Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; Exodus 34:6 NASB Abounding in lovingkindness– Let’s consider the big picture. In order to do that, we must first step away from the narrower perspective. So let’s move back from the idea that the…
In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be ashamed; in Your righteousness deliver me. Psalm 31:1 Never be ashamed– “Where do you feel safe?” asked my friend, the therapist. The answer scared me. Where do you feel completely accepted, warts and all? Where are you safe enough to be transparent about your feelings, your…
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB According to what he has done – I guess Paul was mistaken. He doesn’t sound very much like…
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 NASB Where – As you know, Hebrew has two words for “where.” The first is a question about geographical location. ‘ephoh, that is, “Where is such and such place, person, thing?” If I’m lost in Jerusalem, I might use this…
To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 1:4 NASB Grace and peace – Paul often uses these words, “grace” and “peace,” in personal letters. We have a tendency to skip right over them, imagining that we know what they mean to his audience simply because they…
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 NASB Grace – “What is grace? The presence of the soul. A person had grace when the throbbing of his heart is audible in his voice; when the longings…
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB Sufficient – Is grace really sufficient for you? Are you content with the…
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Galatians 5:2 NASB Circumcision – Who am I to tell the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain that his exegesis of Paul is incorrect? But listen to what Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says: “It was among this…
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6 NIV Gifts – While the Greek heritage provides a rich texture for understanding the idea of gifting as the expression of joyful celebration, an even deeper context can be seen in the Hebrew thought patterns that lie behind Paul’s vocabulary. Charis is typically…
God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NASB It was good – Sometimes the most important thing is what’s missing. Of course, we wouldn’t notice what’s missing…
