“keep them in Your name; those you gave to Me, that they may be one as We are.” John 17:11 Keep – If you listened to Jesus praying in the Garden, you would have heard some very familiar words. In this verse, that familiarity could only remind you of one thing – Deuteronomy. “Keep” is…
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. Mark 3:29 (with parallels in Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10) Blasphemes – Do you think that God always forgives? Contemporary Christianity often presents the “all-forgiving” God, implying that no matter what you do, this God will always accept…
Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver Matthew 27:3 Remorse – The usual Greek word for repentance is metanoeo. It means a complete change of mind, a reversal of direction. To repent is to turn back to God; accept…
but Jesus was asleep Matthew 8:24 Asleep – Without saying a word, Jesus still reflects an Old Testament perspective on life. To sleep in the midst of a storm reveals complete confidence in the sovereignty of God, just as the Scripture suggests in Leviticus 26:6 (lying down with no concern about trouble), Job 11:18-19 (resting…
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 Samaria – Acts is the story of the fulfillment of the Great Commission, but if we…
and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:13 Name – If you want to know the end, you must start at the beginning. John’s apocalyptic vision of the return and judgment of the Lord is unintelligible without the Hebrew Scriptures. A name is never just a name. A name is the essence…
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life. Proverbs 6:23 Commandment, Teaching, Reproofs – In modern marketing techniques, we are often subject to bundled pricing. If you want the sports channel, you have to buy the package that comes with three shopping networks…
“But you have this, that you hate the work of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Revelation 2:6 Nicolaitans – There aren’t many expression where the Alpha and Omega, the Lamb of God, says that He hates certain people, so when we read these words, we better pay attention. Most of us will see nothing…
concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, Romans 1:3 Flesh – Is the flesh sinful? Most Christians, I’m afraid, have a tendency to think so. Maybe that’s why the NIV translates this Greek word (sarx) as “sinful nature” in most of its occurrences. But we hardly can…
If anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering must be of fine flour and he must pour oil on it and put incense on it. Leviticus 2:1 Grain Offering – Here’s an amazing fact. Paul justifies the payment of those who proclaim the good news of God by appealing to the grain…
