God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. —I John 1:5
Who is a god like thee? Thou takest away guilt, thou passest over the sin of the remnant of thy own people, thou dost not let thy anger rage for ever but delightest in love that will not change. Once more thou wilt show us tender affection and wash out our guilt, casting all our sins into the depths of the sea. —Micah 7:18-19.
To the angel of the church at Laodicea write: 'These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the prime source of God's creation: I know all your ways; you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were either hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. —Revelation 3:14-17.
[The Cathedral before and after the earthquake]
It is God who moves the mountains, giving them no rest. &emdash;Job9:5.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD makes flames of fire burst forth, the voice of the LORD makes the wilderness writhe in travail; the LORD makes the wilderness of Kadesh writhe. —Psalm 29:5-8.
Then suddenly, all in an instant, punishment shall come from the LORD of Hosts, with thunder and earthquake and a great noise. —Isaiah 29:6.
The earth heaved and quaked, the foundations of the mountains shook; they heaved, because he was angry. —Psalm 18:7.
O God, thou hast cast us off and broken us; thou hast been angry and rebuked us cruelly. Thou has made the land quake and torn it open; it gives way and crumbles into pieces. —Psalm 60:1-2.
The mountains quake before him, the hills heave and swell, and the earth, the world and all that lives in it, are in tumult at his presence. Who can stand before his wrath? Who can resist his fury? His anger pours out like a stream of fire, and the rocks melt before him. The LORD is a sure refuge for those who look to him in time of distress; he cares for all who seek his protection and brings them safely through the sweeping flood; he makes a final end of those who oppose him and pursues his enemies into darkness. —Nahum 1:5-8.
You shall be holy, for I am holy. —Leviticus 11:45 & I Peter 1:16.
The soul that sins shall die. —Ezekiel 18:4.
All alike have sinned, and are deprived of the divine splendour, and all are justified by God’s free grace alone, through his act of liberation in Christ Jesus. For God designed him to be the means of expiating sin by his sacrificial death, effective through faith. —Romans 3:23-26.
Sin pays a wage, and the wage is death, but God gives freely, and his gift is eternal life, in union with Jesus Christ our Lord. —Romans 6:23.
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life. —John 3:16.
Jesus answered, ‘In truth, in very truth I tell you, unless a man has been born over again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ ‘you must be born over again.’ —John 3:3&7.
When anyone is united to Christ he is a new creature: his old life is over; a new life has already begun. —II Corinthians 5:17.
I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters. —II Corinthians 6:18.
If on your lips is the confession, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and in your heart the faith that God raised him from the dead, then you will find salvation. —Romans 10:9.
Commit your life to the LORD; trust in him and he will act. —Psalm 37:5.
You have forgotten the text of Scripture which addresses you as sons and appeals to you in these words: ‘My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline, nor lose heart when he corrects you; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves; he lays the rod on every son whom he acknowledges.’ —Hebrews 12:5-6.
So it is with Christ... in the days of his earthly life he offered up prayers and petitions, with loud cries and tears, to God who was able to save him from the grave. Because of his humble submission his prayer was heard: son though he was, he learned obedience in the school of suffering, and, once perfected, became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
—Hebrews 5:5,7-10.
[Jesus said] ‘the eighteen people who were killed when the tower fell on them at Siloam--do you imagine they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? I tell you they were not; but unless you repent, you will all of you come to the same end.’ —Luke 13:4-5.
Turn back to the LORD your God; for he is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering and ever constant. —Joel 2:13.
A man who is still stubborn after much reproof will suddenly be broken past mending. —Proverbs 29:1.
The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre--
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire.
—from Little Gidding by T.S. Eliot
The fire of God’s love gives eternal life. To reject his love is to reject his offer of life and choose the deadly fire of his wrath. We choose. He acts on our choice.
PSALM 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall want nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
and leads me beside the waters of peace;
he renews life within me,
and for his name's sake guides me in the right path.
Even though I walk through a valley dark as death
I fear no evil, for thou art with me,
thy staff and thy crook are my comfort.
Thou spreadest a table for me in the sight of my enemies;
thou hast richly bathed my head with oil,
and my cup runs over.
Goodness and love unfailing, these will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
my whole life long.
Let all those who seek Thee be jubilant and rejoice in Thee; and let those who long for thy saving help ever cry, ‘All glory to the LORD!’ —Psalm 40:16.
