Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 NASB Religion– A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away—we investigated thrēskeía, the Greek term James uses in this verse translated “religion.” The translation obscures some of the…
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, Philippians 2:14-15 NASB Blameless / innocent – There’s little doubt that we live in a “crooked and perverse generation.” I really…
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, Philippians 2:14-15 NASB Grumbling / disputing– “You know, I don’t like to say this, but . . .” “Did you…
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Genesis 17:17 NASB Laughed– Now we have looked at Genesis 17:17; 18:12; 28:16 and 32:26. In each case we have suggested that…
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Genesis 17:17 NASB Laughed– Yesterday we looked at this verse in comparison with Genesis 18:12. We noticed that God does not correct…
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Genesis 17:17 NASB Laughed– Before Isaac was born, God made a promise to Abraham. But when Abraham heard the promise, he couldn’t…
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NASB Thirsts– The Hebrew word ṣāmēʾ doesn’t take much scholarly explanation. We all know what it means. Water is life and when you don’t have it…
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NASB Seek You earnestly– If you’re going to understand what it means to seek God earnestly, you’ll have to know something about the Piel stem. …
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NASB God/my God– David’s opening two words in Hebrew are ʾĕlōhîm ʾēli. You might think that he is addressing only the one true God…
“Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them?” Jeremiah 26:19 Entreat– What does it mean to entreat someone? Even in English we have a difficult time expressing this thought succinctly. Certainly the concept involves a gesture of respect,…
