“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth” Matthew 6:19 Lay up – What is Jesus’ financial management strategy? He has one. Perhaps the reason that we don’t consider it in our retirement planning is that it is too radical for us, too counter-intuitive. Perhaps the reason we don’t consider it is that it…
“The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Proverbs 21:1 Turns – Stretch out your hand. Turn your wrist from side to side. Move your arm up and down. Did you notice how easily it is done? No real effort. No deliberate concentration. …
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” Exodus 20:8 Remember – Paul Meyer teaches that remembering involves spaced repetition. If you want to remember something, you need to have it repeated at least six times over a specified period. That’s why you can hear a great sermon or attend a fabulous lecture and a…
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness” Exodus 20:4 Likeness – The point is not statues or symbols. The point is service. God says that we are not to make any representation of His essential character that assumes His position in our lives. He comes first. And He will not share…
“You shall have no other gods before Me” Exodus 20:3 Before Me – We wouldn’t suspect that this would give us any translation problems but the truth is that this two-word phrase has created all kinds of difficulties. It doesn’t seem to mean “except me”. It might mean “against me” with an undertone of hostility…
“He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.” Proverbs 22:11 Purity of heart – Clean clear through. The Hebrew word tahor is about ritual purity. It describes all those Old Testament dietary laws about clean foods. It covers the laws about events in life that defile a person. …
“to set free those who are oppressed” Luke 4:18 from Isaiah 61:1 Free – This is the Humpty Dumpty verse. And it’s a bit more complicated than it looks. What the text really says is something like this: to send forth in deliverance those who have been crushed by someone else. If you have been…
“to set free those who are oppressed” Luke 4:18 from Isaiah 61:1 Oppressed – Who are the oppressed? Do you think about the citizens of third world countries who suffer who ruthless dictators? Do you see imagines of people in Haiti or the Sudan? Do you recall pictures of the homeless, the AIDS victims or…
“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives” Luke 4:18 from Isaiah 61:1 Release – Powerless! That’s what I felt standing in front of the young man in the jail. He was only a few years older than my youngest son, but he faced 35 years in prison. 35 years in a cell. …
“And so my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not each one of you forgive from the heart your brother’s trespasses.” Matthew 18:35 Trespasses – Jesus was dangerous, especially when it came to forgiveness. Just how dangerous Jesus was can be seen in the choice of the word for “trespass”. Matthew could…
