Courage Under Fire

“ . . . and if I perish, I perish.”  Esther 4:16  NASB Perish – Would you die for the cause?  I imagine your answer will be conditioned by an assessment of the cause.  Is it worth dying for?  But what if you believe you will die either way?  If you choose to stand up…

The Turning Point

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”  Psalm 39:7  NASB For what – Remember the punctuation.  Hebrew doesn’t have any.  So the phrase, ma(h)-q-qiwwiti, could be a question or it could be a statement, like, “I wait for.”  Or it could be, “Now, Lord, what.  I wait.”  The verb is qāwâ,…

The Myth of Success

As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.  This also is a grievous evil—exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for…

The Telltale Sign

Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 11:1 NASB Then it happened – We are about to read…

Fixed Future

Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me.  Why then have I been extremely wise?”  So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”  Ecclesiastes 2:15  NASB Fate – Is your future already set in stone?  Have the fates declared what will come to be?  Does…