“Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Mark 8:15 Leaven of Herod – Seeking the praises of men was the sin of the Pharisees. There’s plenty of that around today. We just have a different name for them – celebrities. But Jesus differentiates these glory-seekers from another kind…
to the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Romans 16:27 Glory – What is the doxology of your life? What is the final line that describes your reason for being? Paul leaves no doubt about his last line. It is glory to God forever. I wonder if we could…
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ Romans 16:25 To Establish – There is a grammatical secret here. When an infinitive (like “to establish”) follows the verb dynamai (is able), the sense is a continuous action, not a one-time event. Let that sink…
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ Romans 16:25 Is Able – God is the power. If I am in His will, then He directs that power through me, not to me. God is in the power distribution business. He gives in order…
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ Romans 16:25 Is Able – Star Wars is Greek. The idea of an impersonal cosmic force presiding over life and death is as old as Pythagoras. George Lukas might have been enthralled by the concept, but…
I just can’t stand it anymore. Aren’t you sick and tired of the constant accusations, lies, finger pointing and platitudes in this election? I can’t remember when it was so vitriolic and so insistent. Maybe there is a point to it all, but as far as I can see, the only purpose is power. And…
because having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful Romans 1:21 Glorify – Thankful – Some ancient Jewish scholars translate Genesis 2:7 about the creation of Man with the words, “and Man became a speaking being”, rather than our common, “and Man became a living being.” If Paul was…
Yet not as I will, but as you will Matthew 26:39 Yet Not – These two tiny Greek words (plen ouk) contain everything you need to know about prayer in God’s family. You might object, “Wait! Haven’t we just spent days looking at all the nuances of Hebrew and Greek words for prayer? How can…
Evening and morning and noon, I will pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17 Cry Aloud – I am not an emotional person. It’s just the way I’m wired. My struggles occur inside my head. By the time I reach tears and crying aloud, things have got to be pretty…
So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Ezra 8:23 (NIV) Petitioned . . Answered – Ezra’s statement shows us the proper protocol for answered prayer. It does not guarantee that the answer we receive is the answer we hope to receive, but it tells us that answers do…
