Virgin

“But if this charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, then”  Deuteronomy 22:20 Virgin – What happens to a young woman who is not married and is discovered not to be a virgin?  Well, if you lived under the Mosaic code, there were only two possibilities.  If she is not a…

Chooses

“you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses”  Deuteronomy 17:15 Chooses – In less than two months, you will vote for the candidate of your choice.  It is interesting that God had something to say about who would sit in authority over His people as far back as the…

Heart and soul

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”  Deuteronomy 10:12 Heart and soul – Four verbs are all that God…

Majesty

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.”  1 Chronicles 29:11 Majesty – Did you think David was done?  Not a chance!  David…

Require

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”  Deuteronomy 10:12 Require – I have so much trouble with this.  I…

All

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”  Isaiah 53:6 All – I don’t know about you, but I often discover that I don’t really consider myself one of the sheep.  After all, I am an educator, a businessman, a leader.  I have position, power and…

Offense

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon?  Are not His sisters here with us?  And they took offense at Him.”  Mark 6:3 Offense –  Sometimes we come across a Greek word that gives us deeper insight into our thought processes.  That is usually…

By yourselves

“And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest awhile.”  Mark 6:31 By yourselves – God designed us to take breaks.  But we treat His design as though it were nothing more than a rest stop on the freeway.   Slow down.  Stretch your legs.  Go to the bathroom and…

Given

“A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given from heaven.”  John 3:27 Given – Most of us have long forgotten our eighth grade grammar lessons.  Usually this makes no difference at all.  But once in awhile, a small grammatical fact means a lot.  Did you know that the tiny bit of grammar here…

Receive

“A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given from heaven.”  John 3:27 Receive – How many times have you heard the expression “Life is a gift”?  How many times have you let the implications of this truth simply slip past?  We all nod our heads and agree.  “Oh, yes.  Life is such a…