Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Matthew 8:21 ESV First – Someone called me with a personal dilemma. “I feel as if my wife and I need to move [to another city]. But I have so much family here and they are in such need. …
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 NASB Male and female – What is the point of the repetition? Wasn’t it clear enough with the first, “God created man”? Why add the second “in the image of God He…
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Rom. 3:27-28, ESV). Works – I know. I’ve put two verses for consideration today, rather than…
For it is not merely the hearers of Torah whom God considers righteous; rather, it is the doers of what Torah says who will be made righteous in God’s sight. (Rom. 2:13, Complete Jewish Bible) Alone – When Skip extended an invitation to contribute to Today’s Word, I knew I would have some difficulty in matching his…
But the word of the Lord abides forever. 1 Peter 1:25 and Isaiah 40:8 NASB Word – Since this New Testament reference is a quotation from an Old Testament verse, we can look at both the Greek and the Hebrew. The Greek word is rhema. The Hebrew word is dabar. Both words mean “to speak,…
I thought you might enjoy this little friend who graced my yard yesterday.
Let your moderation be known to all men: the Lord is near. Philippians 4:5 NASB Near – This is a funny sounding word in Greek – eggus. It literally means “close or near.” Therefore, our English translation looks just fine. But Paul is a deeper thinker than pashat meanings. He is making an allusion to…
Let your moderation be known to all men: the Lord is near. Philippians 4:5 NASB Moderation – The Greek word here is epieikes. It comes from the word eikos (meaning “fair or equitable”) but Paul adds epi to the beginning to make the word stronger. With this addition, “moderation” probably does not convey the right…
By now you have struggled through the implications of Matthew 10:28, Yeshua’s supposed endorsement of the “body-soul” dualism that we have been exploring for the last 4 days. Perhaps we haven’t solved the riddle of the translation, but we have at least learned these few things: 1. The “body-soul” or “body-mind-soul” or “body-spirit-soul” concepts found…
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 ESV Soul – Greek dualism proposes that Man consists of at least two parts: body (soma) and soul (psyche). According to Greek philosophical thinking following Plato, the…
