John Mark Hicks

Though Israel walks through troubles threatened by gods, kings of the earth, and enemies, Yahweh is loving and faithful. Consequently, Israel confesses the name of Yahweh before the gods, gives thanks for Yahweh’s grace and deliverance, and walks confidently in the way of the Lord despite its troubles. One day all the kings of the […]

Reading the scroll of Jeremiah during the first year of the new Persian regime in Babylon, Daniel anticipates that the 70 years of Israel’s Babylonian exile are over. He prays that God will release Israel from exile and send them back home. He offers a corporate confession of sin–Daniel himself confesses the sins of Israel […]

Texts: Luke 9:18-22, 28-36; 10:17-20; Mark 10:41-45 Days 40-43 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. At some point near the end of his ministry in Galilee and other northern regions, Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). This comes immediately after his announcement to his disciples that he is the Messiah […]

Though 1 John is anonymous, tradition associates it with the Apostle John or perhaps Elder John who are both connected to churches in Asia Minor in the late first century. Whatever the case (and I will call the author “John”), it is rather immaterial to the themes and meaning of the text. 1 John begins […]

In an earlier post I quoted a piece from G. C. Brewer’s autobiography where he objected to the emphasis that some placed on the plan of salvation rather than on a personal savior. His comment came in the context of discussing the role of confession in the five-step (or is it four-step or three-step?) plan […]

Psalm 143 O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy…. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you… So my spirit grows faint within me, my heart within me is dismayed… I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done… Let […]

“I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:3) “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Where in the Christian community do we feel safe confessing sin? In tragedy, people tend to surround the hurting even if after a period […]