Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. Psalm 66:2 NASB Sing the glory – Are you finished shouting (Psalm 66:1)? Great! Got that one out, didn’t you? Now pick up an instrument and play. Oh, it could be your voice, of course, but the verb is equally at home with playing an instrument. So,…
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Psalm 66:1 NASB Shout joyfully – Don’t you just want to scream? The world is such a mess. Tragedy surrounds us on all sides. Nothing seems fair. Even our best days are tinged with past sorrows. Wouldn’t it help to just yell? To howl towards heaven? Ah, that’s…
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Psalm 25:16 NASB Lonely – Look up this verse in Hebrew and you will immediately be surprised. The word translated “lonely” is yāḥîd. It means “only,” as in “only begotten son.” Its root is yāḥad, a verb that means, “to be united,…
Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. Matthew 25:2 NASB Foolish – But of course they were foolish. They didn’t come prepared. Is that it? Is this parable of the kingdom simply about making sure we have enough provisions to wait out the return? Hardly! In Greek, the term translated “foolish” is moros. It’s…
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3 NASB Died for our sins – The tiny preposition, hyper, is the critical element in Paul’s expression of the relationship between the Messiah’s death and our salvation. The problem…
And God said to Moses, I am the one being. And he said, Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, The one being had sent me to you. Exodus 3:14 LXX I am the one being – Hinneni. “Here I am” is the common Hebrew expression for humbly identifying oneself in conversation. There…
“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations!” Isaiah 14:12 NASB Star of Morning – In an important research article, Roy Blizzard exposes the pagan origins of our usual concept of Satan. It’s worth reading:…
Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, Luke 8:1 NASB The kingdom of God – “The kingdom of heaven [of God] resembles a concept in rabbinic Judaism called tikkun ha-olam, which literally means ‘mending the world.’ When one enters (or…
Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, Luke 8:1 NASB The kingdom of God – The expression “kingdom of God” is the same as Matthew’s circumlocution, “king of heaven.” What we read about one is equivalent to what we read…
For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Luke 7:47 NASB She loved much – What path did you follow in order to come into God’s presence? Before you answer, consider this: each one of us…
