You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger. Psalm 60:3 NASB Experience Hardship – When the Tanakh uses the verb ra’a in the Hiphil tense, the idea is to be caused to see, to make one feel or know. God makes His people feel. He…
Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me. Psalm 56:1 NASB He oppresses me – Are you oppressed? Before you say, “Not at all,” consider the Hebrew word lahats. It is a picture of being squeezed into a space too small to fit. Balaam’s…
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days. Proverbs 19:20 NASB Be wise – I have recently been reading the early speeches of Abraham Heschel. Fifty years ago his prophetic insight into our culture sounded the warning. Fifty years later it seems as though we didn’t listen…
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NASB Makes you free – Are you free? The answer depends entirely on your worldview. The meaning of the term “free” is a function of the culture you belong to. And the difference between the Greek/Western view of freedom and the…
I recently gave a lecture in South Africa about the “law vs. grace” issue, explaining how the definitions of the terms need to be understood in the culture of the first century. This is a THREE PART VIDEO of about 2 hours total. You will learn that the real issue is not law versus grace…
Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but rightouesness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:16-17 NASB Good thing – What is the emphasis of Paul’s statement? Is it on the “good thing”? …
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV Yoke – Yesterday we connected Paul’s idea of “bond” with Yeshua’s statement about “yoke.” “Freedom comes in chains,” we said. When Yeshua invites us to take His…
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 NASB Bond – Syndesmos is the Greek combination of words that mean “together” and “band or shackle.” We might think of this word with the imagery of a chain. Each link is welded together with the next. The “bond”…
“If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 NASB Therefore – Don’t we love this verse! I hear it all the time. “Jesus set me free.” “I’m free because Jesus died for me.” The great mantra of the Western world is “Freedom!” Of course, none of us bother…
“Then if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” John 8:36 Free – Freedom is an important word in a man’s vocabulary. We have talked about it a lot. We recognized that the Greek idea of freedom is centered in the relationship between the individual and the State. For the Greeks, freedom is…
