The Opposite of Facts

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?  Romans 8:24  NASB Is not hope – Suppose I asked you, “What is the opposite of facts?”  You might answer, “Fiction.”  You would be thinking, “Facts are true.  Fiction is not true.  Therefore, fiction is the…

Whose Fault Is It?

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope  Romans 8:20 NASB Not willingly – You know, the whole human race is in deep trouble.  We don’t think about this too often, but the truth is that we live on the cusp of extinction, both physically and spiritually.  A pandemic…

The End of Everything

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.  Genesis 1:3  NASB Let there be– Unfortunately, translating this text usually ignores the Egyptian background of the intended audience.  What I mean is this:  the Genesis stories aren’t written in some kind of pre-modern proto-scientific vernacular, as if God were describing how He kicked the universe…

Que Sera Sera

 If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.  1 Corinthians 15:32  NASB Raised– You hope it happens.  You hope that the dead are raised, that there is something after the grave, that what you do now will matter later.  But you don’t know, do you?  You don’t really know,…

Hope and Joy

The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes.Proverbs 10:28 NASB Gladness – Of course, joy must confront the inequity of human living.  Far too often it seems the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Far too often justice appears to have taken a holiday.  Biblical authors often address the apparent contradiction of a…

Hebrew Yardsticks

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares YHWH, “plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11  NASB Hope -Did you know that this famous passage in Jeremiah is connected to Paul’s remarks about transformation in Romans 12?  Probably not.  When we read this verse,…

Be Prepared

Yes, let all who hope in You be not shamed. Let the treacherous be shamed, empty-handed.  Psalm 25:3  Robert Alter translation Hope – After our recent discussion of batah, you might expect to find that word behind the English “hope.” To trust is to hope.  The result is a public display.  But that’s not what the psalmist wants…

Watertight

My God, in You I trust.  Let me be not shamed, let my enemies not gloat over me.  Psalm 25:2  Robert Alter translation [First, an apology.  Since the death of Rosanne’s mother, our lives have been in continuing chaos.  We have been staying in Rosanne’s mother’s condo in Florida.  That is part of a trust…

The Turning Point

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You.”  Psalm 39:7  NASB For what – Remember the punctuation.  Hebrew doesn’t have any.  So the phrase, ma(h)-q-qiwwiti, could be a question or it could be a statement, like, “I wait for.”  Or it could be, “Now, Lord, what.  I wait.”  The verb is qāwâ,…

Battery Life

 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. Psalm 37:5  NASB He will do it– It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  All this study. All this investigation, debate, dialogue.  All this struggle to align with the perspective of the author and audience when reading God’s word.  We weren’t supposed to…