“Become sober minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” 1 Corinthians 15:34 Stop – But can we really do this? Can we actually stop sinning? Haven’t we all been told that sin is just part of our nature, that we can’t help…
“Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord” Psalm 40:11 Withhold – David was Israel’s greatest king but not because of his victories in battle or his expansive empire. David was Israel’s greatest king because he was a man after God’s own heart. Today we are the beneficiaries of his deep devotion. Today…
“but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known” 1 Corinthians 13:12 Know Fully – The same verb two times. The only difference is the verb tense, but what a difference it makes. It’s the difference between what I will know and what God already knows. Epiginosko is the intense…
“Pursue love” 1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue – It’s all connected. Start anywhere in the Bible and pretty soon you will find that you have traveled over all the themes. Like a magnificently complex kaleidoscope, the words of Scripture are all connected. Each one leads us to another, often reminding us of other nuances and other…
“But by the grace of God I am what I am” 1 Corinthians 15:10 I am what I am – Would you be comfortable with this statement? Could you stand up alongside Paul and proclaim, “By the grace of God I am what I am”? That’s a remarkable claim. It implies that Paul is satisfied…
“I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.” Hosea 2:5 Lovers – What is the principal imagery of the Hebrew root for “love” (ahav)? It’s action! In Hebrew, love is a verb, the description of my behavior toward another. …
“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness,” Jeremiah 2:2 Wilderness – You can’t dip into the pages of Scripture very long without finding yourself in the desert. Over and over, God’s real character is displayed in some wilderness scene. It is…
“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness,” Jeremiah 2:2 Devotion – Are you more in love with God today than the day that He rescued you from your life of tragic despair? Or have you become accustomed to His grace? Do…
“But you Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, My friend.” Isaiah 41:8 Friend – You wouldn’t see it in English, but the connection is so important that it demands attention. Abraham is called the ‘ohev of God, a word that comes from the root ahav, to love. In Hebrew thought,…
“Love your neighbor and yourself alike” Leviticus 19:18 (translation by Martin Buber) Love – What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Perhaps Martin Buber helps us peel away the layers of religious distortion by offering this translation. To love my neighbor is to act toward my neighbor with exactly the same self-preserving…
