being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts Hebrews 11:37-38 Afflicted – Affliction is the appointed destiny of the Christian. As of yesterday, we know why. Affliction is God’s endorsement of my involvement in the life of His Son. If I am living like Jesus, I should anticipate…
being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts Hebrews 11:37-38 Afflicted – How little we understand the real gospel! We imagine that the good news of salvation is an announcement of God’s eternal care and restoring power here and now. We think that once God is on our…
Neither is He served with men’s hands, as if He needed anything Acts 17:25 Served – Now it hits us! Paul uses a word (therapeuetai) that means “to attend to, to minister to, to wait upon or to render voluntary service to”. Wait a minute! That sounds just like all of our activities in the…
Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects Acts 17:22 Very Religious – If we only knew the Greek roots, we would immediately see just how close we really are to the Athenians’ religion. It’s all there, buried in the word construction. Deisidaimonesteros. Yes, it’s long. But let’s break it…
I am the light of the world. The one following me will in no way walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12 In No Way – Put a big exclamation point behind these words! Jesus’ statement could not be stronger. In fact, it is so absolutely certain that John…
but I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court Matthew 5:22 Guilty – This is one of the “hard sayings” of Jesus. It pushes us to the edge of our ethics. We are not murderers. We are “good” people. But when Jesus says that…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy Exodus 20:8 Remember – The sin of insult. That’s what’s at stake here. You finally get the perfect job. It not only fulfills your heart’s desire, it also provides you with advancement, accolades and creativity. The head of the organization recognized your uniqueness and designed the job…
But not caring, they went away, one to his own field and one to his trading Matthew 22:5 Not Caring – The parable of the wedding feast is often interpreted as though it is only about accepting the invitation to salvation. But there is another message here; a message that strikes at the very heart…
Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthen the brethren Acts 15:32 Prophets – What confusion has been propagated among Christians over this word! Somewhere in the history of our contemporary understanding, we decided that a prophet was one who would tell us the future. That idea did not come from the Bible….
and as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him Ephesians 1:4 Blameless – If only we realized the power of this verse! If only we could see the compassion of God gushing into the hearts of men. If only we recognized the…
