Soul Man

For He has satisfied the [a]thirsty soul, and He has filled the hungry soul with what is good.  Psalm 107:9  NASB Soul – Did you see that tiny footnote before the word “thirsty”?  I hoped that the footnote would explain that the Hebrew word nepeš does not mean “soul,” ah, but not a chance.  The footnote merely says…

The Letter of the Law

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves,  Romans 2:14  NASB A law to themselves – We’ve spent a lot of time looking at Paul’s idea of nómos, or perhaps more accurately, his ideas about all the variations encompassed…

Not My Problem (2) Rewind

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God  Romans 3:23  NASB Fall short – Maybe we’re just not prepared to deal with the implications of homelessness.  Maybe we just haven’t seen enough.  But I’ve seen a lot.  And I’m tired.  The more I travel, the more I see men and women…

Not My Problem (1) Rewind

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God  Romans 3:23  NASB Fall short – Just how far do you think you’ll get with modern men and women by telling them that they are sinners?  Can I suggest that unless you are speaking to people who have some sort of connection with…

A Little Color

While my knee is so painful I can hardly stand (seeing the specialist on Tuesday), I needed something cheerful so I shot these on the dining room table.  Rosanne gets flowers every week from Asizze, a Moroccan, who stands in front of the local grocery nearly every day.  We have gotten to know him pretty…

The Cure

But sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me [m]coveting of every kind; for apart [n]from the Law sin is dead.  Romans 7:8  NASB Is dead – Want the absolutely guaranteed way to stop sinning?  Die!  Problem solved.  Oh, wait.  That’s not very convenient.  Paul offers another “solution.”  Live apart from the Law.  Apart from the Law, sin is dead. …

Can’t You Just Speak Clearly?

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in regard to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.  Romans 7:4 NASB Raised from the dead – Just when we thought we’d finally…

Underworld

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under [a]the Law but under grace? [b]Far from it!  Romans 6:15 NASB Not under the Law – When we took a long look at Romans 6:14 (March 12 and 13), we discovered that the English translation reveals serious theological bias.  There’s that capital “L,” the treatment of nómos…

Even Deeper (14 years later)

In the beginning, God created . . . Genesis 1:1  NASB The – Of course, by now you know that the word here is bere’shiyt.  There is no definite article.  That means there is no “the” in this text.  Try reading the text without the “the” and things change – dramatically.  We have already learned…

Beginning Again (14 years later)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1  NASB In the Beginning – This was written on January 1st, 2009.  Recently a reader questioned something about it, and when I looked at what I wrote 14 years ago, I had to agree.  It needed some changes.  So, for those of you…