“And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil. Joel 2:13 NASB Return– How do you feel when it all comes back? What do you think of God’s grace and compassion when all the trials, struggles and discouragements return? Why should you…
God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Genesis 21:17 NASB Crying– I’m reading a book by Julia Blum. It purports to be an examination…
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger.” Psalm 38:1 NASB Burning anger – Can you identify with David’s emotional state or are you so far away from a God who is enraged at sin that you can’t even imagine what it would be like to fear the…
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger.” Psalm 38:1 NASB Rebuke– “Rebuke me not.” The verb is yākaḥ. To convict. To judge. To reprove. Perhaps the translation does not give us the fullest appreciation of David’s plea. Literally, “YHVH, not to me in your wrath convict.” Don’t bring…
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger.” Psalm 38:1 NASB Wrath – “Rebuke me not in Your wrath” we read in English. But the Hebrew is more dramatic. The first word is the prefix “not.” David has fixed the emphasis on what is most desperately needed. “YHVH,…
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger.” Psalm 38:1 NASB O LORD – The Hebrew text does not use the word “Lord.” It uses the personal name of God, a name that is never spoken among the Jews today. Worshippers were careful to substitute the word “Lord” whenever…
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger.” Psalm 38:1 NASB Rebuke me not– Have you ever prayed like this: reaching the point, long after the Lord redeemed you, long after you recognized your sinful condition and your desperate need for grace, you are still overwhelmed by the…
But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Jude 1:10 NASB Like unreasoning animals– Jude’s little letter is unusual. It references material outside the canon. It contains hints of late additions to historical matters. But most of all, it…
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 NASB Do not worry– Why does the biblical worldview seem so impossible to put into practical application? How can Yeshua say that we should not worry about tomorrow, that we should constantly forgive, that we are not…
“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” Isaiah 58:9a Then– When does God guarantee He will answer our prayers? The prophet Isaiah provides the answers. The people voice their concern: “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?” God replies:…
