The Israelite God was different from all the other gods, thus, the worship of Yahweh differed from that of all other gods.
David finally found the truth that it was not his seed of kingship but the promise made to Abraham that made him holy. From that, David refused to be moved and wrote this Psalm by the necessity of the Spirit as the assurance of faith. The law never made a man holy, not even one as robust as David; yet faith did this great thing without lifting a finger.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.

All Articles

This is an excerpt from “Unveiling Mercy: 365 Daily Devotions Based on Insights from Old Testament Hebrew” written by Chad Bird (1517 Publishing, 2020). Used with permission.
We need a God who acts for us, each of us in particular. We need a God who sticks to His Word that He will never abandon or forsake us.
The parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew hinges on whether a guy is wearing the right costume for the party.
Because of Jesus, we are restored to a solid relationship with our Creator God. And, because he built it right, it will stand forever, whatever comes our way!
God uses the fifth commandment to protect us from selfishness, prevent us from only thinking about our needs, and to drive us to Christ and our neighbors.
Jesus is better than all the politicians. He fulfills all his campaign promises. In fact, he’s willing to die to complete His work of redemption.
Jesus breaks through our barriers in His beatitudes. He shatters our conceptions of the blessed life and opens the Kingdom of God to all people.
These words provide a very bleak picture of the future of Israel. Fortunately, the next chapters provide Gospel that is equally as clear and direct.
God's city is beautiful because God has constructed it to offer eternal safety to all weary sinners.
We need to remember that we belong to God by Grace Alone. It’s not by our best works. Not by the sweat of our brow, it’s not even by our best attempts to repent.
Jesus will strengthen and encourage us because he is true life, and life has defeated death.
The command to love those nearby is as challenging as it is simple. Jesus took the initiative to come near to us in loving sacrifice.