But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Luke 12:5 NASB Fear Him– Yeshua, the Platonist. No, maybe he’s a Stoic. Don’t worry about what can happen to you while you live. Worry about what can happen to…
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love.Philemon 1:8-9a NIV Order you– The letter to Philemon is the shortest of the Pauline material in Scripture. That’s why it comes last in Paul’s work. It is also unique…
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB Inspired– Why do we bother to investigate the historical and cultural settings of the biblical authors and audiences? If God is able to speak to each of us through the Spirit, does any of this…
“He changes a wilderness into a pool of water, and a dry land into springs of water;” Psalm 107:35 NASB Dry land– The answer to a thirsty soul is the action of God. He changes things. I don’t go into His desert and dig a well for myself. In His desert, I cannot survive without His response to…
“My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You. In a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 NASB Dry land– The Hebrew word ʾereṣ ṣāyôn describes a parched wilderness. That’s exactly the kind of place where David composed this psalm. As he reflected on that arid land, he realized that it was…
“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.” Deuteronomy 32:10 NASB Encircled– What good is a fence in the wilderness if it isn’t closed around the camp! Just so, if God doesn’t surround…
“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.” Deuteronomy 32:10 NASB Howling waste– Have you ever been in the wilderness at night? Far from the man-made delusions of protective cities, scary things move in…
“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.” Deuteronomy 32:10 NASB Desert – Life in the house of God is not what the world imagines. Heaven on earth has very little to do…
“Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness – Israel, when it went to find its rest.” Jeremiah 31:2 NASB Rest – Did Israel go into the wilderness to find rest? Or did the people go into the wilderness to find fleeting endurance? Unfortunately, the true sense of…
“Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness.’” Jeremiah 31:2 NASB Found– The Hebrew verb māṣāʾ is used for finding just about anything. The Israelites found grace, but that wasn’t what they were looking for. They were looking for a way of escape. They were fleeing from their pain. Just like…
