Tag: obedience
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No Hoof Left Behind – Exodus 10:24-26
Exodus 10:24-26 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also…
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When the Wind Brings Judgment – Exodus 10:12-15
Exodus 10:12-15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt,…
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No Halfway Obedience – Exodus 10:9-11
Exodus 10:9-11 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I…
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Who Gets to Set the Terms? – Exodus 10:8
Exodus 10:8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go? Pharaoh sounds softer here at first. He says, “Go, serve the Lord your God,” but then immediately reveals that he is still trying to stay in…
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Hearing What Pride Wants to Hear – Exodus 10:7
Exodus 10:7 And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? By this point, even Pharaoh’s own servants could see what he refused to face. Egypt was already…
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A Son Keeping His Word – Genesis 50:4-6
Genesis 50:4-6 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for…
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The Surety Steps Forward – Genesis 43:7-10
Genesis 43:7-9 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel…
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Go to Jesus, the Greater than Joseph – Genesis 41:55
Genesis 41:55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. When the famine got real, the people cried out. That is usually when people start looking for answers. As long as…
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Waiting Under Suspicion – Genesis 38:11
Genesis 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did… And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. Now Judah is afraid. You can see his thinking. “My…
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Refusing the Responsibility – Genesis 38:8-10
Genesis 38:8-10 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he…
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The Pit Instead of the Knife – Genesis 37:22
Genesis 37:22And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. Reuben is doing what weak men do. He is trying to find a…
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Behold, This Dreamer Cometh – Genesis 37:19-21
Genesis 37:19-21And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of…
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Here Am I – Genesis 37:12-13
Genesis 37:12-13And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. Shechem was not just another place on the map. It was a loaded…
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The Dream Had to Be Told – Genesis 37:5-11
Genesis 37:5–7And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your…
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The Coat of Favor – Genesis 37:3-4
Genesis 37:3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. Genesis 37:4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. Joseph…
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What Really Matters to the Father – Genesis 37:1-2
Genesis 37:1, 2And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives:…
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What the Flesh Always Does – Genesis 36:2
Genesis 36:2“Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;” Esau did not drift into this. He chose it. He went into Canaan and took wives from the daughters of the land. That is not just…
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Worship in the Wrong Place – Genesis 33:19-20
Genesis 33:19-20And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. Jacob does something here that sounds spiritual, and in one sense, it was. He…
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A Tent Facing the Wrong Direction – Genesis 33:18
Genesis 33:18And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan… when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. Jacob is back in Canaan, and at first glance that sounds like progress. He is no longer on the wrong side of the Jordan. He is…
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Settling Too Soon – Genesis 33:17
Genesis 33:17And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. Jacob leaves that tender moment with Esau and journeys to Succoth. The name means Tent Town, which sounds fitting enough for a pilgrim. But then we read something that…
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Leaving With More Than Flocks – Genesis 31:17-19
Genesis 31:17-19Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.And Laban went…
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When the Lord Confirms the Call – Genesis 31:13-16
Genesis 31:13–16I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. And Rachel and Leah answered and said, Is there yet any portion of inheritance for us in our father’s…
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The Dream Still Needed a Response – Genesis 31:8-12
Genesis 31:8-12 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.And it came to pass at the…
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When God Wants to Move You – Genesis 31:2-3
Genesis 31:2-3And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. Jacob could see it on Laban’s face. Something had changed. The warmth was gone. The…
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If You Will Have Me – Genesis 28:20-22
Genesis 28:20-22 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And…
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Seeing But Not Understanding – Genesis 28:3-9
Genesis 28:3-9 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave to Abraham. And Isaac…
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God’s Work Must Be Done God’s Way – Genesis 27:5-10
Genesis 27:5-10And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may…
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The Echo of the Border – Genesis 26:7
Genesis 26:7And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. This does ring a bell, and it…
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Right on the Edge – Genesis 26:6
Genesis 26:6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: That is a short verse, but it says a lot. God told Isaac not to go to Egypt. So Isaac obeys, technically. He stays in the land. But where does he stay? In Gerar, a border town, as close to Egypt as he can get without actually stepping over…
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Stay in the Land – Genesis 26:1-5
Genesis 26:1-5And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn…
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One Day at a Time – Genesis 25:7
Genesis 25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. I like the way that is phrased. It does not just speak of years in the abstract. It speaks of the days of the years. That is where life is really lived. Not…
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One Son at the Center – Genesis 25:6
Genesis 25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. This is a strong picture. Abraham blesses the other sons, but he sends them away. Why? Because Isaac is the son of promise.…
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A Blessing for the Journey – Genesis 24:59-60
Genesis 24:59-60 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. This is such a tender…
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Just Stay a Little Longer – Genesis 24:54-55
Genesis 24:54-55 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten;…
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Led While Walking – Genesis 24:26-28
Genesis 24:26-28 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.And the damsel…
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Blessed Through Another’s Obedience – Genesis 22:15-18
Genesis 22:15-18 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy…
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Stop, Abraham – Genesis 22:10-12
Genesis 22:10-12 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for…
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The Third Day Journey – Genesis 22:4
Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. There is something about that phrase that slows everything down. “On the third day…” That means this was not a quick moment of obedience. Abraham had three days to think about what God had asked of him.…
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Early Obedience – Genesis 22:3
Genesis 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. What grabs me right away is…
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Sent into the Wilderness – Genesis 21:14
Genesis 21:14And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. At first, this scene can be hard to understand. Abraham was…
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Settling for Zoar – Genesis 19:21-22
Genesis 19:21-22And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. Zoar means little…
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A Little Compromise – Genesis 19:20
Genesis 19:20Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. Lot is still negotiating. The Lord said, “Go to the mountain.” Lot says, “How about a little city?” That is so much like…
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Afraid of the Mountain – Genesis 19:18-19
Genesis 19:18-19And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: This is so…
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Escape for Your Life – Genesis 19:17
Genesis 19:17And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. The message could not be clearer. “Escape for thy life.” Not improve your life.Not manage your…
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Bringing It Home – Genesis 18:16-19
Genesis 18:16-19 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the…
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A House with a Standard – Genesis 17:27
Genesis 17:27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. This verse shows us that Abraham’s obedience did not stop at the personal level. It reached into his whole household. The men under his care knew exactly where he stood. Abraham…
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Still Willing – Genesis 17:24-26
Genesis 17:24-26 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. There is something deeply personal here.…
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Leading the Way – Genesis 17:23
Genesis 17:23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. What stands out to me here…
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The Mark of the Covenant – Genesis 17:9-14
Genesis 17:9-14And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin;…
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She Went Back – Genesis 16:15-16
Genesis 16:15, 16 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. What stands out to me here is that Hagar went back. When the angel of the Lord met her in the wilderness…
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He Hears Affliction – Genesis 16:8-12
Genesis 16:8-12 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto…
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Going Down – Genesis 12:10
Genesis 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. No sooner had Abram come into the land than trouble showed up. A famine hit. The place of promise suddenly became the place of pressure. And Abram, instead…
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Grace for the Delayed – Genesis 12:4
Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. There is a lot of comfort in that one sentence. Abram departed. At last, he moved. At last, he obeyed. At last, after all…
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Called Out of Ur – Genesis 12:1
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee. There is something very moving about the way this begins. The Lord had already spoken to Abram. This call did not first come…
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Delayed on the Way – Genesis 11:31-32
Genesis 11:31-32 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; … and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And…
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Come, Then Go – Genesis 8:14-19
Genesis 8:14-19 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee,…
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Changed Creatures – Genesis 7:7-9
Genesis 7:7-9 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and…
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Set Apart for Worship – Genesis 7:2-6
Genesis 7:2-6 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the…
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The Finished Work – Genesis 6:22
Genesis 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. There is something deeply powerful in that simple line. Noah did not partially obey. He did not build most of the ark and then shrug his shoulders. He did not get tired halfway through and decide that near enough was…
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Built to Ride Above It – Genesis 6:15
Genesis 6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. The ark Noah built was not fashioned to slice through the water like some sleek ship. It was built…
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Love Has to Be Chosen – Genesis 2:16-17
Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it… for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. I like the way this begins…
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Steady Through the Pressure – Revelation 14:12
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. This is the word for those who come to Christ during the Tribulation through the witness of the 144,000, the angels, and the two witnesses in Jerusalem. The word is simple. Be…
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Lifted After the Lying Still – Revelation 11:11-12
Revelation 11:11-12 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a…
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Turning to See – Revelation 1:12
Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. When John heard the voice behind him, he turned to see what it meant. He did not shrug it off. He did not say, “That can wait.” He turned. And in that simple response, I…
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Read It Out Loud – Revelation 1:3
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. There is a blessing here, dear friends, and it begins in a very simple place. Blessed is he that readeth. The Greek word means to read out…
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Open Hands, Open Heart – Revelation 1:2
Revelation 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. John was entrusted with Revelation because he was the kind of man who did not keep truth locked up inside himself. He bore record of the Word of God, of the…
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The Team That Must Stay Together – 2 John 5-6
2 John 5-6 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should…
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Love That Does Not Feel Heavy – 1 John 5:3
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. John keeps things wonderfully plain. If I love God, I will keep His commandments. That is not complicated. Love is not merely what I feel when the music is right and the mood is warm.…
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What Lasts Forever – 1 John 2:17
1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. John has a way of cutting through the fog. After speaking of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, he now tells us the…
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The Same Three Plays – 1 John 2:15-16
1 John 2:15-16 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not…
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Fresh Light, Old Truth – 1 John 2:8-11
1 John 2:8-11 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth…
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No New Burden – 1 John 2:7
1 John 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. John has a wise way of calming a nervous heart. By this point, after talking about obedience and walking as Jesus…
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Walking Where He Walked – 1 John 2:6
