Which One Would You Choose?

Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”  2 Samuel 24:14  NASB Fall into the hand of the Lord – Are you in great distress?  Oh, maybe not now, but have you…

Hell on Earth

“For the day of the Lord is near for all the nations. Just as you have done, it will be done to you.  Your dealings will return on your own head.”  Obadiah 1:15  NASB Done to you – Obadiah is a very tiny book of the Tanakh.  Most people probably don’t know anything about it other than the name. …

This World Is Not My Home

I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one.  John 17:15  NASB Take them out – I don’t know about you, but I would just as soon have had Yeshua skip this request.  In fact, in my earlier years I would think to…

The Self-Made Man

So God created mankind in his own image,  in the image of God he created them;  male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27  NIV Male and female – Did you think that this phrase is just a sexual summation?  Do you believe that Genesis 1 is just a preview to the real story of the creation of Man that…

The Kingdom on Earth

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from [a]joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.  Matthew 13:44  NASB Hidden in a field – Stop reading this parable as if it were about some ethereal spiritual realm far removed from…

Kingdom Foundation

For I have said, “Graciousness will be built up forever; in the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”  Psalm 89:2 NASB Graciousness – I don’t mind telling you that this translation misses the point entirely.  “Graciousness” is not being built up forever.  In fact, graciousness isn’t even part of this description of the coming Kingdom.  The Hebrew…

The Safety Zone

Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.  Proverbs 12:25  NASB Anxiety – What is anxiety?  A dictionary definition suggests the following: “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”  Notice that this feeling isn’t about something that has already happened.  You don’t feel anxiety about yesterday’s hurricane.  Nor do you…

Say What?

Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?  Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.  For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is…

Beyond the Math

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7  NIV Law – Yesterday we introduced an interesting mathematical puzzle concerning the occurrences of tôrâ.  Today we’ll look more seriously at the scope of this most-important word.  In general, tôrâ as a verb falls into two categories.  The…