Worship and Work

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  Romans 12:6  Berean Study Bible 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.  Charisis…

The Good, the True, and the Beautiful

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.  Psalm 63:3  NASB Better than – kî ṭôb pens the Psalmist.  “Better than.”  Better than what?  mē ḥayyîm, he replies. ḥesed is kî ṭôb mē ḥayyîm.  ḥesed is better than life! That is a powerful claim!  Do we really think that ḥesed is better…

Silence of the Lambs (7)

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23  NASB Faithfulness – We end at the beginning.  This entire lament starts here, with a declaration of God’s faithfulness.  But that’s what makes it so strange.  Here, in the midst of a book of poems about the tragedy of…

Worship and Work

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6  Berean Study Bible 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…

What Matters Most

Blessed be the Lord, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.  Psalm 31:21  NASB To me– What matters most to you?  When you have only one thing to hold on to, what makes the real difference between living or giving up?  David’s poem provides us with his answer.  What matters most is not just…

Being or Doing

Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. Psalm 86:2 NASB Godly man – The ESV corrects some of the NASB translation by rendering nephesh as “life,” not “soul.” This prayer is about saving life, not about preserving a “soul” as some sort…

Yes, But

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8 NASB Love – John’s statement seems pretty clear, right? God is love. We get that. Unless you’re one of those who doesn’t understand the necessity of judgment in the fabric of love, and you conclude that all the…

A Soft Place in God’s Heart

“but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24 NASB Delight – The psalmist declares that YHVH will provide us with the desires of our hearts….

Like Me?

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 NIV In every way – Do you really think that Yeshua was tempted in every way just like…

Two Steps Forward

So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. Ruth 1:22 NASB Returned – How are you going? No, it’s not a typo. It’s not “where are you going?” that matters at this moment. It’s “how.” The verbs used to describe Naomi’s return are quite interesting….