Be humbled, then, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the opportune time 1 Peter 5:6 NASB Be Humbled – There is no better person to pen these words than Peter. The man who believed in personal power learned a life-altering lesson after the death and resurrection of Yeshua. Power brings defeat. …
Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die. Ezekiel 18:4 NASB Soul – It comes as no surprise to learn that every instance of the translated word “soul” in this verse is the Hebrew word nephesh. It’s…
And Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.” Acts 26:28 NASB Christian – So here it is. That famous verse used by Christian apologists to claim that Paul’s message was the Christian gospel intended to convert both Jew and Gentile into the Church. What could be…
rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, Acts 26:17 NASB Rescuing – Imagine yourself to be Paul standing before Agrippa. You are giving a defense of your Messianic beliefs. You begin with a description of your past affiliation with the Pharisees, your zealous commitment to the…
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Exodus 20:2 ESV House of Slavery – What is the “house of slavery?” Oh, I know it’s Egypt. Actually, it isn’t really the country, is it? Egypt as a country was once a place…
And God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM;” and he said, “Thus shall you say to Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14 Hebrew World translation I AM THAT I AM – It is fairly well understood that “God” is not the name of the Hebrew deity. “God” is more or…
Thy kingdom come Matthew 6:10 Come – We know that God’s Kingdom is not a physical place. The Greek word basileia is about reign and rule, not palaces and courtyards. God’s Kingdom is revealed wherever His servants and citizens live according to His government. But what does it mean to pray, “Your Kingdom come?” Hasn’t it already arrived when we…
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV Think about such things – I have often pointed out that Judaism does not have a systematic theology. Christianity certainly does, but…
Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 NASB Wishes – “But, I’m not a friend of the world!” you complain. “This scripture isn’t about me. I believe in Jesus.” Well, maybe we need to carefully examine the Greek here. The translation “wishes” doesn’t exactly capture what James…
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NASB In the beginning – We just can’t get away from the opening verse, can we? Genesis 1:1 stands as a clarion call for everything that’s different about the Hebrew worldview. Not only does it soundly deny all of the opening ideas of…
