Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, Isaiah 1:16 ESV Wash yourselves – In the days of Isaiah the prophet, Israel was an idolatrous nation, filled with disobedience and bound for chastisement. YHWH sent a message to His people, warning them that if…
Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:9 ESV Lodges – This is not modern psychology. If you went to the therapist to deal with your quick temper or your deepest anger, he would not greet you by remarking that you are a fool. …
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, . . . Hebrews 10:24-25a ESV To meet together – “Services are conducted with dignity and precision. The rendition of the liturgy is smooth. Everything…
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:20 ESV Hastens to be rich – Does God want you to live a productive, satisfying, purposeful life? YES! Does He want you to experience all of the blessing that He has in store for you? YES! …
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. Psalm 145:17 ESV Kind – David’s declaration answers several questions. First, it answers the question, “Why does God let these terrible things happen?” David declares that the question itself is misinformed. YHWH is righteous in all His ways. Tsaddiq entails that…
When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Isaiah 1:15 ESV I will not listen – We are often told that God hears all prayers, but the Bible says otherwise. Just as one must…
Pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB Pray – “We do not refuse to pray. We merely feel that our tongues are tied, our minds inert, our inner vision dim, when we are about to enter the door that leads to prayer. We do not refuse to pray; we abstain from it. We ring the…
To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. Romans 9:5 ESV REVISED 13 March 2021 (my original views have changed dramatically) From their race – We have learned that Paul’s expression “to them belong” is a translation gloss. The…
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. Romans 9:4 ESV Belong – Are you under the false impression that the biblical experience of God belongs to the Church? Do you think God’s promises are promises for the Church? Did…
In two days I will be on my way home from Africa. Been gone a long time. Anxious to get back. Seeing leopards is quite rare these days. We spotted this one in Botswana.
