Lord, You will establish peace for us, since You have also performed for us all our works. Isaiah 26:12 NASB Since – ki is a very flexible conjunction in Hebrew. TWOT notes: “(kî) as though, as, because that, but, certainly, except, for, surely, since, that, then, when, etc.” The range of meanings is broad. Context…
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…
If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. Exodus 23:4 NASB Return – The instructions that accompany citizenship in the Kingdom of YHVH are fundamentally different than our view of political affiliation. In systems based on Western thought, individual rights and privileges are at the…
Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. Genesis 37:1 NASB Sojourned – Did you think Jacob’s emotional trauma was resolved at Jabbok? Do you believe that crossing over into conscious self-identity means finding peace? Perhaps you need to reconsider. The Joseph story begins on an ominous…
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB Without blame – Are we making excuses or striving for a result? We all know the phrase, “It’s not my…
Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. Romans 15:2 NASB Please – The wonderful thing about paradigms is that they help you make sense of the world. In fact, if you start discovering anomalies in your world–things that just don’t add up–paradigms offer useful solutions. You can claim that…
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying Jonah 1:1 NASB Jonah – This is an easy one. The Hebrew word is yonah, which of course, is our English word “Jonah.” But this Hebrew word also means “dove.” It is the same word used of the bird that Noah released…
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 NASB Bond – Syndesmos is the Greek combination of words that mean “together” and “band or shackle.” We might think of this word with the imagery of a chain. Each link is welded together with the next. The “bond”…
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” John 14:27 KJV (Cambridge Edition) Peace – The Greek word for “peace” is eirene. In Classic Greek it meant, “the absence of war.” By implication, it came to mean “health, well-being and prosperity.” But the Greek meaning placed the word in a context of…
But wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 Peaceable – OK, let’s think about this. “Peaceable?” We live in a world of greater and greater threat and conflict. In case you weren’t paying attention, tensions around the globe are escalating as…
