Hebrews 11

An-other of the readings on Worship Anew two weeks ago was from Hebrews 11.  This reminded me of something I'd previously noticed about this chapter.  Almost half of the verses begin with the phrase "by faith."  This repetition illustrates the importance of faith, and this importance is further emphasized by the phrase's position at the beginning of most of these verses.

Psalm 103:11-12

The Psalm reading on Worship Anew last week was part of Psalm 103.  Years ago, I had a realization about verses 11-12 and I felt I should write about it here too.

In the ESV, these verses are:  "11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."  In verse 11, there's a comparison involving height, and in verse 12, there's a comparison involving lateral distance.  Taken together, the directions of these two comparisons form a cross, and Christ's death on the cross illustrates "his steadfast love" and is how "he remove[s] our transgressions from us."