“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24 Correct – I don’t like correction. My almost immediate reaction to correction is defensive. I don’t want to be wrong. My observation is that we are a society that has a very hard time with admission of failure or error. But without correction,…
“O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 Not in himself – One of the greatest admissions of insufficiency we can make is the moment when we finally realize that we are not capable of determining our…
“and you have torn your clothes and wept before me” 2 Kings 22:19 Wept – I watched him weep. He knew that I watched. It didn’t matter anymore. The tears of sorrow would not stop. Weeping for his lost children, victims of a failed father. Weeping for a brother who no longer called. A parent…
” We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” 1 John 5:19 Whole world – We compromise. God doesn’t. God uses words like “whole” and “all” and “only” and “nothing”, but we like “most” and “nearly” and “some” and “not quite”. We prefer the…
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 Debts – There are only two critical terms in a debt: who and what. Without those two terms, the debt means nothing. So, let’s ask the obvious questions. In the Lord’s Prayer, whom do I owe and what is it that I…
“Do not fear, for I am with you: Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God,” Isaiah 41:10 Anxiously look about – Hebrew is a language that often uses parallel expressions to emphasize a point. This is God’s version of a double-take. God starts us off with a command about giving up…
“Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13 Help – In God’s world, we all need help. Not a single person will ever reach the point in life where help is no longer necessary. Of course, if we live in a world of fear and risk, our focus will not…
“Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13 Do not fear – Fear is a big concern in the Bible. Someone told me that the command to not be afraid is used 366 times in Scripture. Why does God feel it necessary to repeat this idea over and over? Because…
“yet not My will, but Thine be done.” Luke 22:42 Be done – Sometimes we need a peak at the Greek verb in order to see how marvelous the idea really is. This verb (ginomai) tells us something truly wonderful if we take the time to understand it. The verb itself means, “to become”. Jesus…
“yet not My will, but Thine be done.” Luke 22:42 But – There are several words in Greek that are translated “but”. This one is alla. It is a strong and deliberate pause. The difference between my will and God’s will requires an intentional stop and start. I have to come to the end of…
