Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. Romans 13:11 NASB To awaken – Today is my birthday. In just twelve more years I might be ready to lead people out of Egypt. But I…
For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living. Psalm 56:13 NASB From death – Was David saved? He certainly thinks so. In fact, he notes that as a result of being saved from death, he has the…
He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 25:8 NASB Wipe tears away – The verb maha(h) occurs thirty-tree times in the Tanakh. It is…
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— Romans 5:12 NASB Death – “The death of the soul is never quick. It is a slow dying, a succession of little deaths that continues until we wake up one…
But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:60 NASB Dead – When do you think you will be born? When will God start what He has finished with you? It’s nice that the NLT adds “spiritually…
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NASB In – God’s gift of life is free but it comes packaged in a particular way. Since we are often so intent on getting the gift, we have a tendency to…
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NASB Wages – opsonion. “What is appointed for purchase.” H. W. Heidland provides the following insight: “the use of the word brings out three important points: a. that sin is a deceiver,…
Scott Peck was right. Life is difficult. But perhaps it is difficult in a different way than he imagined. He noted that our expectations of comfort and pleasure are at odds with the reality of true fulfillment. Real life comes from the willingness to live for something bigger than myself (Heschel). That means sacrifice at…
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 NASB Death – My friend John is dying. Elegantly. As cancer consumes his body, every pore leaks righteousness. God is spending him into eternity. We all die, of course, but most of us don’t die with godliness. Perhaps we die…
How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer! Lamentations 1:1 NASB Lonely – This is the really big one, isn’t it? Lonely. Badad. To be alone, by…
