How has the faithful town become a whore? Filled with justice where righteousness did lodge, and now—murderers. Isaiah 1:21 Robert Alter How – אֵיכָכָה (ʾêkākâh) how? There doesn’t appear to be anything remarkable about this, right? It’s just an interrogative. After all God’s pleading with Israel, it doesn’t seem strange to ask how all this…
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3 NIV By faith – “by faith.” So, what does that mean? Does it mean that I simply take a leap into the non-rational and “believe”? Does it mean that I don’t…
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; Philippians 3:10 NASB Know– Do you struggle with certainty? Do you want to know for sure what to believe and what not to believe? Are you plagued with the discovery that what you used to think was absolutely true doesn’t…
“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;” Deuteronomy 28:47 NASB Glad heart – “The first and most common cause of suffering is sadness. Nothing invokes such severe judgments as one’s complaints and dissatisfaction with one’s lot in life. The Torah emphatically cites sadness…
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 KJV Faith – We don’t have to revisit the modern dilution of this text. That’s already been done. But just a reminder. When the NASB and the NIV and others choose to render this verse something like, “Now…
“Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, if you can find a man, if there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, then I will pardon her.” Jeremiah 5:1 NASB Seeks truth – Is life really a puzzle? Does it…
I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. Psalm 89:1 NASB Faithfulness – The message and story of the Bible can be summarized in one word—‘emunah—faithfulness. You might be inclined to say, “Yes, of course. It’s all about God’s faithfulness.” But…
So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 NASB Hearing – If you were Paul, the Jewish rabbi named Sha’ul, what Hebrew word would you have in mind when you wrote the Greek verb akoe (to hear)? There can only be one obvious answer – shema. But as soon…
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NIV Truth – Let’s suppose that you have a secret. The secret is so powerful that it explains everything else in the world. The secret has been entrusted to you. But most…
In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. Psalm 120:1 ESV Answered – Tell me about the last time that God answered your distress call. Did you hear His voice? Did you see His mighty arm defeating your enemy? Did you smell the aroma of His presence? What was it that…
