Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18 NASB Unrestrained – “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Of course, that doesn’t mean I want no one around (well, sometimes I really don’t want to have anyone around). What I mean is that I…
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18 NASB No vision – Maybe, not yet. Maybe we aren’t quite ready for total abandonment to the directions of the Lord. Maybe we’re scared that if we actually let go of everything we have used to…
Whoever gives thought to the way he lives in this world will merit divine salvation. Tractate Moed Katan page 5 folio a The way – You and I have every reason to examine how we live. In fact, this examination is our only hope of actually changing direction and meriting God’s favor. Of course, as…
The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. Psalm 18:20 NASB My righteousness – Want joy? Be obedient! Ah, sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But that’s not usually the way it works. The yetzer ha’ra has deep hooks in us and often manipulates…
Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together, for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13 NASB Joy – “The four usages of the verb śûś in the Mosaic writings occur in Deut 28:63…
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;” Exodus 34:6 NASB Gracious – Sing it! Sing it loudly! This is not theology. This is freedom. This is rescue. This is the answer. Now, how do…
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 NASB Grace and glory – Ah, what we so desperately want! Joy. Joy of life. Joy of relationships. Joy that satisfies our deepest longings for acceptance, recognition,…
“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 NIV Love – It’s Day 14. What a glorious day! For a dozen sessions, we have examined our true state of self-protection. We found something vitally important. God’s favor (hen) is God’s business. It does not depend…
The sins which pass unnoticed beset a man on the Day of Judgment. Avodah Zarah 18a Unnoticed – “Hypocrisy and rationalization transform the tokens of religious life from sources of grandeur to sources of shame.”[1] Stone goes on to suggest that worshipping God in a state of “uncleanness” is worse than not worshipping Him at…
I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. Psalm 119:16 NASB Delight – Moses Luzzatto published Mesillat Yesharim in 1740. His insights into the relationship between righteous acts, joy and obligation are just as important today as they were two hundred and fifty years ago. Luzzatto argued that human beings are…
