Pay It Forward

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 NASB Waters – The Teacher, Qohelet, might be somewhat of a skeptic, but that doesn’t mean his advice isn’t practical. “Spend your efforts on the one you love in your youth,” is great advice. “Don’t worry…

The Embodiment of God

He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me.  Selah.  God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.  Psalm 57:3 NASB Lovingkindness – By now we certainly recognize that the NASB translates hesed by the English “lovingkindness.”  And we also know that hesed can’t be captured by this…

Out of the Garden

“The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to prisoners; . . .”   Isaiah 61:1 (and Luke 4:18 with modifications)  NASB Sent – The…

What Word Would You Choose?

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  Genesis 3:23  NIV Banished – Most of us develop our theology from visual imagery.  We think of the Garden as an idyllic place and the expulsion from the Garden as something utterly tragic.  Notice…

Giving Up, Getting Back

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.  Ecclesiastes 11:1 NASB Cast –  When was the last time you threw away something important?  Hopefully, you can’t think of such a foolish act.  No one throws away what is valuable.  If that’s the case, then why does…

The Cut

THANK YOU ALL.  The Israel DVD sets are sold out. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Genesis 22:10 Stretched Out – Structure, structure, structure.  The Hebrew verse begins with the verb.  Of course it does.  The verb is the reality of the story.  This verb is shalah. …