See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. 1 John 3:1 NASB Bestowed – In the New Testament this Greek word (dedoken) belongs to the same cognate group as the word for gift. It could be translated as giving, granting,…
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us, Psalm 103:12 NASB Removed – The word rahaq appears more than 50 times in the Old Testament. Its primary meaning is to indicate a physical distance between someone or something. In its ethical connotation it can be…
Rise up, be our help, and redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness. Psalm 44:26 NASB For the sake of – Let’s think about salvation. Some Hebraic ideas help us clarify the notion that salvation is about forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We should note that the Hebrew idea of salvation is associated…
And Naomi said to her two daughter-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.” Ruth 1:8 NASB Deal kindly – What is the heart of the gospel? What lies right at the core of the good…
“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 NASB Have forgiven – Read this carefully. Most of us learned this verse, and the prayer, in some version of the King James. Unfortunately, the King James didn’t make the tense of the verb very clear. “As we forgive” (KJV) could…
“So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:35 NASB Not forgive – Does God forgive everything? Before you say, “Of course!” you may wish to read this parable one more time. It is the parable of the slave who owed…
But when the multitudes saw this, they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Matthew 9:8 Filled With Awe – Matthew is fond of expressions of amazement, but his fondness is not simply a literary device. Long before Abraham Heschel mentioned it, Matthew recognized that the first step…
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:16-17 Evil Of Your Deeds – “The mistaken notion that ritual worship could atone for criminality or intentional religious desecration…
“So also My heavenly Father will do to you unless each of you from your hearts forgive his brother their offenses.” Matthew 18:35 Forgive – Forgiveness is fundamental to faith. It is the action that separates human being from human biology. When I refuse to forgive, I move away from alignment with the Father. In…
Of David, a contemplation. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom YHWH does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psalm 32:1-2 Forgiven/Covered/Does Not Charge/No Guile – Now that we see the parallelism in David’s maskil, we must draw the connecting…
