; and we must recognize that God wills that we be human, real human beings. While we distinguish between pious and godless, good and evil, noble and base, God loves real people without distinction. ”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”
― Deitrich Bonhoeffer
“It is only because he became like us that we can become like him.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
“Music (praise)… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
― Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: 2 mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” Psalms 27:4 This psalm epitomizes the worship-filled heart of the only man in HIS-story that the LORD declared is “a man after mine own heart.” David’s heart for the LORD is captured in this psalm for all of us to witness, to covet, to seek, and to do. “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man […]
The Book of Jonah Narrated [podcast]
Jonah has only 4 chapters, which makes it easy to outline the book chapter-by-chapter: God sends Jonah, Jonah disobeys (Jonah 1) God has compassion on Jonah (Jonah 2) Jonah preaches to Nineveh, Nineveh repents (Jonah 3) God has compassion on Nineveh, but Jonah does not and is upset (Jonah 4) Chapter 1 Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord 1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to […]
The Song of Moses: God’s Favor upon His People [podcast]
“And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.” Deuteronomy 31:30
Everything we read of the children of Israel was pointing to Christ and to His perfect salvation He would later come and accomplish and bestow upon His beloved people, the body of Christ which is “the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:16) And so this song is written to us (Romans 15:4; Corinthians 10:11).
At the end of his days, at the end of the 5 books he penned, God gives us through Moses a summation of His salvation work among His beloved people.
“He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. 13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; 14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.” Deuteronomy 32:10-14
“32:10-14 The birth and childhood of the nation of Israel are described in verse 10. After the Exodus from Egypt, God guided, instructed, and preserved His people with the love of a mother eagle (v. 11). There was no foreign god who had a part in Israel’s preservation. Why then should the nation turn to idolatry and ascribe the goodness of Jehovah to another? Beginning in verse 13, the song is prophetic. He brought them into the blessings of the Promised Land.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
“Deuteronomy 32:10
a [He found him in a desert land …] The sevenfold preservation of Israel:
1. God found (literally, sustained) him in the wilderness (Deu_32:10).
2. He led him around (Deu_32:10-12).
3. He instructed him (Deu_32:10).
4. He kept him as the apple (pupil) of His eye.
5. He preserved him from idolatry (Deu_32:12).
6. He exalted him among the nations (Deu_32:13).
7. He gave him material prosperity (Deu_32:13-14).
b [apple of his eye] Hebrew: ’iyshown (H380), the dark pupil of the eye; the hole, gate, or door of the eye (Psa_17:8; Pro_7:2)” Dake
“Deuteronomy 31:30-32:14
MOSES’ SONG: THE LORD’S FAVOR UPON ISRAEL
The song of Moses, like the fabled song of the swan, was his last and sweetest. It is probably the noblest ode in the whole compass of the Bible, and is the source from which subsequent singers derived suggestions for their noblest outbursts. The marginal references prove how deeply it dyed the national sentiment.
It excels in the names and designations of the Almighty. He is the Rock: Deu_31:4; Deu_31:15; Deu_31:18; Deu_31:30; Jehovah: Deu_31:6; Father: Deu_31:6; the Most High: Deu_31:8; God: El, the strong, Deu_31:15, etc. What a study are the names of God, scattered through the Bible! Each was coined to meet some need of the human soul. What the rocks of the desert are to its shifting sands God is amid the changes of this mortal existence.
This earlier part of the song is very tender. We are God’s portion; the apple of His eye; as young eaglets, whom the mother-bird is carefully teaching to fly, the favored recipients of God’s richest gifts, Deu_31:13, etc.” FB Meyer
Notice the descriptive language, the metaphors—how the LORD illustrates how He loves, protects, and provides for His people. In Scripture, the LORD uses imagery to communicate truth.
“Moses’ song and what our LORD reveals in this message, is such a beautiful picture of God finding us in our hopeless, miserable, and lost state. He pulls us out of the miry clay and gives us His supply of grace. He then clothes us with His righteousness, seating us in heavenly places in Christ and surrounding us with His care and protection. God’s love and goodness to us.” Karen Cochran
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will
say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my
God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall
be thy shield and buckler.” Psalms 91:1-4
Read Psalm 91 often so this truth permeates you. Here the LORD uses the imagery of His “winged fowl” creation (Genesis 1:21). GOD made this very creature/bird for the express purpose of showing us how much He loves us and how He comforts, cares and provides for, guides, and protects His own (Psalms 91:1).
“The Song of Moses is recorded in Deuteronomy 32 of the King James Version (KJV), spanning verses 1 through 43. It is a prophetic poem given by Moses to the children of Israel just before his death, serving as a witness and a reminder of God’s faithfulness and Israel’s potential turning away.”
