“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22 Delude – If James were alive today, he would be one of the world’s great consultants. He might even be on Oprah. People would flock to him for practical advice. But in the end, he would tell us the…
“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” Isaiah 53:3 Grief – Has sorrow ever made you sick? Sometimes it doesn’t take a virus or toxic bacteria to make us ill. Sometimes all it takes is intense pain. Job had the right idea (Job 33:19). In this life,…
“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” Isaiah 53:3 Forsaken – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But we know why, don’t we? God abandoned Jesus in that moment because of you and me. This word is really an adjective. It describes the character…
“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” Isaiah 53:3 Despised – Until Mel Gibson’s movie brought the crucifixion to the screen in graphic detail, we languished in a culture that viewed the event as an important spiritual symbol but hardly an unspeakable evil. The Passion of the…
” So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you” Exodus 24:8 Made – In our world, we do everything we can to prevent scars. We hire the best plastic surgeons, we look for the finest techniques and…
“who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” Luke 9:31 Departure – Too often in our English translations we are deprived of images that the authors intended us to see in their Greek words. This is one of those times. Luke is recounting the conversation between…
“The Lord will tear down the house of the proud, but he will establish the boundary of the widow.” Proverbs 15:25 Boundary – Carl Sandburg said that fences make good neighbors. His poem reminded us that we all live within the boundaries that define our lives. Fences establish boundaries of possession and protection. Without them,…
“if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” Matthew 26:39 Cup – Our imagery of the cup of Christ has been tainted by the legends of the Holy Grail – the chalice Jesus used when he offered the cup of wine at the last supper. But there is nothing mystical about this word. …
“Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand.” Matthew 26:46 Arise – In Greek, egerio. Wait a minute. We just looked at this word yesterday. It doesn’t have any “hidden” meaning. It means, “get up”. That’s all. So why do we need to look at it again? Because this…
“Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand.” Matthew 26:46 Arise – Once before on this night Jesus asked those closest to him to take action against sleep. “Watch with me” was His request to stay awake and intercede. But the disciples were oblivious. They lacked the discipline to…
