Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Isaiah 29:13 NASB Tradition – When you read this verse, what do you think it means? Yes, we see God’s…
Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. Jeremiah 16:11 NASB Law – There are two unbridgeable chasms between Christianity and Judaism. The first,…
Are you sure you want to go inside? Palazzo Sanvitale, Parma
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB Grace/works – I used to think I knew what Paul was writing about. Decades ago, I had the right theological perspective on Paul. He was…
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25 NASB Not ashamed – When you read this verse, what mental picture comes to mind? Something like this: (Rubens and Brueghel)?[1] We grew up with the 17th century version of Eden, complete with Nordic men and women. Naked, of course,…
The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31 NASB As yourself – Does the psychology of the Bible require self-love before sacrificial love? When both the Tanakh and the apostolic writings speak about loving your neighbor, the underlying condition seems to be…
A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Amos 3:8 NASB Prophesy – At age twenty-one I graduated from my first university and moved to Switzerland. “Why?” you might ask. It was my desire and intention to sit at the feet of Francis Schaeffer. A missions group I knew promised…
It happened in the days of Ahasuerus—that Ahasuerus who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. Esther 1:1 JPS It happened – Some time ago we investigated the Hebrew phrase miqreh (see Today’s Word on Ruth 2:3).[1] It’s used for “happy accidents,” accidents that are really somehow orchestrated by the invisible…
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18 NASB To be alone – When I wrote Guardian Angel a decade ago, I wanted to correct the false claim that Paul was misogynistic. I wanted to demonstrate that the common Christian…