Prayer: Father, please grant that I know and understand You more and more. I love You LORD. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Divine Comfort, Care, and Protection “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalms 91:1 In this chapter God paints the picture of His oversight, His divine watch care, His provision and His protection over His beloved people. Each verse is this amazing chapter is inseparable connected to and anchored in the very first verse – which is the divine thesis statement for the whole chapter. As is the divine case made throughout Holy Scripture, it’s all about relationship! See also Jeremiah 17:12, John 17:3, and Philippians 3:10. Read Psalm […]
Understanding how Divine Protection Works in Christ's Body [podcast]
Have pity on deceivers? Absolutely not. “Mark them.” (Romans 16:17-18) “Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:” Deuteronomy 13:8 Read Deuteronomy 13:1-10. Anyone who downplays warning the “little flock” for whom Christ’s died and rose again, is not being led by the Holy Spirit and we know that because such a person is contradicting the Word of God given to us by the “inspiration” of the Holy Ghost (Luke 12:32; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21). “For God is not the author of […]
Clear Proof that the Bible is the Only Sacred Holy Book on God's Planet [podcast]
There is only one holy book and name in the earth, the sacred name of Jesus Christ who is the grand subject of all of Holy Scripture (Philippians 2:9-11). God left us with His Word so we can know Him and not be deceived by the “MANY false prophets” He promised would come and deceive many just before His return (Matthew 24:11). God gave us His Word to protect us (2 Timothy 3:15-17). “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end […]
First and foremost, God’s Word was written to reveal Christ.
The Bible is said to be “The only Book where the divine Author is present every time you read it.”
He’s divinely encoded and present on every page of His Word.
“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Luke 24:44
Every book of the Bible is about the LORD Jesus, who is the central theme, the sacred substance of all of Holy Scripture. If we miss Him, we miss everything, we miss the grand subject and revelation of God’s Word.
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:39-40
This makes it clear that we can “search the scriptures,” we can know them, and yet not know the Author.
They knew the Word of God but did not know the God of the Word. They made the choice not to “come to” Jesus thorugh His Word. They made it about themselves, not Jesus.
The Bible is one Book from one divine Author. The divisions are there to help us navigator His Word. – Old and New Testaments, chapters, verses, etc.
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalms 119:18
The supreme and most important “wondrous” thing we are to behold in Holy Writ, is Jesus Christ.
Amen. Jesus Christ is King of all kings, LORD of all lords.
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:7-8
Jesus is present in every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Here’s a breakdown of how He is revealed in each book:
Old Testament Canon:
Genesis: Jesus is the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15) and the promised redeemer descended from the line of Judah (Genesis 22:17-18).
Exodus: Jesus is the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:1-13).
Leviticus: Jesus is the Great High Priest (Leviticus 8:1-36; Hebrews 4:14).
Numbers: Jesus is the Rock (Numbers 20:2-13).
Deuteronomy: Jesus is the Bread of Life (Deuteronomy 8:3).
Joshua: Jesus is the Captain of the Lord’s host (Joshua 5:13-15).
Judges: Jesus is the Judge of Israel (Judges 2:11-15).
Ruth: Jesus is the Kinsman-Redeemer (Ruth 3:9-13).
1 Samuel: Jesus is the King of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13).
2 Samuel: Jesus is the Son of David (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
1 Kings: Jesus is the King of Israel (1 Kings 1:30-40).
2 Kings: Jesus is the King of Israel (2 Kings 17:13-15).
1 Chronicles: Jesus is the King of Israel (1 Chronicles 17:11-15).
2 Chronicles: Jesus is the King of Israel (2 Chronicles 6:16).
Ezra: Jesus is the Rebuilder of the Temple (Ezra 5:2-5).
Nehemiah: Jesus is the Rebuilder of the Walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:15-16).
Esther: Jesus is Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7).
Job: Jesus is the Ever-Living Redeemer (Job 19:25-27).
Psalms: Jesus is the Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-4).
Proverbs: Jesus is Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-31).
Ecclesiastes: Jesus is the Teacher (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Song of Solomon: Jesus is the Bridegroom (Song of Solomon 1:2-4).
Isaiah: Jesus is the Messiah (Isaiah 53:1-12).
Jeremiah: Jesus is the Righteous Branch (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
Lamentations: Jesus is the Suffering Servant (Lamentations 3:22-24).
Ezekiel: Jesus is the Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-16).
Daniel: Jesus is the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).
Hosea: Jesus is the Husband (Hosea 2:16-20).
Joel: Jesus is the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-32).
