Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:10-12 NASB Joy – Is gladness missing…
“‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Matthew 22:32 NASB The living – “Scarcely anywhere else on earth has the mystery of death so moved and fascinated people as in the valley of the…
Written some time ago now, but nevertheless true of parts of this journey, I thought it might be useful to share a bit of my own struggles. Just in case you thought you were all alone here. Describing the Journey: A Declaration of In-dependence Life is not what I wanted it to be. I feel…
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. Psalm 119:93 ESV You have given me life – Frankly, I am amazed. I am amazed that the majority of Christians can read a verse like this and think that grace is all they need. I am amazed that we can…
But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? I John 3:17 NASB Goods – How do you measure your success? Most of us will say that we think of success in terms of relationships, community and…
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. Psalm 90:10 NASB Pride – “For if there is no meaning inherent in the world, on what basis can we determine the value…
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2 NASB Law of sin and death – It should be no surprise by now that Paul uses the Greek word nomos in a variety of ways. Sometimes he uses it…
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. Psalm 57:1 ESV (57:2 in Hebrew text) Destruction – Now, if I were rabbinic, I might say, “Don’t read this word…
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. Leviticus 17:11 NASB Atonement – Tim Hegg’s summary of the scholarly work on the critical Hebrew…
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Leviticus 17:11 ESV Blood – Christian apologists often claim that the blood of Christ shed on the cross…
