How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. Habakkuk 1:2 ANSB Violence! – You know the aphorism. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It seems that two thousand seven hundred years haven’t made much…
Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalm 103:13 NASB Compassion – It goes without saying (but it is worth saying anyway) that David knew the connection between raham and rehem (or the other meaning of raham, with the vowel patach rather than…
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, Philippians 2:1 NASB Affection – Apparently Paul got it backwards. We would have expected the next word, translated “compassion,” to be this word, splanchnon. Or maybe Paul…
But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? I John 3:17 NASB Goods – How do you measure your success? Most of us will say that we think of success in terms of relationships, community and…
Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Matthew 24:46 NASB So doing – While I was washing the car, I suddenly thought about asset management. I don’t know why, except that the Spirit was prompting me in moments of unaware routines. I thought about what really matters to God…
But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Mark 5:33 NASB Fearing and trembling – What is the relationship between sin and healing? That question plays a significant role in the gospel accounts. The disciples voice their opinion…
“He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13 NASB Compassion – Nain. The village named “pleasant” or “beautiful”. But on this day the Hebrew name does not fit the mood at all. Today is the day of a funeral. Today is a mother’s worst nightmare – death invades life. …
“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” Luke 10:36 NASB Proved to be – It’s a matter of DNA. Spiritual DNA, in this case. You would know that if you read the Greek text. The choice for the verb here is…
“Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day.” Luke 16:19 Gaily Living – “Reading the Bible in a translation is like kissing your new bride through a veil.”[1] Kenneth Bailey underlines Bialik’s point in this parable.[2] The translation “living gaily” disguises…
“But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion.” Luke 10:33 Felt Compassion – We have often mentioned that Hebrew thought development moves like the lines of a pyramid. The story develops from the foundation up to the pinnacle and then concludes by returning…
