“One who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.” Proverbs 19:17 Gracious – What does it mean to be gracious to the poor? Most of us would immediately reject the Martha Stewart “gracious living” answer. We know that being gracious to the poor does…
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 Persecuted – What does “persecuted” mean to you? Prison cells? Torture chambers? The rack? Burned at the stake? Fed to lions? Maybe you think less graphically. Maybe “persecuted” is about being turned down for…
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4 Who – Who are you? The answer has nothing to do with your name, heritage, nationality or gender. This “who” is really a different question in disguise. It is really the question: whose are you? It is a question…
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4 End – The Beatles almost got it right. On Abby Road, the boys sing, “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make“. Almost, but not quite. God’s perspective is a little different. …
“but only a few things are necessary, really only one:” Luke 10:42 Really only one – Life is designed to bring us to the circumstances of our defining moment – the moment when who we really are in the depths of our being is revealed. The problem is with “defining moments” is this: you never…
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” Ephesians 2:8 Gift – Today we’ll go for a swim in the ocean. Oh, yeah, I see those red flags. But they are just for wimps. Forget them. Yeah, I hear the lifeguard calling. Something…
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” Ephesians 2:8 Saved – The 3 P’s. That’s the important thing about this word. It’s a Perfect Passive Participle. But don’t despair if you don’t remember your eighth grade grammar. In one minute you will…
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” Ephesians 2:8 Grace – Rejoice! Give Freely! Bestow Favor! Give Thanks! Show Gratitude! All of these meanings are found in the same Greek root that we find here as “grace”. Grace is charis. All of…
“And when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” Luke 13:12 Freed – From Jesus lips, this broken woman hears a tenderness that she has not known for a long time. She has been used to, “Get out of the way” and “There is…
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” Joshua 1:8 Prosperous – Bank…
