It’s true. We Christians can buy into some pretty dumb things sometimes.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 13.

It’s only by faith that we can grasp that God reveals his character on the cross. On the cross, God subverted everything we intuitively understand about power.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 10.

In 2012, a scholarly study came out that attempted to answer how Christians can come to such opposing conclusions when they look at political issues through the eyes of their faith. The basic gist of the study was that Christians characterize Jesus in their own image and project their politics and priorities onto the divine will.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 7.

Even Jesus’s disciples — the twelve men who had spent three years with him — continually missed the point of who he was and what he was up to. They wanted a king to overthrow the Romans and restore their people to cultural, political, and religious significance. They thought they needed a powerful military leader unafraid of storming the castle. Instead, they got a Savior who died on a cross.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 5.

The Jesus being portrayed in our megachurch culture was beginning to feel more and more cartoonish and one dimensional — as if Jesus were a sort of pop-culture guru building an empire by selling spiritual commoditites to accessorize the American dream. This wasn’t the Jesus I’d read about in the Bible.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, xii.

What is voting? Should Christians vote? How should Christians vote? Who should Christians vote for?

Lots of folks are asking these questions. Lots of disagreement, e.g.,

Consider applying this scriptural formula for holy living to voting in the upcoming election (from Joel R. Beeke, Living for God’s Glory, Loc. 2771).

“[W]e should develop a scriptural formula for holy living before God and man.

“When hesitating over a course of action, ask yourself the following questions, based on 1 Corinthians:

“1. Does this glorify God? (1 Cor. 10:3 1)

“2. Is this consistent with the lordship of Christ? (1 Cor. 7:23)

“3. Is this consistent with biblical examples? (1 Cor. 11:1)

“4. Is this lawful and beneficial for me-spiritually, mentally, and physically? (1 Cor. 6:9-12)

“5. Does this help others positively and not hurt others unnecessarily? (1 Cor. 10:33; 8:13)

“6. Does this bring me under any enslaving power? (1 Cor. 6:12)”

Similar to the preexilic prophets, Daniel merges the story of Israel with the cosmic story of the nations begun in Genesis 1-11. The restoration of Israel is cast into the light of — indeed, apparently subordinated to — God’s ultimate plan for all of human history. The restoration of Israel is swallowed up by the larger theme of the kingdom of God.

J. Daniel Hays, The Message of the Prophets, 73.

In the history of Christian and Jewish worship, there have emerged two extremes toward which the worshiper may be tempted to move. On the one hand, there have been times when the holiness of God has been stressed so powerfully, that the ordinary mortal has felt it impossible to approach God in worship or prayer. On the other hand, the open access to God in prayer has sometimes been so stressed that admission to God’s presence becomes a thoughtless and casual matter. Between these two poles, there is a proper median: there is indeed access to the Holy God in worship and prayer, but it must be employed carefully, not casually, with appropriate preparation and reverence. Psalm 15 provides a guide to such access; it reflects the wisdom, prior to entering the divine presence in worship, of reflecting upon the requirements presupposed of the worshiper.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 152.

Any good accomplished by biblical characters was the work of the Spirit of Christ and reflected the formation of Jesus’ image in them. As such, these characters often point to Jesus by analogy – they are like Him – or they are witnesses to His character. Example: Joseph’s forgiveness and acceptance of the brothers who sinned against him reflect the spirit of Jesus who was in him. As such, Joseph is one of the most perfect analogies of Jesus’ forgiving spirit and one of the most powerful witnesses to Jesus’ forgiving heart.

David Murray, Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament, 60.

When Joseph forgave his brothers, he was picturing the future work of Jesus, which even then was working in Joseph, by the Spirit of Jesus. Used in this way, the Old Testament characters should motivate worship and imitation of Jesus.

David Murray, Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament, 70.

The final family story is primarily about Joseph, whom God uses to rescue Israel (and the nations, thus blessing them, Gen. 12:2-3) from famine so that the promised seed can be preserved. You will find reading this story to be a different experience from what has gone before, since it is a single cohesive narrative (the longest of its kind in the Bible) . . . Note how it begins and ends on the same note – his brothers bowing to him (37:5-7; 50:18; cf. 42:6). Look for the various themes that hold the story together: God overturns the brothers’ evil against Joseph; he allows Joseph to languish in prison (which came about because of Joseph’s refusal to sin) but finally rescues him and elevates him through his divinely given ability to interpret dreams (note the repeated “the Lord was with Joseph,” Gen. 39:2, 3, 21, 23).

Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book, 32.