“How often I desired to gather your children in the way a bird gathers her chicks from under her wings.And you did not desire it.”Matthew 23:37 Did Not Desire – My wife and I had a 3AM conversation.Obviously, it was serious.She pointed out, rightly so, that I struggle with the willingness to remove those…
If you will not believe, surely you will not be established. Isaiah 7:9 Believe – What is faith? Ah, it seems like such a simple question until you try to give your definition. Faith is _____________. You’ll probably need a pretty big blank space to fill in. Just remember faith is a verb, so don’t…
with all humility and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love Ephesians 4:2 Bearing – How do prisoners walk? Paul describes each step. Humility and meekness is the first foot forward, then long-suffering, then bearing with one another. We have probably heard a lot about humility. Perhaps we have even been given instruction…
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling in which you were called, Ephesians 4:1 Prisoner – What was it like to be a prisoner in the first century Roman Empire? One rather famous dungeon in Rome was twelve feet underground. It doesn’t take much to imagine the…
who executes judgment for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. Psalm 146:7 Executes – Do we really believe God takes care of things for the oppressed? If we knew the Hebrew verb here (‘asah) is a verb that usually means a deliberate action with distinct purpose, would that change our expectations about God’s…
How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God. Psalm 146:5 Is In – It’s certainly commonplace for us to say we hope in the Lord, but we might be surprised to find the Jewish prayer book doesn’t render the thought this way. The same…
“Indeed, I gave them no-good decrees, and laws that did not offer them life.” Ezekiel 20:25 No-Good Decrees – Brevard Childs, professor of Biblical theology at Harvard, says that this verse is an example of “the clearest sign of the brokenness of the Old Testament covenant . . . once given as a source of…
But I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in silence. 1 Timothy 2:12 Exercise Authority – You have got to be kidding me! That is probably the immediate contemporary reaction to the face-value interpretation of Paul’s remark. If what Paul says is really the…
To know wisdom and instruction; to understand words of insight; to accept instruction in prudent behavior, to do what is right, and just, and fair Proverbs 1:2-3 To Know – What does it mean “to know wisdom?” Well, if you’re Greek, it means you apprehend information associated with a subject. In this case, the subject…
But answering He said, “It has been written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 Alone – God delivers! But what He delivers is not just bread. Therefore, we must be careful not to insult the Great Provider by focusing our attention…