1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. John now takes the whole matter out of the clouds and brings it down to shoe leather. If a man says he abides in Christ, that claim will show up in the way he lives.…
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Love Brought to Maturity – 1 John 2:5
1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. John keeps bringing us back to something wonderfully simple. The evidence that a person is truly in Christ is not that he never struggles, never stumbles, or never feels his…
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Knowing Him for Real – 1 John 2:3-4
1 John 2:3-4 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. John moves from communion into obedience, and that is exactly where he should go. Because if a…
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Turning from the Mud – 1 Peter 3:11
1 Peter 3:11 Let him eschew evil, and do good… Peter keeps it plain. If you want to love life and see good days, then turn your back on evil and do what is good. That is not complicated, but it is costly, because when life gets hard, evil often feels easier. When pressure comes,…
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Whole in the Hard Place – 1 Peter 1:14-16
1 Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. When life gets hard, there is a real pull to drift…
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Do the Good You Already Know – James 4:17
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James ends the chapter by making it painfully simple. Sin is not only doing what is wrong. It is also refusing to do what you already know is right. That hits closer than most of us…
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Stand Your Ground – James 4:7
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. There is a clear order in this verse. First, submit to God. Then, resist the devil. That matters because real strength does not come from trying harder. It comes from staying yielded to the Lord. When a person is…
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Faith That Gets Up and Walks – James 2:14–26
James 2:14–26 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not…
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The Mirror Is Not the Finish Line – James 1:22–25
James 1:22–25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of…
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The Place of Surrender – Hebrews 12:4
Hebrews 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. The writer brings us down close here. Very close. After telling us to consider Jesus, he now says, in essence, “You have not yet come to the place He came to.” You have struggled. You have sweated. You have wrestled. But you have…
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The Pain You Choose Matters – Hebrews 11:25
Hebrews 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Moses made a hard choice, but it was a clear one. He chose suffering with the people of God over the passing pleasures of sin. That line is honest in a way Scripture…
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When God Says Go, Start Walking – Hebrews 11:8
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. There is something almost unsettling about Abraham’s story here. God called him to leave, and Abraham obeyed without knowing exactly where he…
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Faith Rests Its Weight on God – Hebrews 11:2
Hebrews 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. Faith can sound like something distant or complicated, but really, it shows up in daily life all the time. We sit down in a chair without inspecting every joint. We drive down the road trusting the car will respond when we hit the brakes.…
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The One Sacrifice — Hebrews 10:7–8
Hebrews 10:7–8 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law. There is something strong…
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Knowing the Lord — Hebrews 8:11
Hebrews 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. This is one of the most tender marks of the New Covenant. God is not merely gathering people around information about Him. He is…
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When Hearing Becomes Ignoring — Hebrews 5:10–11
Hebrews 5:10, 11 (a) Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered… The writer pauses in the middle of something deep. He is about to unfold the mystery of Jesus as our High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.…
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Perfected Through the Road — Hebrews 5:9
Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. When the writer of Hebrews says Jesus was made perfect, he is not saying that Jesus was once flawed and later improved. That would miss the heart of the passage completely. Jesus was always perfect in His…
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The Prayer That Changed the Heart — Hebrews 5:5–8
Hebrews 5:5–8 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.Who in the days of his flesh, when he…
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Living Well Under Authority — Titus 3:1
Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. As Paul moves into the next chapter, he reminds Titus to keep bringing certain truths back to the minds of the believers. “Put them in mind.” People often assume the greatest need…
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Running the Right Way — 2 Timothy 2:5
2 Timothy 2:5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. Paul shifts the picture again. First he spoke about a soldier. Now he talks about an athlete. Anyone who competes for a crown must compete according to the rules. No matter how fast a runner…
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Guard the Treasure — 1 Timothy 6:20–21
1 Timothy 6:20, 21 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. Paul closes his letter with a deeply personal appeal. Guard what has been entrusted to you. The…
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Under Command — 1 Timothy 1:1
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. Paul usually says he is an apostle by the will of God. Here he chooses a stronger word. By the commandment of God. That shifts the tone. A will can feel…
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Not Rejecting Man – 1 Thessalonians 4:8
1 Thessalonians 4:8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. Paul is not offended here. He’s clarifying. If you shrug this off, he says, don’t pin that on me. I didn’t invent holiness. I didn’t wake up and decide to tighten everybody’s life. If…
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Integrity When No One Is Looking – Colossians 3:22
Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. This is about more than employment. It is about integrity. Paul speaks to servants in a culture where many had little choice about their circumstances. Yet instead of fueling resentment,…
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The Smile of Heaven – Colossians 3:20
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. This is not complicated. It is not wrapped in theology.It is not buried in symbolism. Children, obey. Not because parents are perfect.Not because they always explain everything.Not because you always agree. But because it pleases the Lord. That…
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Learning to Rule by Serving – Philippians 2:21–23
Philippians 2:21–23 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.…
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No Excuses in the Tent – Philippians 2:14
Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Paul does not leave much room for negotiation. He does not say, “Try to cut back on complaining.”He does not say, “Murmur less than you used to.” He says, do all things without it. A submitted mind does not murmur. It does not build a quiet…
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Under the Roof – Ephesians 6:1
Paul knew something we often forget. When this letter was first read in Ephesus, the children were in the room. He did not assume church was for grown ups only. He did not assume the kids were off somewhere else being entertained. He looked straight at them through ink and parchment and said, This part…