Do not become wise with yourselves. Romans 12:16 Wise – If your biblical orientation is Greek, you will have quite a struggle with this verse. Does it mean that you need to stop thinking, learning, questioning and reflecting? Does it mean that you must strive for the “simple” faith, accepting uncritically whatever is taught? Most…
But He searching the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit Romans 8:27 But – There is no more important word in prayer vocabulary than this one: de. “But” God knows. How we need to dwell on this word! Lost in the wilderness, terrified by our loneliness, we can only answer one of…
for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; Romans 8:26 Groanings Too Deep – Sometimes prayer is simply silent agony. Sometimes the heart is so hurt that there just aren’t any words left to say. Sometimes there are only…
for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; Romans 8:26 How To Pray – Is this really the problem? Does Paul mean to say that we don’t know how to pray? It doesn’t seem so. Prayer is ultimately about…
Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NASB) Our Own Lives – “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” St. Francis got it…
Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NASB) A Fond Affection – While most readers of the Bible don’t know it, there are often minor differences in…
He shall not be afraid of evil news, his heart is fixed, trusting in YHWH. Psalm 112:7 Fixed – Who among us will not fear bad news? That’s a pretty important question these days. Of course, it’s all relative, isn’t it? Our version of bad news doesn’t come close to the bad news in places…
For whatever things were written before were written for our instruction, that through patience and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4 Whatever – First word emphasis. Once again we see Paul rearrange the vocabulary in order to highlight a thought. Here the first word is “whatever” (hosa), a word that we…
And we the strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those not strong and not please ourselves. Romans 15:1 Ought – We have been persuaded. We are convinced. We understand. We realize that there is room for both Torah and grace. We see that the two paths converge in the purposes of God. We know…
“Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation” Matthew 26:41 Watch – Jesus knows that we are weak, but willing. We want to serve and be of service, but we struggle mightily with disciplining the body. We are often our own worst enemies, relinquishing ground to those appetites that we so enthusiastically fed…
