Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [a]suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18 NASB Helper suitable – My work never gets too far from this original story of human desire. Over and over I return to these seminal verses, trying my best to tease out the…
Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25 NASB Anxiety – What is anxiety? A dictionary definition suggests the following: “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.” Notice that this feeling isn’t about something that has already happened. You don’t feel anxiety about yesterday’s hurricane. Nor do you…
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6 NIV Can be trusted – I’m not a big fan of the NIV. For me, it has too much implicit theology, especially in the New Testament. In this particular verse, Robert Alter’s criticism of the translator’s need to explain rather than…
Like sheep they sink down to Sheol; Death will be their shepherd; and the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for Sheol to consume, so that they have no lofty home. Psalm 49:14 NASB Death will be their shepherd – Could there be any more chilling fate of the foolish? Psalm 23…
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 ESV Friends – “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and…
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Luke 14:30 NASB Not able to finish – What if your best friend is really your worst enemy? What if embracing surrender to God means committing suicide of your self? What if there isn’t any real life after this death? Answers to these…
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 ESV Makes himself – Are you making yourself God’s enemy? Ah, you object, proclaiming, “No way. I am saved and devoted…
For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10 NASB Enemies – No one could ever have imagined such a statement. Today those who are followers of the Christ don’t give this verse…
Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (almost NASB) Friend of the world – Who is a philos tou kosmou (friend of the world)? This is a vitally important question, perhaps equal to the scribe’s inquiry, “Who is my neighbor?” If we have the…
