Is my hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Isaiah 50:2 Ransom – God asks the rhetorical question, “Did you imagine that I was not able to buy you back?” It is a question much like His query of Abraham. “Is anything too difficult for Me?” (Genesis 18:14…
The fear of the LORD leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. Proverbs 19:23 Satisfied – Ask anyone. Does God keep all evil away from His children? Are Christians really exempt from harm and struggle and trials? Or do we observe something else? This proverb seems to deny our common…
Fight the good fight 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight – Paul introduces the first century spiritual Olympics, the agon of competition (the Greek means, “strife, contest and struggle”). Paul chooses a word that every Greek reader would instantly recognize – the Games. Athlete against athlete, fighting it out in the hope of victory. Striving to obtain…
to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10 Worthy – Yesterday, did you wrestle with Paul’s prayer for your filled-to-the-brim understanding of God’s will? Did you see that “our daily bread” includes every word that proceeds…
asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, Colossians 1:9 May Be Filled – Are you hungry for God? Do you feel a gnawing malnutrition about His righteousness? Are you an expectant example of the fourth Beatitude of Matthew? If you don’t have enough, then…
its desire is for you, but you must master it Genesis 4:7 Desire – The Hebrew word teshuqa is used only three times in the Bible; twice in Genesis and once in the Song of Solomon. In this occurrence, we recognize the darker side of the word. Sin desires Cain. It desires to control and…
How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman protects a man. Jeremiah 31:22 Created – The Hebrew root br’ is the verb translated “create.” It is quite unusual. Of the 49 occurrences in the Old Testament, this verb is the exclusive domain…
How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman protects a man. Jeremiah 31:22 Protects – This world is upside-down. It’s not the way God intended it to be. When Eve opened the door to sin (with Adam’s concurrence), the world changed. All…
Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, Jeremiah 15:13 Spoil – The greatest impediment to godliness in the world today is affluence. Again and again we find a self-confident callousness and spiritual poverty among the nations blessed with abundance. We sin the sin of David by…
Fear not, worm of Jacob, men of Israel; I will help you Isaiah 41:14 Worm – What an odd thing for God to say about Israel. If I called someone a worm, it would be taken as an insult, especially if the word (tola’ath) was the word for a parasite that destroyed manna (Exodus 16:20). …
