The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson

God reveals seven key attributes of Himself in Exodus 34:6-7, providing a comprehensive self-description that balances divine mercy with perfect justice. We explore the final attribute—God's justice—and how it works together with His compassion, grace, patience, loving-kindness, faithfulness, and forgiveness to form His complete character. • God's justice requires that sin must be punish...

We explore God's attributes in Exodus 34:6-7, focusing on His faithfulness and forgiveness as revealed directly by God to Moses. These divine qualities provide a foundation for understanding God's character and how we should respond to others. • God is faithful, meaning He overflows with truth and always fulfills His promises • God's faithfulness demonstrated through promises to Abr...

God reveals seven attributes of His character in Exodus 34:6-7, providing a powerful description of divine nature through His own words to Moses. We explore four of these attributes: God's compassion, graciousness, patience (slowness to anger), and His unfailing loving kindness (chesed). • God describes Himself as "slow to anger" – demonstrating incredible patience with humanity • T...

God describes seven distinct attributes of himself in Exodus 34:6-7, revealing his true nature and character to Moses after the Israelites' rebellion with the golden calf. • Compassion is the first attribute God reveals, sharing its root with the Hebrew word for "womb," showing the depth of God's protective care • The word gracious means "to bend or stoop down," illus...

God provides a list of His attributes in Exodus 34:6-7, offering a unique opportunity to understand how He describes Himself. Before revealing His attributes, God established four protective barriers for Moses, demonstrating that while He desires to reveal Himself, our finite nature requires protection from His full glory. • Understanding God's attributes can be challenging without His direct...

We examine one of Christianity's most misunderstood teachings: Jesus' command to "turn the other cheek," revealing why this verse doesn't prohibit self-defense as commonly believed. • Part of our "Yeah, That's Not What That Means" series covering misapplied scriptures • Matthew 5:38-39 refers to verbal slights, not physical assaults requiring self-defense •...

The second episode in our "Yeah, That's Not What That Means" series tackles two commonly misinterpreted Bible verses: Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11, revealing how prosperity preachers have twisted these passages to falsely promise believers guaranteed success and material prosperity. • Clarifying that Jeremiah 29:11 was specifically addressed to Jewish exiles in Babylon, promising...

We're exploring commonly misunderstood scriptures in our series "Yeah, That's Not What That Means," tackling Philippians 4:13 and revealing its true context as a teaching about contentment rather than personal achievement. • Philippians 4:13 ("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me") is frequently misused as motivation for personal success • The verse a...

We dive into another commonly misunderstood scripture, Luke 17:1-2, where Jesus uses the terrifying image of drowning with a millstone to warn against causing spiritual stumbling. • Exploring the fifth installment in our series "Yeah, That's Not What That Means" • Clarifying that "little ones" refers to people young in their faith, not just children • Explaining how the Gr...

The most misapplied verse in Scripture might be Jesus' words on judging others, as Christians and non-Christians alike quote "Do not judge" without understanding its true context. When properly understood, Jesus wasn't prohibiting all judgment but was warning specifically against hypocritical judgment that ignores our own failings while criticizing others. • Introduction to &qu...

The Gospel of John records Jesus' first miracle at a wedding in Cana not simply as a display of power, but as a sign pointing to his redemptive purpose of transforming lives completely. • Jesus turned ordinary water for Jewish purification into extraordinary wine • This miracle is called a "sign" because it points to something greater than itself • The dirty water represents our liv...

We explore how miracles often occur on the other side of obedience, using Jesus's first miracle of turning water into wine as a powerful example of faith in action. • Mary's instruction to the servants: "Do whatever Jesus tells you to do" • The critical question: What is Jesus telling you to do right now? • Jesus asked servants to do things that made no logical sense • Miracles...

