In Paul’s letter to his spiritual son, he focuses on the importance of growth. Not just in numbers, but generating new generations of teachers and leaders.
Daily Word: 1 Corinthians 15:57
Wow! Paul’s first book to the Corinthians is saturated with references to the Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy), the Prophets, and the Writings. Why? One reason is, well, he was a Jewish scholar. But mainly because most of his audience — his readers — were from a non-Biblical background, and as new believers their behavior was problematic. Divisiveness, sexual misbehavior, marriage problems, folks suing one another, disruptions during services, and the list goes on.
Daily Word: 2 Peter 1:3
To coin an elegant Jersey response, “Yo, Peter! Preach it!” In this chapter, it is no holds barred for our outspoken brother. After Yeshua’s ascension, Peter tempered his reactive behavior for the most part. But, in this chapter, it has returned as boldness. Why?
Daily Word: 2 Corinthians 4:16
As another birthday approaches and the knees and ankles creak and moan — or maybe it’s just me doing the moaning — I take comfort in this verse. What you see on the outside is nothing compared to what God is doing on the inside.
Daily Word: Romans 1:16
The Roman believers began “independently” of the emissaries from Jerusalem. Prior to the new congregation of believers, there was a significant Jewish community living in Rome. Perhaps, as we discussed earlier, there were those who returned from the best Shavuot (Pentecost) the Jewish people had ever attended in Jerusalem.
Daily Word: Proverbs 1:7
Ah, my dear friends. We can’t avoid it. Here is one of the primary reasons why
we don’t simply study Proverbs and move on to our next study. It is because wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD. We can study the the definitions of what scholars tell us the fear of the LORD means, but because the fear of the ADONAI is intrinsically woven into our pursuit of wisdom, discernment, and knowledge, it is to be lived.
Daily Word: Colossians 3:13
Remember when our parents broke up our fights? What did we usually say? “He/She started it!” Even at early ages we were more concerned with who was right than the fact that we were doing something wrong with our self-righteous “defense.”
Daily Word: John 16:33
John 16 is written but a few days before the unthinkable will happen. Yeshua would be betrayed, tortured, nailed to a cross, and die. But, in “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again in a little while, you will see Me.” (vs. 16) Yeshua would rise from the dead. The Holy Spirit would then be poured out on them. What!?
Daily Word: Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever. Forever. What does that even look like? Our finite minds might try, but because our brains are finite, well, you know. So when Isaiah exhorts his brothers and sisters, his country, to trust ADONAI forever, you have to wonder. As a prophet has the LORD given him insights into eternity?
