“and if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2 Do not have – In the preclude to the love hymn of the New Testament (1 Cor. 13:4-8), Paul provides…
“You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.” Psalm 68:9 NIV Weary Inheritance – If David’s poem is only a statement about the land of Canaan, then this is just a weather report. God brings showers to water the dry land. Fine. Now back to the rest of the evening news. The…
“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” Job 13:15 In Hebrew, three words and an exclamation point. Literally “! He-kills-me but I-will-wait (hope)-for-Him” The most compact declaration of the meaning of life ever spoken by a man who knew what it meant. What really matters to you? What would be your last wish…
“having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it” 2 Timothy 3:5 Denying – Were you confronted by yesterday’s umbrella questions? All those ways of denying the power of God. (Do you need to look at them again? – go ahead. I’ll wait). Jesus had something else to say about this word. Luke…
“having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it” 2 Timothy 3:5 Denying – The Greek word arneomai has a big umbrella. It covers “deny, refute, refuse, reject, decline and give up”. Try reading this verse with some of the alternate meanings and see how it makes you feel. “refuting the power” –…
“having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it” 2 Timothy 3:5 Form – “Build the perfect engagement ring,” says the advertisement, “at a fraction of the price.” Don’t worry about appearances. This cubic zirconium has “diamond quality”. What an intriguing statement! How can a substitute for the real thing have the quality…
“therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.” Genesis 3:23 Ground – How does language condition worldview? In subtle ways, the very syntax and grammar of our language creates boundaries for our thoughts, bringing one aspect of the world into focus and…
“Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.” Psalm 38:9 Desire – Has God turned His back on your desires? We have been emotionally conditioned to believe that God only looks on the “high and moral” desires of men and women. We wouldn’t dare come into God’s presence…
“There is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger, nor peace in my bones because of my sin.” Psalm 38:3 Sin – Food poisoning. Just the thought of it might make you feel uncomfortable. When you get it, it’s not very pleasant. But here’s an interesting question. When you went to the restaurant…
“There is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger, nor peace in my bones because of my sin.” Psalm 38:3 Soundness – We all want good health. There’s nothing better than feeling great. The American culture has made fitness and health a mega-billion dollar hysteria. Since the culture serves the god of price,…
