“He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.” Proverbs 22:11 Purity of heart – Clean clear through. The Hebrew word tahor is about ritual purity. It describes all those Old Testament dietary laws about clean foods. It covers the laws about events in life that defile a person. …
“to set free those who are oppressed” Luke 4:18 from Isaiah 61:1 Free – This is the Humpty Dumpty verse. And it’s a bit more complicated than it looks. What the text really says is something like this: to send forth in deliverance those who have been crushed by someone else. If you have been…
“to set free those who are oppressed” Luke 4:18 from Isaiah 61:1 Oppressed – Who are the oppressed? Do you think about the citizens of third world countries who suffer who ruthless dictators? Do you see imagines of people in Haiti or the Sudan? Do you recall pictures of the homeless, the AIDS victims or…
“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives” Luke 4:18 from Isaiah 61:1 Release – Powerless! That’s what I felt standing in front of the young man in the jail. He was only a few years older than my youngest son, but he faced 35 years in prison. 35 years in a cell. …
“And so my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not each one of you forgive from the heart your brother’s trespasses.” Matthew 18:35 Trespasses – Jesus was dangerous, especially when it came to forgiveness. Just how dangerous Jesus was can be seen in the choice of the word for “trespass”. Matthew could…
“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Mark 10:38 Baptism – The imagery of Jesus’ baptism is the imagery of the Exodus. God brought His people through the waters of the Red Sea into the place where He would care…
“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Mark 10:38 Baptism – Jesus puts this question to all of us. Most of us don’t have any idea what he is really asking, so we respond just like the disciples. “Oh, yes,…
“rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.” Acts 5:41 Shame – Have you ever been treated shamefully? Abused? Slandered? Insulted? Treated without dignity? Everyone has some story of shameful mistreatment. But not everyone goes away rejoicing. Today most of us hire an attorney. The world’s way is to get…
“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” Hebrews 4:11 Rest – On a day like this, I need rest. Life gets overwhelming even when we are trying our best to live every moment in His presence. Then I read this verse and I get even more perplexed. This is an emphatic exhortation to…
“but they do all their deeds to be noticed by men” Matthew 23:5 Noticed – What did you ask your mirror this morning? “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Well, maybe you weren’t quite as bold as the queen in Snow White, but I would be surprised if you didn’t…
