Begin at the End

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6  NIV Began – One way to find the route through a complicated maze is to begin at the end and work backwards.  Most of us have done that…

Common Nonsense

Trust in YHWH with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; know Him in all your ways, and He makes all your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6  ISR Your own understanding – There is nothing common about common sense.  From a biblical point of view, common sense is just another form of arrogant…

Indelible Ink

Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your mercies blot out my transgressions.  Psalm 51:3  Hebrew World Blot out – Technology has changed our conception of forgiveness.  In a world where we can simply backspace or press the spell-check button, we don’t think of any word…

Divine Certainty

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6  NIV Confident – There aren’t many things in life that are guaranteed.  The joke usually involves death and taxes, but neither one of those is very appealing.  Unfortunately,…

Marginal Notes

in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.  Philippians 1:5  NASB Participation – Paul applauds the believers in Philippi for their “participation” in the gospel.  What does that mean?  Why don’t you make a list of the things that you associate with “participation in the gospel”?  Would you include…

The Messenger

For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in faithfulness.  Psalm 33:4  Hebrew World Faithfulness – “To be fruitful means not to act for private ends but as a messenger in loyalty to Him who has engaged us.”[1]  What does it mean to be a loyal messenger?  It means…

Nicaragua

I will be in Nicaragua for the next week.  Usually this mean sporadic internet, no telephone, etc.  If you order books (except e-books and downloads) after today, I won’t be abel to ship them until September 21.  Be patient, please.  As always, Today’s Word should not be interrupted.  Patrick will look after things.

The Painful Truth

For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases suffering.  Ecclesiastes 1:18  ISR Much grief – Well, it’s certainly not what we expected!  The general consensus of our culture is that knowledge and wisdom lead to power and power leads to control and control leads to a prosperous life.  If this…