“Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, from your homeland, and from your father’s house to a land which I will show you.”” Genesis 12:1 Go forth – The first time that the Lord speaks to Abram, He gives a command to go. More than one hundred years later, Abraham will hear that…
“We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.” Luke 17:10 Ought – “Slaves we are” says the verse, the emphasis on our position, not our actions. So it continues, literally, “what we ought to do, we have done”. Position and duty. Nothing more. But this word (opheilo) tells…
“We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.” Luke 17:10 Unworthy – “Take the credit. You deserve it.” “You should be proud of yourself.” “Give yourself a pat on the back.” How many times have we heard someone say something like this? And with good reason. We aren’t…
“for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” Ephesians 4:12 Equipping – Years ago I traveled to Corfu, one of the Greek islands. The blue Mediterranean sea lapped against the brilliant white stone. On most beaches, you could find a few old men…
“and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;” Revelation 21:4 Tear – There is something extraordinary implied in this verse, something you may have never considered. There will be tears in heaven. We have this tendency to think of heaven as a panacea, a place where everything is light and joy and peace…
“and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;” Revelation 21:4 Wipe Away – There are some things that only God can rub off. Let that thought sit with you for a minute. When you think about heaven, what do you most look forward to? Is it the dwelling place in the mansion? Is…
“Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”” Job 2:9 Curse – You’re reading Job in Hebrew. You come to this verse. Something shocking happens. The word translated “curse” is not qalal (which we saw yesterday). It is barak and barak means “bless”. This verse…
“Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth” Job 3:1 Cursed – The Greek poet Theognis probably summarized the essence of the Greek view of life when he said, “Best of all for mortals is never to have been born, but for those who have been born to die as soon…
“freely you have received, freely give” Matthew 10:8 Freely – Money, sex and power. The world’s great motivators. Every one of them deeply spiritual. But maybe you never thought about it like that. Money is the most pervasive spiritual commodity in the world. It is the single purest measure of submission and humility. The testing…
“freely you have received, freely give” Matthew 10:8 Freely – Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek. That means his thought patterns come from a Hebrew heritage, not a Greek worldview. If we want to understand what Jesus had in mind, we need to search behind the Greek New Testament. When we do, we see that “freely”…