Mary's advice to the servants at the wedding in Cana—"do whatever he tells you"—may be the best guidance in the entire Bible for followers of Jesus. This simple instruction defines discipleship and guarantees we'll always do the right thing, though not necessarily the easiest. • The GOSPEL framework helps discern what Jesus is telling us to do • G - Gospel alignment: God's...

We explore the significance of Jesus's first miracle at Cana and his curious response to Mary: "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." This statement reveals Jesus's acute awareness of his divine timeline and mission on earth. • Jesus's focused mission was to fulfill prophecy and become the sacrificial lamb for our sins • The timing of Jesus&a...

The first of Jesus's miraculous signs offers profound insights on bringing our needs to God, regardless of how small they may seem. • Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding in Cana by turning water into wine • Running out of wine at a first-century wedding would have brought severe social shame to the bridegroom • Mary approaches Jesus with this problem despite Him having performed no...

We explore how John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw" helps us understand Jesus' personality, focusing on his disruptive honesty and what it reveals about his character. Understanding Jesus means embracing his full humanity, including his confrontational nature when addressing religious hypocrisy. • Jesus had a real personality as both fully God and fully man • We often appreciate...

Using John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw" as our guide this week, we dive into Chapter 4, "Fierce Intention," exploring the passionate personality of Jesus through his temple cleansings. • Jesus cleansed the temple twice – first early in ministry (John 2) and again during his final week (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19) • The temple cleansing wasn't a momentary outburst b...

We're continuing our exploration of Jesus's personality using John Eldredge's "Beautiful Outlaw," focusing on the fierce intentionality of Christ that's often overlooked in typical portrayals. • Using Matthew 16:21-23 to introduce Jesus's forceful rebuke to Peter: "Get behind me, Satan" • Examining the context of Jesus's ministry taking place in en...

The concept of Jesus having a distinct personality is often overlooked, creating a two-dimensional view that makes him difficult to truly love and connect with. We explore John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw," specifically chapters on Jesus's personality and playfulness, to discover a more complete picture of Christ as both fully divine and authentically human. • Eldridge describ...

Kyle Tompson shares how John Eldredge's book "Beautiful Outlaw" transformed his understanding of Jesus by revealing Christ's authentic human personality alongside His divinity. • John Eldredge is the author of "Wild at Heart," a groundbreaking book on Christian masculinity • Eldredge's lesser-known book "Beautiful Outlaw" explores Jesus' playful, d...

Jesus offers Peter a complete spiritual reset by meeting him on the same seashore where he first called him to be a disciple, demonstrating that past failures don't define our future with God. • The Word of God described as the sword of the Spirit against evil forces • Jesus gives Peter a "do-over" after Peter's three denials • Christ doesn't wait for Peter to get his act...

Peter's journey from denying Christ to dying as a martyr illustrates the transformative power of encountering the resurrected Jesus. Speaking about John 21, we explore how Jesus reinstated Peter and predicted his sacrificial death, demonstrating that following Christ isn't about comfort but commitment. • Jesus recreates the scene of Peter's three denials, giving him three chances to...

Jesus meets Peter exactly where he is after his betrayal, creating a powerful scene of restoration rather than rejection. Our failures never disqualify us from God's purposes and plans. • Jesus actively pursues Peter who had returned to fishing after his denial • The charcoal fire intentionally parallels the setting where Peter had previously denied Jesus • Jesus asks Peter "Do you love...

Jesus teaches a profound lesson about obedience through a fishing miracle, demonstrating that apart from Him we can do nothing but with Him we discover unexpected abundance.  • Peter and several disciples return to fishing but catch nothing all night • Jesus appears on shore and calls them "children" in a playful challenge • He instructs them to cast their nets on the right side though i...

Christ's resurrection gives us a new identity that frees us from returning to old ways. The story of Peter in John 21 shows how even devoted followers can revert to past behaviors during times of uncertainty. • Peter's declaration "I'm going fishing" was not a casual hobby but a return to his pre-disciple identity • Before following Jesus, Peter had been rejected from rabb...