“Blessed are those doing His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter into the gates of the city.” Revelation 22:14 Doing His Commandments – We have a problem. You see, there is an alternative reading for this verse in the Greek text. Instead of “washing their robes,”…
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter into the gates of the city.” Revelation 22:14 NASB Wash Their Robes – Is God really interested in laundry day? Do we really have to clean our clothes before we can enter into His…
and there shall no longer be any curse Revelation 22:3 Curse – Do you remember what the Hebrew word for curse really means? ‘arar means binding, hedging in with obstacles and rendering powerless. We have lived in a world that has been bound since the days of Adam. But some day things will change. Some…
“that they may have My joy fulfilled in them.” John 17:13 Fulfilled – Jesus does not plan a “cheerless barren existence” for His followers. He anticipates and provides for a life of joy! I wonder if we truly believe that – and if we are experiencing this “full of grace and beauty” living. I suspect…
“keep them in Your name; those you gave to Me, that they may be one as We are.” John 17:11 May Be – Sometimes it takes a Greek phrase to give us deeper insight into a text. This may be one of those times. Most of us read this prayer and assume that Jesus is…
“keep them in Your name; those you gave to Me, that they may be one as We are.” John 17:11 One – Why are we so divided? Why do we argue over theological details, church policy, evangelical focus? Why does every group of believers build its own steepled fortress? If “ecumenical” is a bad word,…
“keep them in Your name; those you gave to Me, that they may be one as We are.” John 17:11 Keep – If you listened to Jesus praying in the Garden, you would have heard some very familiar words. In this verse, that familiarity could only remind you of one thing – Deuteronomy. “Keep” is…
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. Mark 3:29 (with parallels in Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10) Blasphemes – Do you think that God always forgives? Contemporary Christianity often presents the “all-forgiving” God, implying that no matter what you do, this God will always accept…
Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver Matthew 27:3 Remorse – The usual Greek word for repentance is metanoeo. It means a complete change of mind, a reversal of direction. To repent is to turn back to God; accept…
but Jesus was asleep Matthew 8:24 Asleep – Without saying a word, Jesus still reflects an Old Testament perspective on life. To sleep in the midst of a storm reveals complete confidence in the sovereignty of God, just as the Scripture suggests in Leviticus 26:6 (lying down with no concern about trouble), Job 11:18-19 (resting…
