“to know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding.” Proverbs 1:2 Wisdom – Do you remember Alice’s world? One pill makes you taller and one pill makes you small. The red bottle does one thing, the blue does another. Sometimes we let the imagery of alternatives seep into God’s view of the world….
“Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Luke 23:28 Weep – Is it a warning or a proclamation of great compassion? On the surface, we might hear a warning. “Don’t weep for me. I am not the one who will really suffer the consequences of this event. …
“He restores my soul” Psalm 23:3 Soul – David was just out of touch. If he really knew about restoring, he would have grabbed a Powerade or an energy bar. He might have taken extra multi-vitamins or gone to the doctor to get a prescription for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. But David was stubborn. He believed…
“Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Luke 2:49 House – This “house” is empty. In fact, the word “house” in this verse is not really there at all. By inserting it, we might get the idea that there is…
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink”, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10 Gift – The woman at the well made the wrong assumptions. Her assumptions keep her from hearing the point Jesus communicated. …
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink”, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10 Knew – The story of the woman at the well is so familiar that we often overlook this critical verse. When…
“And He said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’” Matthew 21:13 Prayer – When Matthew translated Jesus’ shout into Greek, he used the word proseuche. Whatever the history behind the Hebrew word might be, the story of this Greek word is a bit clearer. Proseuche comes from…
“And He said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’” Matthew 21:13 from Isaiah 56:7 Prayer – Do you think Jesus would say the same thing to us if he were to show up on Sunday? Is your church really a “house of prayer”? This is not a…
“Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” John 11:22 Even now – Martha stretches just a little beyond the three days in the grave. Even now, even after everyone else thinks it is too late, even when I can’t imagine how, even now God will give. The Greek…
“If only you had been here, my brother would not have died” John 11:21 If only– Lazarus is dead. Too late for Lazarus, but not too late for Martha to proclaim her lost hope. She runs to Jesus as he approaches the house, saying, “If you were here.” “If” – the word of exquisite hindsight. …
