Posts by Nick Batzig
As we again enter in on a time of special meditation on the wonder of God manifest in the flesh--come a baby in the manger, let us also meditate on the promised return of God glorified in the flesh--coming as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Let us learn to search the Old Testament to see the mountain tops of prophecy about Christ, but let us do so recognizing the mountain range of which it is a part. Let us celebrate all that the baby in Bethlehem means concerning the promised salvation and judgment of the world. It is all united in the One eternal and everlasting Christ--the just God and Savior.
Tying the Gospel in from the text to the Table is often one of the most challenging--and yet, rewarding--tasks that a minister faces. While there are many ways that the Gospel can be brought to bear on the sacramental meditations at the institution of the Table, the surest way to do so is in prayerful reliance on the Lord to grant such fitting meditations, to know the mechanics of the Gospel, to incorporate lyrics from the great hymns of church history and to learn to think in terms of redemptive-history and the organic unity of the Scripture as it centers on the Person and saving work of Christ.
To be sure, there will always be men who will level new attacks against the Scriptures. There will always be those who attempt to twist and pervert God's word. Yet, our faith is strengthened by the Scriptures in the knowledge that every word that God has breathed out (2 Tim. 3:16) comes to us with all of His divine authority for our lives and with His absolute and undiluted truthfulness.
I've always loved mountains. I've lived in the Blue Ridge mountains, hiked the Sangre de Christo mountains, travelled through the German Alps, skied the French Alps and marvelled as I've gazed at the seemingly endless Alaskan mountain ranges. There is something mystical and majestic about these natural structures which tower over the rest of creation. Not surprisingly, the Scriptures have quite a lot to say about mountains and their theological significance.
In all of the New Testament, no book gives us so many descriptions of the Person and work of Jesus as does the book of Hebrews...While all these descriptions are pregnant with spiritual riches upon which our souls may lay hold, there is one title in Hebrews that captures the essence of the Person and work of Christ. In short, He is "the Heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2).
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