Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” Genesis 41:51 NASB God has made me forget– One of the peculiarities of the Joseph account is how infrequently God is mentioned. Joseph doesn’t pray to God before interpreting visions. He doesn’t mention God during his captivity. He…
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19 NASB Do this in remembrance of Me – Once we move in the direction of reading the Bible as if we were the original audience, then…
“…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” Mark 3:29 NASB Blasphemes– [Today’s Word has been written by my friend, Matt Woodward] Have you ever wondered what it means to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard several sermons, teachings, or even…
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3 NIV By faith – “by faith.” So, what does that mean? Does it mean that I simply take a leap into the non-rational and “believe”? Does it mean that I don’t…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – I just can’t get past Jacob. Maybe it’s because years ago when the financial collapse happened that started this written journey of recovery, I was tempted to think I was kind of like Job. You know, innocent. Not deserving the…
One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed. Proverbs 19:17 NASB Repay – When does God repay your generosity to the poor? You’ve been touched by the plight of homeless children. You’ve felt the heart pains of the world’s starving, the misery of the afflicted, the helplessness…
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15 NASB Sin– Last week we looked at Wyschogrod’s work on the idea of sin. What we discovered is that sin in nota moral or ethical category. Sin exists as…
For the wages of sin is death, . . .Romans 6:23 NASB Sin– Perhaps we’ve made a terrible mistake. We have assumed (and been taught) that sin is a breach of the law, in particular, God’s law. We’ve been taught that sin is doing wrong when we know what is right. We’ve been taught that sin is…
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NASB Free – Janis Joplin sang the theme song of an entire generation: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” Some days I think she was right. John uses a Greek verb with particularly dense meanings. Eleutheróō in the Greek world had…
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 NASB Wisdom/ understanding– The verse is so familiar that we fail to recognize it is not about our definitions of wisdom and understanding. In fact, we might go so far as to say that none of the ancient Hebrew Bible…
