“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NASB Know – Why don’t we dig a little deeper here? Let’s take a bit longer today to examine most of this verse. It starts…
I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. John 17:15 NASB From the evil one – The footnote in the NASB indicates that this verse might also be read, “ . . . to keep them out of the power of evil.” The…
Concerning evil, both hands do it well. Micah 7:3 NASB Both hands – In Semitic nomadic cultures, you eat with the right hand. The left hand never picks up food. It is used for other purposes. Until the invention of eating utensils, a hard and fast distinction between the hands was absolutely necessary. When the…
And this is the condemnation: that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 KJV Evil – Jewish psychology revolves around the power to choose. In spite of the fact that Freud was a Jew, the Jewish theology of the self is not…
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. John 3:19 NASB Evil – When you read this verse in John’s account, what comes to mind? Do you see a great cosmic battle between good and evil? Do…
“You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; and You dissolve me in a storm.” Job 30:22 NASB Dissolve – Ever heard the expression, “God is my co-pilot”? The truth is that God is the pilot and I am just along for the ride. That means sometimes He flies where I…
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 NASB Terrifying thing – Is there anything really terrifying in your life? If you live in the Western world or in nations where Western ideas are part of the culture, you probably would have a very short list. Perhaps…
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Proverbs 10:11 NASB Violence – The world with God’s present sovereignty is a very violent place. Imagine what it would be like without His sovereignty! If the world as we know it is under the final sovereignty…
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” Exodus 6:1 NASB I will do – The typical cultural characterization of the God of the Old Testament is a…
Brothers, do not get tired of doing what is right. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 ISV Tired – Dead tired. Exhausted. 3 AM in the morning. But I can’t sleep. My body clock is off by 13 hours. Who said jet travel was wonderful? Maybe there’s a good reason for crossing the oceans by ship. “Tired” is…
