“But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do well to those hating you, and pray for those abusing and persecuting you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-44 Enemies – Is God sovereign? Does He have His hand on every aspect of your life? …
“and if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” Luke 17:4 Seven Times – Jesus, of course, did not speak to his disciples in Greek. So, even though this verse uses the Greek word heptakis (seven times), it is quite unlikely that Jesus…
“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” Luke 17:3 Be On Your Guard – Forgiveness is a painful, risky business. I suppose that only Jesus is actually capable of unsullied forgiveness – and that ability came at tremendous cost. Most of us practice deflected forgiveness. We…
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; 2 Tim 2:11 Spiritual Suicide 2 Died With Him – So now you know that death comes before life, not after it. Now you know that this death must be voluntary and deliberate. What you also need to know is that this Greek…
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; 2 Tim 2:11 Died With Him – Every Christian is called to commit suicide. To be a follower in the Way means to terminate life in this world. Jesus invites us to share in His suffering – and that means a voluntary climb…
Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. Psalm 19:2 Pours Forth – Listen! Do you hear that? Out there, by the edge of the mountains? It’s a storm, way in the distance. You better be careful. Time to get to high ground. A rain storm in the desert can be…
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3 Wait in Expectation – Translating an idiomatic expression always entails difficulties. The translator wants to be true to the original language but, at the same time, knows that a literal translation…
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles, or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him. Proverbs 24:17-18 Do Not Rejoice – How common it is for us to exult in the defeat of an enemy! There…
For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Proverbs 24:16 Seven Times – The Hebrew word shevah is the number seven. You’ll recognize the root in the word Sabbath. Seven is the Hebrew number of completion. It is the number of the day God finished…
Deliver those being taken to death, and hold back those swaying and being led to slaughter. If you say, “We knew nothing about this,” does not even he who weighs motives discern [the truth]? Proverbs 24:11-12 Waltke We Knew Nothing – Do you really want to live according to the Biblical view? If you do,…
