For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes 1:18 NIV Wisdom – “The Sages promulgated the principle ‘Not the study of but the performance of mitzvot is the essence of virtue.’ ‘One whose wisdom is more abundant than his deeds—to what is he compared? To a tree whose branches…
which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; Colossians 1:6 NASB Constantly bearing fruit – One of the legends about the ‘olam ha’ba is that…
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15 NIV You – Remember Hagar? When she was abused by Sarah, she fled to the wilderness, probably expecting to die. “Just get it over with,” she thought. “I can’t take this anymore.” Of course, the angel of the Lord found her there and…
No verse today. Just some personal reflections. For many years now, you and I have been exploring the origins of our faith. That means investigating the history of the ideas that we once accepted as part of our religious beliefs. What I’ve learned, and perhaps what you have also learned, is that most of my…
Here are some thoughts worth considering . . . “Pain travels through families until someone is ready to feel it.” – Stephi Wagner, Healing the Mother Wound “For many of us, our generational ‘curse’ is avoidance. We come from people who just act like ‘it’ didn’t / doesn’t happen. But pain demands to be felt….
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10 NASB Have life – Abundantly, that’s what we want, right? Actually, it’s even more than that, as I am sure some preacher told you. The Greek is perissōn, from the verb perisseúō, meaning “superabundant” or “beyond…
Stripped and distraught and despoiled, fainting heart and buckling knees and shuddering in all loins, and all faces lose their luster. Nahum 2:11 Robert Alter Four in One Do you know the story behind Nahum? Probably not. It’s one of those short prophetic books that get lost in the splendor of Isaiah and the woes…
Blessed be the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord becomes his trust. Jeremiah 17:7 Robert Alter Trusts/ trust – The NASB translates Jeremiah’s words from YHVH with pretty much the same idea, but notice that the syntax (the word order) changes. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is…
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, Titus 2:11-12 NASB Live righteously – Righteousness. What do you think that means? If righteousness is a gift from God, if it means being in right relationship with Him,…
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, Titus 2:11-12 NASB Live sensibly – Okay, first let’s be sure we read this phrase correctly. “To live” is the verb modified by all of the following adverbs (sensibly,…
