“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 NASB Commandments – We want to follow the teaching of the Messiah. We want to be called good and faithful servants. But that means we need to know what he wants, and that means we need to know what his commandments are. Now, we…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Enclosed– There’s not much wiggle room here. ṣûr, the Hebrew verb used in this expression, is related to words meaning, ‘besiege, bind, tie down’ and ‘encircle.’ The psalmist’s choice seems to make it abundantly clear that God Himself puts restrictive fences around our…
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments. Psalm 119:176 NASB Do not forget– What does it mean to be lost? Our common assumptions probably arise from the evangelical interpretation of the state of the lost, that is, the condition of those who do not know God, have no…
You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:13-16 NASB You shall not – Aviya Kushner notices something odd. “In Hebrew, four key ‘commandments’ are crammed into one verse in Exodus 20.13. But in the 1611 King James Bible, they…
“For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My Name is great among the nations. And in every place incense is presented to My Name, and a clean offering. For My Name is great among the nations,” said YHVH of hosts. Malachi 1:11 SRI Among the nations – Perhaps it’s time…
I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. Psalm 119:16 NASB Delight – Moses Luzzatto published Mesillat Yesharim in 1740. His insights into the relationship between righteous acts, joy and obligation are just as important today as they were two hundred and fifty years ago. Luzzatto argued that human beings are…
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Genesis 26:5 KJV Kept – Why does God watch over you? Why are you so lucky in life? Why does He keep protecting and providing for you? Do you suppose that you are the recipient of a generational…
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. I John 5:3 NASB Love of God – Whom do you love? Visualize that person sitting in front of you. His or her presence makes your heart feel a bit lighter. You have a smile on your…
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 2 Timothy 3:2 NASB Unholy – Describe the unholy person. Write down his character traits (or flaws). What you will end up with is a list of culturally conditioned spiritual and behavioral attributes. And you won’t come…
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the…
