“but I say to you who hear, love your enemies” Luke 6:27 Who hear – Do you suppose that we really hear what Jesus is saying in this sentence? Oh, I’m sure we hear the words, but I am just as sure that we are deaf to what they really mean. Jesus addressed those within…
“no one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6 Through – A Christian is called to intolerance. Oh, I know how uncomfortable that makes us feel. We live in a culture where accommodation and tolerance is the expected social norm. Our leaders want to “reach out” to other faiths. Celebrities and advertisers portray…
“You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish” Matthew 23:26 Blind – “What’s the matter with you? Are you blind or something?” When we hurl this comment at someone, they are never physically blind (it would be too embarrassing for us if they were). What we mean is that…
“For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.” Matthew 23:25 Robbery – When we confront our hypocrisy, we begin to understand why Jesus speaks about robbery in parallel with self-indulgence. We are likely to dismiss this connection. After all, we don’t steal…
“For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.” Matthew 23:25 Self-indulgence – I don’t like to think of myself as a hypocrite, especially the kind that Jesus names in this curse. But the truth is that I am. God knows it and…
“For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life” Matthew 6:25 For – We’ve all considered the thought of Jesus about anxiety. We’ve all pondered the depth of his command. And we’ve all come up short on the application. In spite of every good intention, we find ourselves anxious about…
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” Proverbs 1:7 Beginning – What is the first step toward living the best life possible? I’ll give you twenty seconds to think of your answer (you really do have twenty seconds to answer one of the most important questions in life, don’t you?). The Bible…
“To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.” Proverbs 1:6 Riddle – If God wants to communicate with men, why does He speak in riddles? That’s the question we must ask when we read this opening thought in the book of Proverbs. God is anxious to teach men…
“Therefore, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 Free – What kind of freedom does Jesus give? It’s not what you might think. The two Greek words here (eleutherose and eleutheroi) actually should be read “if the Son shall make you unconstrained and independent, you really will be…
“Therefore, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 If – The quintessential proclamation of freedom comes from Jesus. It is far deeper than Lynyrd Skynyrd (Freebird), the Declaration of Independence, or anything from the great civil rights leaders. We, of course, have viewed this as a statement of…
