Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1 Prayer – Why do we pray? If God knows our needs before we ask, what’s the point? If God has sovereignly arranged the circumstances to accomplish His purposes,…
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! Deuteronomy 6:4 Witness – When God’s children observe His commandments, He enables them to be a witness to Him. That’s the point of being Torah-observant. Yes, of course, living according to God’s Word brings joy and peace and well-being (God promises that). But…
And you shall become a kingdom of priests for Me, a holy nation. Exodus 19:6 Kingdom of Priests – God chose Israel before He gave them the commandments. He elected Abram before he became Abraham and before he knew anything about God’s plan. He picked Isaac, not Ishmael. He blessed Jacob, not Esau. God chooses…
18 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, “Seek Me that you may live.” Amos 5:4 Seek – Live – The Hebrew here is much more forceful. Just two words: dirshuni vikhyu. Like a one-two punch! The two words are darash and hayah, but it’s probably hard to see them because the…
and when you seek for me you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 Seek/Search – How many times have you heard this verse given as motivation for seeking God? It seems to be a favorite when we need exhortation and encouragement. But how many of us know…
16 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19 Keeps and Teaches – Apparently Jesus did not view the Law as…
I brought you out of the land of Egypt, saying, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” Amos 3:2 Only – Why did God choose you and me? He did, you know. He started this plan of redemption and restoration by choosing Abraham. He continues the plan by grafting the…
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain Deuteronomy 5:11 In Vain – Let’s settle this one right up front. This commandment is not about swearing, foul language or cursing. Cleaning up your vocabulary is socially proper and relationally correct, but it won’t get you any closer to obedience. Using…
punishing the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and forth generation of those that hate me. Deuteronomy 5:9 Hate – What happens when we bow down and serve false gods? Among other things, our children suffer. Why? Because our attitudes and actions demonstrate that we do not need God. They…
“And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities” Psalm 130:8 His – Your eighth grade English teacher would have circled the word in red. She would write in the margin, “number disagreement”. “Israel” is plural but “his” is singular. Did God make a grammatical mistake? Take a look at this verse in your translation…