Amos: Jesus is the Shepherd (Amos 5:24-27).
Obadiah: Jesus is the Redeemer (Obadiah 1:21).
Jonah: Jesus is the Savior (Jonah 2:9-10).
Micah: Jesus is the Ruler (Micah 5:2-5).
Nahum: Jesus is the Judge (Nahum 1:2-8).
Habakkuk: Jesus is the Righteous One (Habakkuk 1:13).
Zephaniah: Jesus is the Righteous Branch (Zephaniah 3:14-17).
Haggai: Jesus is the Desire of All Nations (Haggai 2:7).
Zechariah: Jesus is the Branch (Zechariah 3:8).
Malachi: Jesus is the Messenger (Malachi 3:1).
New Testament Canon:
Matthew: Jesus is the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-25).
Mark: Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1-11).
Luke: Jesus is the Savior (Luke 2:11).
John: Jesus is the eternal, the divine Word of God (John 1:1-14).
Acts: Jesus is the Resurrected Lord (Acts 1:1-11).
Romans: Jesus is the Righteousness of God (Romans 3:21-26).
1 Corinthians: Jesus is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
2 Corinthians: Jesus is the Great Comforter, Consoler, grace-giver, sufficiency of/to His people (2 Corinthians 1:1; 12).
Galatians: Jesus is the Redeemer, liberty giver (Galatians 3:13-14).
Ephesians: Jesus is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:20-23).
Philippians: Jesus is the God of Peace (Philippians 4:7-9).
Colossians: Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all life (Colossians 1:15-17).
1 Thessalonians: Jesus is the Coming King (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
2 Thessalonians: Jesus is the Coming Judge and King (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).
1 Timothy: Jesus is the High Priest (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
2 Timothy: Jesus is the Faithful One, Rewarder (2 Timothy 2:13).
Titus: Jesus is the Savior, the Blessed Hope (Titus 1:3-4).
Philemon: Jesus is the Ransom (Philemon 1:8-9).
Hebrews: Jesus is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14; 5:1-10).
James: Jesus is the Righteous One, Giver of wisdom (James 1:1-18).
1 Peter: Jesus is the Shepherd, Rock (1 Peter 2:25).
2 Peter: Jesus is the Lord, Day Star (2 Peter 1:1-21).
1 John: Jesus is the Son of God, Light, Advocate, Truth (1 John 1:1-14).
2 John: Jesus is the Savior, Truth (2 John 1:1-13).
3 John: Jesus is the Savior, Way (3 John 1:1-15).
Jude: Jesus is the Savior (Jude 1:1-25).
Revelation: Jesus is the Lamb of God, King of kings (Revelation 1:1-20).
Jesus is present in every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, as the seed of the woman, the Passover Lamb, the High Priest, the Rock, the Judge, the King, the Redeemer, the Shepherd, the Husband, the Savior, and more.
Jesus Christ is King. – “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:7-8
How We Know the Bible is the only Holy Book on Planet Earth [podcast]
Only God knows the future. Law of probability and the fulfillment of Bible prophecies: Odds of the 332 prophecies of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah, given hundreds of years prior to His arrival coming true are: 8,749,002,899,132,046,697,490,008,908,470,485,461,412,622,723,572,849,745,… 703,082,425,425,639,811,996,797,503,692,894,052,708,092,215,296 to 1 Fact: Only the Almighty could know the future and forthtell it in specific detail, long before it ever happened. THIS is how we know that the Bible is truly the Word of the one true God and that all other so-called “holy books” are frauds. “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Mark […]
Jesus Christ is God
The Divinity of Jesus Christ WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST AS GOD ALMIGHTY: (Note: this is not an exhaustive look at the divinity of Jesus Christ. Also, note that some of the particular words that announce His divinity are underlined). “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (means God with us).” Isaiah 7:14 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given (He already existed as God-with no beginning or end): and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and […]
THE ESSENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTOLOGY [podcast]
WHO do WE say that Jesus is? “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8), and He is asking us the exact questions today that He asked His disciples while on earth. “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Matthew 16:13 “But whom say ye that I am?” Matthew 16:15 Jesus is asking each of us “What are others saying of Me and Who do you say that I am?” In other words, perhaps He’s asking us “In a world of many swirling ideas about Me, who do you say that […]
The Riches of God's Grace in Christ [podcast]
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Ephesians 1:7 It’s been said that “God bankrupted Heaven to buy us back to Himself!” “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15 Jesus judged sin on the cross so we don’t have to be judged for our sin and so we can experience “the exceeding riches of his grace” both now and forever (John 12:31-32; Ephesians 1:7; 2:7). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through […]
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”
“If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. … How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?”
