Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies Ephesians 1:3 Blessed – There are two words for “blessed” in the New Testament. One is common to the Greek pattern of wise sayings that begin with makarios. You will find this in the…
remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12 Hope – Human beings were made to hope. Hope sets us apart from the rest of animated creation. Hope determines our…
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27:1 But now you boast in your presumptions. All such boasting is evil. James 4:16 Boast – Open your day planner. Look at the top of the page for tomorrow. Do you see God’s fingerprint there? If you…
He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus! Here! Outside!” John 11:43 Outside – Jesus has an exit strategy. Do you? Jesus’ exit strategy does not depend on any of life’s circumstances. Not even death! That’s the kind of exit strategy we all need. Too many times our plans really are nothing more than contingent…
Repent, therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19 Return – We know the word for repent. It is a word that means to change the place of your mind. In Hebrew, it is the word for…
Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3 Like A Thief – There is hardly a more frightening verse in Revelation. Of…
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous, therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19 Repent – Have you determined to be 100% sold-out for God? That’s great. He wants you to have a zealous heart like His. But how do you accomplish this? Do you just make another vow to keep every commandment? Do…
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous, therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19 Zealous – Are you zealous for God? “I think so,” you might answer, “but I’m not sure what you mean.” Yes, it’s confusing. We don’t use the word zeal much in these days of tolerance and universal humanism. When we…
Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 Iron – Hebrew puns are not obvious in translation, but once you know them, a deeper meaning appears. Here the word “iron” has two meanings. The first instance is a reference to a sword or knife. The second is to a sharpening stone. In Hebrew,…
But encourage one another day after day, as long as it still called, “Today,” lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13 Encourage – If we only knew the Greek! What a difference it might make in the way we understand “encourage” and “exhort.” Here is the word parakaleite. …
