Tears in Heaven

“and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;” Revelation 21:4 Tear – There is something extraordinary implied in this verse, something you may have never considered.  There will be tears in heaven. We have this tendency to think of heaven as a panacea, a place where everything is light and joy and peace…

Divinely Soluble

“and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes;” Revelation 21:4 Wipe Away – There are some things that only God can rub off.  Let that thought sit with you for a minute. When you think about heaven, what do you most look forward to?  Is it the dwelling place in the mansion?  Is…

Blessings and Curses

“Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity?  Curse God and die!”” Job 2:9 Curse – You’re reading Job in Hebrew.  You come to this verse.  Something shocking happens.  The word translated “curse” is not qalal (which we saw yesterday).  It is barak and barak means “bless”.  This verse…

The Tax Man

“freely you have received, freely give” Matthew 10:8 Freely – Money, sex and power.  The world’s great motivators.  Every one of them deeply spiritual.  But maybe you never thought about it like that.  Money is the most pervasive spiritual commodity in the world.  It is the single purest measure of submission and humility.  The testing…

Worth What It Cost

“freely you have received, freely give” Matthew 10:8 Freely – Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek.  That means his thought patterns come from a Hebrew heritage, not a Greek worldview.  If we want to understand what Jesus had in mind, we need to search behind the Greek New Testament.  When we do, we see that “freely”…

The “Busy” Remedy

“Be still, and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10 Still – What do you know for sure when you stop your busy activities?  What do you discover about life when you completely relax?  What happens to your perspective when you lose your strength or your health? For months he fought, growing weaker and weaker. …

God’s Horoscope

“And they were offended in Him.  But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own homeland and in his house.” Matthew 13:57 Prophet – “Prediction is very difficult, especially when it is about the future.” So says an ancient Chinese proverb.  Solomon echoed the thought.  “If no one knows…

Mind Games

“For this cause they could not believe” John 12:39 Believe – Why don’t they believe?  Why are there so few who really demonstrate Jesus is Lord of their lives?  Why is the world so blind to the God who loves it? Our circles of friendships all extend beyond the church walls.  Every one of us…

Fishers of Men

“No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him” John 6:44 Draw – Jesus loved fishing.  The images he used (Matthew 4:19) and the miracles he performed (John 21:6) often involved fishing.  But if you thought that Jesus was simply teaching us fishing techniques, then you don’t understand this statement…