Written by J.A. Medders |
Sunday, March 31, 2024
This was a grave. But now it’s just a rock. This was the shortest-running graveyard in human history, going out of business in three days. The stone was repossessed by the risen King. The angel sitting on the stone shows us that it’s time to rejoice that Christ “has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). There isn’t a dead man here. Let’s all rest in Christ. 

The resurrection of Jesus deserves our constant attention. It is a marvel, a joy-igniting truth that Jesus is alive. My soul is strengthened every time I read the end of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And in a recent reading of Matthew, I was gripped by something I hadn’t seen before.
At the beginning of Matthew 28, he tells us about an angel’s actions:
“There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.” Matthew 28:2
An angel rips into our dimension with a sonic boom, rattles the earth, and hovers in front of the tomb where Christ was laid. The angel rolls up his sleeves and rolls back the stone. Then, the angel’s supernatural action is followed by a casual one.
Read More
Related Posts:

Written by J.A. Medders |
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Steadfast love means steady love. God’s love for his people isn’t hanging in the balance. No wishy-washy commitment. The risen Christ is a dependable Savior. You can count on him. Steadfast love is strong. God’s love cannot be overpowered, overwritten, or under-deliver. 

There are times when we read the Bible and a word pops. It’s not unfamiliar or new, but something about it grabs the attention. This is when it is good to meditate on the word that jumped.
Let’s meditate on the steadfast love of God.
We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. (Psalm 48:9 ESV)
There’s a variety of ways to translate this Hebrew word, hesed. The Christian Standard Bible often opts for faithful love. Strong. Helpful. The New Living Translation went with unfailing love. I like that too. If we blend these words, we can taste the dynamic flavors of the word hesed. I like the choice of steadfast from the ESV because it’s not an ordinary, everyday word. It’s perfect for describing the supernatural, every day love of God.
Steadfast means it can’t deteriorate.
Read More
Related Posts:

Written by J.A. Medders |
Thursday, June 15, 2023
The Christian life isn’t a perfect life—it’s a repenting life. There ought to be patterns of change, sacrifice, and recalibrated loves in your life. Maybe there’s an awareness of sins and attitudes that you were oblivious to before you believed in Christ. Maybe you sense a hitch in your heart and mind when someone is gossiping. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ought to be growing on the vine of your life.

The apostle Paul urged the Corinthians to examine themselves to see whether they were in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Part of gospel ministry, whether you’re a pastor or a women’s Bible study leader, is to help people dismiss their own preconceived and cobbled-together versions of Christ and receive the real gospel, the real Jesus.
We will frequently minister to people who are either convinced they’re Christians (when they aren’t) or terrified they aren’t Christians (when they are). And we are also called to test of our own discipleship and apprenticeship with Jesus, seeing if the alignment of our souls and lives is walking rightly with Jesus. Here are five questions that can serve as a spiritual diagnostic to help evaluate and examine the state of one’s soul in relation to the true and living God.
1. Do you think Jesus is relevant for your daily life?
Many people are content with a version of Jesus as a mere pious figure, a “Jesus” who isn’t concerned with our sins but wants to send positivity to the masses. But the real Jesus has something to say, to offer, and to bring to every area of our lives. His life, death, resurrection, and reign in the heavenly places are precisely what we need—he is exactly who we need. Jesus isn’t a fixed data point in history. He’s living, active, and inviting you into his merciful kingdom.
Ask yourself: Do I genuinely believe the living Jesus matters for my life, right here and now? Do I consider Jesus Christ the most relevant person in my life?
2. Do you live as though Jesus is relevant for your daily life?
It’s easy to say, “Yes, Jesus matters.” But does your life prove it? Lip service is one of the most dangerous practices in the world today. This is why Saint James tells us that we must be hearers and doers of the word (James 1:22).
Think about decisions you’ve made in terms of your job, marriage, kids, finances, entertainment, and friends. Was Jesus the factor in your choice?
Read More
Related Posts:

Written by J.A. Medders |
Saturday, December 10, 2022
In the first chapter of the Song, we learn this song is King Solomon’s and that he is also a shepherd. There is a bounty of biblical theology in Solomon. Who else do we know that is a Son of David, who is a King and a Shepherd? Solomon is a shadow of the one who says he is greater than Solomon—a greater king, a greater sage, and a greater lover of his people.

The Song of Songs is the most lukewarmly debated book in the Bible. There’s some engagement, but not enough. While the arguments and interpretations of Revelation run red-hot, Song of Songs tends to be entrenched in assumptions. I want you to rethink what you might think about the Song of Songs.
Since I’m doing my Ph.D. work on C.H. Spurgeon and the spiritual sense of the Song, I frequently find myself talking to friends and anyone with ears about the Song of Songs, and I preach from the Song whenever I get the chance. I’m not surprised that most of the people I talk to think the Song is only about romance in marriage—some even believe there is no way the book has anything to say about Christ and the Church or Christ and the Christian.
When I tell people that Spurgeon did nearly 70 sermons from the Song of Songs and that they are all about Christ and the Church, they are baffled. In one sermon, Spurgeon gives seven ways Jesus is like a “bundle of myrrh.” He also gave eight sermons on “I am my beloved’s, and he is mine” (Song 2:16). Spurgeon said about the Song:
“That Song of Solomon is the central Book of the Bible; it is the innermost shrine of divine revelation, the holy of holies of Scripture; and if you are living in communion with God, you will love that Book, you will catch its spirit, and you will be inclined to cry with the spouse, ‘Make haste, my beloved.’”
So how can we catch the spirit of this book? Most of us have probably heard that the Song is only about romance, and for years, that’s what I believed too.
Here are eight reasons we should also embrace the spiritual, Christ-centered interpretation of the Song of Songs.
1.Jesus’s View of the Old Testament. Jesus said the whole Bible is about him (John 5:39, Luke 24:27). Our belief that the entire canon bears witness to the Messiah, to Jesus of Nazareth, must include the Song of Songs—if not, then we don’t have a thoroughly Christian reading of the Old Testament.
2.Illumination of the Spirit. If there is no spiritual interpretation, spiritual significance, or Christological meaning in the book, then the Song of Songs is the only book of the Bible that you don’t need the Holy Spirit’s illuminating power; all you need is an understanding of ancient near-eastern poetry.
Read More
Related Posts: