. . . she heard that the LORD had taken note of His people and given them food. Ruth 1:6 JPS Had taken note – Once or twice in life it’s nice to hear something from the Lord. Two times is the extent of direct mention of God in the story of Ruth. Yes, the…
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17 NASB Right thing – Two factors are immediately apparent from James’ statement. First, sin attaches to what I know, not what I don’t know. And second, if I know what is the right…
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – Yeshua’s demand seems perfectly reasonable, right? You and I can be perfect, can’t we? God demands it. We are accountable. Therefore, we should do it. When I was much younger, this verse scared me to death. I knew…
Only this, I have found, as a real good: that one should eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains he makes under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given him; for that is his portion. Ecclesiastes 5:17 NJPS Real good – There are two views of what…
The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. Isaiah 45:7 NASB Calamity – If God is sovereign, then why is there evil? How can a good God allow evil in the world? If you’ve never struggled with these questions, perhaps you haven’t read…
and the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, . . . Genesis 3:6 ISR Saw – Are you able to see what’s good? Can you look below the skin of something and see its true nature? Maybe…
Woe to those who say to evil, good; and to good, evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 (KJV) Evil/Good – What characterizes the ethics of the world more than this? “Evil is good, good is evil.” At some level, most…
I YHWH and none else, forming light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil – I YHWH do all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7 Peace – What is an antonym? Answer: the opposite. The antonym of black is white. The antonym of fast is slow. The antonym of leader is follower. But when it comes…
So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Romans 7:12 Good – What is good? Well, there’s the good news. What’s good about that? It’s the announcement that we can have peace with God. That’s pretty good. In the scheme of things, peace with God counts a lot. …
He has declared to you, O man, what is good. Micah 6:8 Declared – Context, context, context. Far too often we lift a verse from its culture and history when we apply it to extraneous theological topics. In this case, while it is certainly true that God does determine what is good, Micah is not…
