but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God 2 Corinthians 4:2 Renounce – Jesus is the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. According to the Isaiah prophecy, He was rejected by men. John confirms the fact. He came to His own and they spurned…
although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered Hebrews 5:8 Suffered – Have you ever considered just how strange this verse is? Jesus, the perfect Son, the fully dependent man, the sinless example for us all, still had to learn obedience through suffering. Why? If Jesus is the God-Man,…
And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opening Mark 1:10 Immediately – Waiting for Godot, the famous play by Samuel Beckett, presents a visual reflection on the world’s view of God. We wait, and wait, and wait, but God never quite arrives. In the end, we are simply left waiting…
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you; for the LORD is a God of justice; Isaiah 30:18 Longs – The Old Testament is a great love story. Of course, it also shows us that God is not just a forgiving machine. Sin…
When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7 Makes . . Peace – God has an answer to terrorism. It’s not the one the world employs. Our solution is political; a mix of failed negotiation and fruitless power. God’s solution is…
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result Genesis 50:20 Meant – “How can this happen to me?” This is probably a familiar question. Life has a way of pushing us toward these questions with each new occurrence of unexpected trauma….
but to as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God John 1:12 Right – What rights do you have? The correct answer is, “It depends.” The rights you have depend on the law of the land and your status as citizen. Illegal immigrants do not have the…
but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing any more, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot Matthew 5:13 Tasteless – It’s an ironic joke. In the Greek, we discover that Jesus employs a picture quite a bit more offensive than just…
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all 1 Timothy 1:15 Foremost – The Greek word protos means first in space, time, number or rank. Nothing comes before it. Nothing ranks above it. Nothing precedes it. Nothing is greater than it. All of that sounds wonderful. Who…
Show us the Father, and it is enough for us John 14:8 Enough – They didn’t get it. Three years with Jesus and they were still clueless. So when Philip asked Jesus to satisfy them, he put a big foot in his mouth. What was he really asking? To see God? Hardly. Every Jew knew…
