Author: mbaye

Scripture: Job 38:1–4 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said… ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.’” (Job 38:1, 4) Job spent much of his life crying out for a “why” behind his suffering. When God finally answered, He didn’t explain […]

Scripture: Romans 9:20–21 “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? … Has the potter no right over the clay?” (Romans 9:20–21) When we push back against God, asking why He made things the way He did, Paul doesn’t offer a philosophical defense. He simply points to the relationship between a potter and […]

Scripture: Romans 9:17–18 “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” (Romans 9:18) Paul brings up Pharaoh, whose heart was hardened as he resisted God’s Word again and again. This is one of the harder truths in Scripture — one that doesn’t come with a fully satisfying explanation. […]

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1, 4–5 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins… But God, being rich in mercy… made us alive together with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:1, 4–5) Martin Luther put it plainly in his explanation of the Third Article: we cannot, by our own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ or come to […]

Scripture: Romans 4:16–17 “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring… for he is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:16) Paul calls Abraham the father of all who believe — not merely the ancestor of one nation, but the […]