A Peaceful Demonstration

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…

Take My Yoke

 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”…

Conflict Resolution

“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…

Hebrew Connections

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…

Biblical Antonyms

I YHWH and none else, forming light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil – I YHWH do all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7 Peace – What is an antonym?  Answer: the opposite.  The antonym of black is white.  The antonym of fast is slow.  The antonym of leader is follower.  But when it comes…

The Problem Of Evil

I YHWH and none else, forming light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil – I YHWH do all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7 (translation: M. Buber) Creating – Where did evil come from?  Such a simple question.  Such an enormously difficult answer, if there even is an answer.  One of the greatest impediments to…

Damage Assessment

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34 Sword – If you’re serious about Yeshua’s declarations, this one must upset you.  Don’t the angels sing, “Peace on earth”?  Isn’t the gospel a message of peace with God?  Then how…

OPEN EYES FAITH

Sometimes I think we get the idea that God leaves us in the dark on purpose.  We have the bump-into-things view of faith, like walking through a room with the lights off.  This morning my wife and I read our devotional page from Oswald Chambers’ book.  We talked about our current situation.  Nothing seems to…

Chasing The Dream

so then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Romans 14:19 Pursue – What do you really pursue? Be honest with yourself. Don’t consider the ideals that float around in the culture. Look at your behavior. Assess yourself as though you were an outside observer. Examine…

Peace

Peace with God does not mean peace with the world.  In fact, peace with God means emnity with the world.  Peace with God is the status of our spiritual relationship.  It is not a description of the condition of our lives.  We should expect trails, turmoil, tragedy and death in the course of our journey. …