Believers in Yogjakarta

It was an honor to speak to this group of believers in the most populated Muslim country in the world.  Paulus Wibowo worked for YEARS before the first person came to the assembly.  Perseverance.  He is in the first row on the right.  A wonderful man who has been reading Today’s Word for more than…

Honesty Is the Best Policy?

He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out. Proverbs 10:9 NASB Integrity – Are you considered a person of integrity? Ah, before you answer, you might want to know what tamam means. Most of us think of integrity as a synonym for honesty and by that…

Trivial Matters

I’m brushing my teeth.   Trivial. Routine. I remember something Bob said in Israel. When he ties shoelaces, he always does it in exactly the same way, starting with tightening the laces on one shoe, but not tying the knot, then tightening the other shoe, then returning to the first one to tie the knot, then…

Grounded

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Matthew 13:7 NIV Thorns – The parable of the sower (actually, the soils) is an allegory. How do we know it is an allegory? Because the author tells us it is! We do not have to guess at the meanings of the terms….

LOL

Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and so is wisdom to a man of understanding. Proverbs 10:23 NASB Sport – What makes you laugh? Seriously now (pun intended), what do you laugh about? According to Solomon, the fool laughs at doing wickedness. The NASB attempts to capture the idiom with the translation “sport,”…

Fear Not – Except

Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: “Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake, . . . Isaiah 66:5 NASB Tremble – Not very often, but when it happens—watch out! That’s my advice about hareid, the Hebrew word translated “tremble.” It’s only used five times,…

Two Week Restart

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 Clean – If you invite the King of the Universe to take up residence with you, what condition would you like your house to look like? Dishes piled up from last night’s party? Grass not mowed? Closets with…

The Hebrew Negative

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2 NASB No condemnation – Paul is pretty intense. He opens the sentence with ouden. It means, “not…

Wrapping Paper

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NASB In – God’s gift of life is free but it comes packaged in a particular way. Since we are often so intent on getting the gift, we have a tendency to…