A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1 NIV To be esteemed – For ten days we have examined the emotional climate of our rebellion. We discovered that YHVH accepts our self-serving criticism and casts it aside in an act of pure favor…
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 NASB Grace – Day 10. We have taken time to examine ourselves. We put aside some of our theological constrictions in order to feel the heart of…
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; Romans 3:23-24 NASB Sinned – Paul (Sha’ul) grew up in the rabbinic tradition. He considered himself a strict adherent to Torah. That means he knows hatta’t and…
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. I John 5:3 NASB Love of God – Whom do you love? Visualize that person sitting in front of you. His or her presence makes your heart feel a bit lighter. You have a smile on your…
Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. 2 Corinthians 11:15 NASB According to their deeds – Paul was afraid that his readers would be led astray. He was afraid they would embrace “another Jesus,” one not found as leader…
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:8 NASB Favor – It comes as no surprise that the Hebrew noun translated “favor” is hen. Usually understood as grace, the word is crucial for recognizing that God’s actions toward men are not motivated by Man’s essential goodness but rather by the nature…
Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness” Jeremiah 31:2 NASB Wilderness – Not everyone finds grace in the wilderness. God says that His people, the ones who have survived the sword, the ones He calls Israel, find something unexpected in the wilderness. They find grace. Imagine the…
Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5 NASB Did not believe – Most of the time we just skip over this one page letter in the…
Turn to me and grant me grace, for alone and afflicted am I. Psalm 25:16 Robert Alter translation Turn – We just want to see a smile. We want to look on the face of the Lord and see Him smiling. Growing up under the Roman idea of God as Judge, we have buried deep…
All the LORD’s paths are kindness and truth for the keepers of His pact and His precepts. Psalm 25:10 Robert Alter translation Keepers – Think of the covenant like a trust fund with conditions. All of God’s kindness and truth is available as a result of the trust He established. But the benefits aren’t for…
