Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (almost NASB) Wishes to be – What do you long to be? What desire do you hold in your heart? James’ comment is not about active expression and outward progression. James uses the Greek verb boulomai, a…
Before I left for Africa, there was a lot of discussion about the Jewish idea of the yetzer ha’ra and the difference between this concept and the Christian idea of sin and the sinful nature. I recorded three graduate lectures concerning this topic. You can listen to them here. I hope you find them useful…
Perhaps one of the most significant differences between Christian orthodoxy and Jewish rabbinic teaching concerns the idea of sin. These lectures and comments on the Talmudic view of the yetzer ha’ra are offered as a way to open the discussion for those who are concerned about this difference. Lecture 1. Download the Audio Lecture 2….
And you shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your nephesh and with all your might Deuteronomy 6:5 (my adjusted translation) All your heart – be-kol levavcha. Try saying it. “With all your heart.” YHWH wants – and expects – your whole heart commitment to Him. How will I know…
Y cosieron hojas de higuera y se hicieron delantales. Génesis 3:7 Delantales – Como descubrió Adán, las hojas de higo no funcionaron muy bien. Rembrandt pudo haberlas utilizado para cubrir ciertas partes del cuerpo, pero no creo que ese sea el punto de este texto. La palabra hebrea para delantal es hagore´, de la raíz…
And they sewed leaves of the fig tree and made loin coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:7 Loin Coverings – As Adam discovered, fig leaves don’t really do the job. Rembrandt might have used them to cover certain parts of the body, but I don’t think that is the point of this text. The Hebrew word…
YHWH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1 Fear – The children of Israel read the 27th Psalm in preparation for Rosh Hashanah. They do this as a matter of preparation for repentance (teshuvah from the verb shuv). Why is the 27th Psalm so important to the beginning of the…
“and if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:7 At The Door – “The exact moment when the human being becomes endowed with the evil impulse was discussed by Antonius and R. Judah the Prince, and the decision…
“for indeed, I am a man under authority” Luke 7:8 Under Authority – Are you under authority? Most believers would quickly assert that they are. After all, they serve the Lord. But perhaps we are a bit too quick to answer this question, principally because it is not a matter of attitude. It is a…
And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that all the impulse of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 Impulse – So, is there a little devil on one shoulder and a little angel on the other battling for your attention and decision?…
