because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place Jeremiah 19:4 Alien – You come home. You open the door, turn on the lights and suddenly realize that something isn’t right. Someone has been there. Things are out of place. The back door is open. Your valuables are missing. You’ve been robbed. If…
“What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” Acts 10:15 Consider Unholy – We need to see the Greek construction in order to fully appreciate the impact of this statement. It is literally “you do not make common”. There is an act of the will involved here. God cleanses, but, without the reciprocal act of…
“What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” Acts 10:15 Cleansed – Years ago there was a famous advertisement about Ivory soap. It used the tag line “99 and 44/100ths percent pure”. Now what in the world does that really mean? Of course, the advertisers didn’t really care what it meant. They wanted you to…
For I too am a man under authority Matthew 8:9 Authority – Were you under the false impression that the message of the Bible is about your salvation? Did you think that Jesus came just to get you to heaven? If that’s what you thought, you did not understand what the Centurion understood. You don’t…
And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess . . .” Mark 10:21 Felt A Love For Him – Don’t make this mistake! Don’t convert the intensity of the real Greek expression here for a feeling. The Greek text…
he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more Leviticus 6:5 One-Fifth – In a world of madness, litigation knows bounds determined only by imagination and persuasion. The economic impact of this insanity affects everyone in society. We breathe litigious greed. That itself is a part of the world’s system…
but the gift of God is life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 6:23 Life Everlasting – When did we make the mistake of thinking that we could accumulate God’s distributed gift? Most Christians simply do not understand the radical shift that occurs when we finally start living God’s paradigm. We are so used…
but the gift of God is life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 6:23 Gift – Sin pays. God gives. Once we understand the difference, life changes direction. Yesterday we learned that sin pays for our allegiance. We earn our way to hell. Now comes the startling news. God doesn’t pay. We don’t earn…
The wages of sin is death Romans 6:23 Wages – Sin pays! Paul desperately wants us to see that sin is the paymaster of living our way. Sin gives you your wages for your time and effort. It’s just that the wages sin pays are death. Too many times we read this verse as a…
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; Psalm 73:28 Good – Do you remember the boxed candy called “Good and Plenty”? Black and white tiny morsels of licorice packed the pink and white container. I’m sure Asaph never heard of licorice but the word he chooses to describe “good” could easily…
