“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God” Ephesians 1:1 Apostle – We are all familiar with Paul’s typical greeting. Most of his letters begin like this one. We know that Paul is an apostle. But have we ever stopped to consider if Paul’s description of his choosing has anything to say…
“When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent” Psalm 4:4 Search – Do you want to know the secret to a great night’s sleep? It’s not Posturpedic or Serta or Sleep Number. It’s not The Tonight Show or a good novel. It’s not even sex. It’s damam. The same Hebrew word…
“Like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me” Psalm 131:2 NASB Rests – Imagery is everything. What’s the difference between these two images: “like a child rests” and “like a child that has stilled and quieted itself”? The first leads us toward passive acceptance. The second…
“And let them say continually, “The LORD be magnified who delights in the prosperity of His servant”” Psalm 35:27 NASB Prosperity – When you read this verse, do you see dollars floating down from heaven? Doesn’t it say that God delights in our prosperity? Does that mean that “good” Christians will be rewarded with wealth,…
“Buy the truth and sell it not” Proverbs 23:23 Sell – Solomon knew something about investing. We can only imagine the wealth, power and fame that he possessed. Will anyone remember Bill Gates or Donald Trump in 3000 years? Doubtful. But Solomon’s investment strategy had nothing to do with the tangible. He didn’t create a…
But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright”” Genesis 25:31 Sell – There’s something hidden in this verse. The secret can’t be seen in English. In fact, it isn’t there in Hebrew either. And that’s what’s hidden. There is something missing that should be there and the fact that it isn’t found tells us even…
“But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright”” Genesis 25:31 Sell – What is your personal investment strategy? Are you in stocks? Bonds? Gold? Do you think about that 401k or SEP? Or is your investment strategy about “bigger” things? Esau didn’t stop to consider a life-long investment strategy. As a result, he couldn’t tell…
“Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail.” 1 Samuel 3:19 Fail – Do you think historians would say the same thing about you? Are you so close to God that none of your words “fail”? Samuel had that reputation. What he said was true but not…
“The wicked desires the booty of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit.” Proverbs 12:12 Desires – There’s never enough, is there? At least that’s the way the world thinks. No matter what you have, there is always room for just a little more. In fact, the law of accumulation really works…
“And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.” Matthew 11:6 Stumbling over – The scandal of Jesus. That’s the word. Skandalizo, “to cause to stumble or to take offense”. It comes from the noun that means the trigger of a trap. It’s the thing that we bump into and suddenly we are caught….
