create

  • The Heart Has Its Reasons

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10  NIV   Pure – Scrubbed!  But not just on the outside (although that is also included).  At least that’s the way we usually think about  a “pure” heart.  We are reminded of Yeshua’s insight about the exterior and interior of the pot.  The Hebrew verb is ṭāhēr.   The verb…

  • Wash, Dry, Fold

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10  NASB   Steadfast – There’s not much point in washing your clothes if you’re just going to jump back in the mud.  They might be clean for the moment, but unless you stay away from the muck, you’ll be right back where you started—dirty.  That’s the point of…

  • Identity Card (2)

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    This has become mine, that I comply with Your precepts.  Psalm 119:56  NASB Comply – Did you think we’ve completely mined this verse after yesterday’s investigation?  Well, we learned that “This has become mine” is probably better understood as a statement of identity rather than possession.  It’s not something that I have acquired.  Rather, it’s a…

  • The Genesis of David

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NASB Create – First let’s correct the syntax. The emphasis of this verse is not “create.” It is leb tahor, a “heart clean.” But even this needs a bit of explanation. The root taher is not about “spiritual”…

  • Nearing the End (1)

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:10-12 NASB Heart – In Hebrew the…

  • Back to bara

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    o God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds  . . .  Genesis 1:21 ESV Created – There are demarcations in the Hebrew text that provide important insights about our relationship to God and to the rest of His cosmos.  Unfortunately, some…

  • The Problem Of Evil

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    I YHWH and none else, forming light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil – I YHWH do all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7 (translation: M. Buber) Creating – Where did evil come from?  Such a simple question.  Such an enormously difficult answer, if there even is an answer.  One of the greatest impediments to…