Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Luke 5:13 Reached Out His Hand – The gospel writers paint New Testament pictures with Old Testament colors. If you aren’t looking for it, your appreciation of the stories about Jesus will be color-blind. You just won’t see the…
And Delilah said to Samson, “Please reveal ( the secret of) your great strength to me, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.” Judges 16:6 Bound – Do you feel sorry for Samson? Or do you consider him foolishly duped? An incredibly strong man, favored by God, reduced to a blind slave…
“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 Strongly Support – When the seer Hanani came to Asa, the king, he had good news and bad news. The good news is that God not only seeks…
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me“ Matthew 11:29 Learn from me – Today we are unaware of the audacity of Jesus’ invitation. We no longer hear these words in their context. They don’t cause scandal or outrage. But maybe they should. Maybe we have become too familiar with Jesus to feel the…
“The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”” John 7:15 Learned . . Educated – You can’t understand the critical astonishment of the Jews unless you know something about Jewish education. The complaint against Jesus is not about what he said but about the source of his…
“The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”” John 7:15 Marveling – Jesus came out of left field. He just didn’t fit the mold. He acted differently, talked differently, thought differently. Try as they might, the audience couldn’t categorize him. All they could do was be astonished….
“yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 Will not find out – There is a road block on the purpose driven life. It’s called “Horizon”. You and I cannot see what God is doing behind the scenes of our lives….
“Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?” Numbers 23:12 Puts – Yesterday we learned that shamar describes a Garden of Eden story. God tells Adam and Eve to “watch over” His creation. Now we discover that there is another connection between the Garden and the words that I…
“Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?” Numbers 23:12 Be Careful – Shamar is a word that take a wide range of “protection” ideas. It can mean to keep, to preserve, to guard, to watch over, and to be careful. But the essence of shamar can be seen…
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26 Exchange – On every street of Sosua in the Dominican Republic you will find tiny shops that sell money. Technically they exchange your money for the Dominican peso, but, of course, there is always a little markup. The shopkeepers are in the money…
