Tears of Heaven

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it   Luke 19:41 Wept – There are two Greek words for “wept” in the New Testament.  If you don’t know which one you’re reading, you will miss the whole point.  In this verse, the word is klaio.  It means to lament, wail, weep…

Lullaby

Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.  Acts 20:31 Alert – Have you been lulled to sleep by the appeal of the world, or worse, by the seemingly reasonableness of subtle changes in God’s self-revelation?  Paul…

Grave Cloth

For I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified   1 Corinthians 2:2 Crucified – Did you notice that Paul does not mention what most of us would consider the most important element in Christian belief?  Paul doesn’t include the resurrection!  Does that surprise you?  It certainly should.  How can…

Who, not What

For I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified   1 Corinthians 2:2 Nothing – It’s difficult to shift from a life based on God’s benevolence to one based on God’s character, but the transition is necessary and inevitable.  Why is it necessary?  Because life in this fallen realm is…

What’s Obvious

This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.  2 Thessalonians 1:5 Plain Indication – What is the most obvious indication of your faith?  That’s the question Paul answers in these few verses from his letter.  But…

Round About

Brothers, pray for us!  1 Thessalonians 5:25 For – When you pray as a group, how do you position yourself?  Are you on your knees, face down, sitting quietly, standing with arms raised?   We should probably add one more important posture after reading this verse.  Of course, you wouldn’t see it in English.  You would…

Return on Relationship

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  John 17:3 Know – Jesus defines eternal life solely in terms of relationships.  Is that the way you define it?  There is not a single mention of heaven, salvation, forgiveness, blessings, victory, power, purpose…

A Wonderful Plan

For God so loved the world that He gave   John 3:16 World – When Bill Bright introduced the now-famous phrase, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” he captured the spiritual desperation of the time.  In that day, life seemed purposeless.  At the end of the industrial revolution, we all felt…

Homeland Security

Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.  Isaiah 30:3 Humiliation – Israel had to learn a very hard lesson.  It took the complete destruction of its civilization to accomplish the teaching.  National, public shame was the grist of the mill that finally brought…

Life As It Is

“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “who execute a plan, but not Mine’ and who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit”   Isaiah 30:1 Plan – We are big on planning.  We plan for business success, career advancement, income investment and retirement.  We plan for our safety.  We even plan our children. …