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Hew thee two tables of stone like the first, and come up to me upon the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark. and there they are, there Aaron died, At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, the LORD his inheritance, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belongeth to the LORD thy God, Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.  Read less

Paul is pointing out that he didn't get in kahoots with anyone to promote their agenda. He received the revelation directly from God. and since he did, it matched the revelation that others (Peter, John, James and any of the other apostles) had received. He didn't just "join the club" and receive their indoctrination. Rather, he received the revelation, and then found others who matched.  Read less

This chapter includes the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness at the outset of his ministry. Satan tempts Jesus with things that he would typically want from a human perspective - food, because he was hungry - the kingdoms of this world, since He owned them already - vindication by being saved from falling, proving that he was God's Son. But he rejects all of those temptations. Jesus returns to Nazareth and at first people are pretty happy and amazed by him. He taught with authority, threw out demons, etc. But then he started pointing out to the people that a prophet never is really accepted in his home town. He implies that there is something wrong with the people - that they have no faith in him. He didn't pull any punches and the people became furious - so angry that they were going to throw him off a cliff. That was often the first step in stoning - throw them off the cliff and then throw stones at them til they died. In addition to their own lack of faith, Jesus pointed out that there were Gentile people who got God's favour in the time of Elijah and Elisha. And that made them angry too. But then Jesus "walked through the crowd". Somehow there was something that made the people calm down and Jesus just walked through them. That was a miracle in itself - that somehow the people went from murderous rage to calmness.  Read less

Perfectionism, a disposition to regard anything less than perfect as unacceptable, has been growing over the past decade. In our SuperMom, self-sufficient, competitive age, we struggle with an inadequacy that grows out of a belief that the way we are simply isn’t good enough. This disease has crept into the Christian community as well. Caught between our sinfulness and our ultimate glorification, we aren’t sure where to set our sights. Some of us believe so much in grace that we give verses like Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect . . . “ little attention. And then others can see nothing but the command and their personal imperfection in comparison. God doesn’t ask us to be perfect today. Today is when we’re supposed to be dependent, helpless creatures in need of a Savior. But today is when we have the opportunity to grow more like Jesus. In our words. In our thoughts. In our actions. The challenge we face as moms is not to be perfect today but to walk today in the direction of perfection.  Read less

What is it that makes a Christian weak? What is it that makes a child of God begin to wither? If I look at this allegory in Ezekiel 17, I see that a vine was planted by an eagle. It was planted by abundant water and its roots ran deep. As long as it kept its branches turned toward the eage that planted it, it thrived. But another eagle came along. An eagle that had nothing to do with this vine being planted. An eagle that had not taken care of this vine at any point. However, the vine turned toward this second eagle instead. It sent its roots toward the second eagle. Now remember, the first eagle had planted this vine near abundant water and was also providing water for it. When the plant stretched itself toward the second eagle, it lost its provisions. It gave up the water that fed it to follow the second eagle. Of course, it began to wither and became weak. Even the wind was able to blow it over. I know that God was using this allegory to warn the people of Israel about His impending judgment for the oaths they broke, but I see another lesson here. The plant withered because it was malnourished. It wasn't getting the nutrients needed to thrive. It took itself away from its provider. Don't we do that at times? When we are feeling weak and weary, is it because we have taken our eyes off of the Lord. He created us. He feeds us the Bread of Life and the Living Water. With His food, we will never hunger or thirst again. But too often it's not enough for us. We want something else and so we reach out to get what we think we need from another source. . . and we begin to wither. So what is the answer? Stay focused on the only One who can supply our needs . . . our true needs. Keep your eyes on the One who birthed me into this new faith. Depend only on the One who has the ability to feed me and nourish me in a way that will make me grow and flourish. Pray. Read the bible. Memorize Scripture. Sing spiritual songs. Worship. Everything that feeds this relationship.  Read less

blessed (said of God): This idea of the blessedness of God comes from the Hebrew prayers such as the blessing for bread: "Blessed be the LORD our God, Creator of the heavens and the Earth, Who brings forth bread from the ground." God is blessed in the New Testament: --as His identity: Mark 14:61 But he held his peace , and answerednothing. Again the high priest askedhim, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? --because He redeems His people Luke 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, --as Creator of all things, including mankind Romans 1:25 KJV Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. --as eternally good Romans 9:5 KJV Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. --as a merciful Giver of comfort 2 Corinthians 1:3 KJV Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; --as Father of Christ 2 Corinthians 11:31 KJV The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. --as a Source of blessings in heavenly places Ephesians 1:3 KJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: --as a merciful Giver of life and hope 1 Peter 1:3 KJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  Read less

This is the key verse of 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul has made it clear that love often entails suffering (see 1 Cor. 13:1 note). Here Paul explains that God is not a bully by making us suffer, but is rather blessed for comforting us in our sufferings and for giving us opportunities to comfort one another as He has comforted us. Suffering is an opportunity for the believer to be like the Father in Heaven: a provider of comfort. The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon Strong's Number: 3874 Word Origin from (3870) Transliterated Word Paraklesis Phonetic Spelling par-ak'-lay-sis Parts of Speech Noun Feminine Definition: a calling near, summons, (esp. for help); importation, supplication, entreaty exhortation, admonition, encouragement; consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment thus of the Messianic salvation (so the Rabbis call the Messiah the consoler, the comforter) persuasive discourse, stirring address instructive, admonitory, conciliatory, powerful hortatory discourse King James Word Usage - Total: 29 consolation 14, exhortation 8, comfort 6, intreaty 1  Read less

Love is mentioned 9 times in this chapter, although there are more than nine dependent clauses with love as the subject. Nine is the number of the Holy Spirit, who is the source of Christian love. It is clear that a love which "suffereth long and is kind" (verse 4) is not of human origin, though it can be expressed through a human channel. It is NOT passion and sometimes doesn't even feel good, because it is often evidenced most in the midst of suffering rather than pleasure. The greatest love example being the suffering of Christ in His crucifixion and death for sinners to be reconciled to God. Love has its eyes on the outcome rather than the pain, bending its whole will to fulfill the will of God. This chapter instructs believers in how to carry that cross of love's suffering in following Christ. The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon Strong's Number: 26 Word Origin from (25) Transliterated Word Agape Phonetic Spelling ag-ah'-pay Parts of Speech Noun Feminine Definition: brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence; love feasts King James Word Usage - Total: 116 love 86, charity 27, dear 1, charitably + (2596)&version=kjv 1, feast of charity 1  Read less

It is the only "gospel" like it in all known religions. every other religion teaches that man has to work to earn something; either something good, like an eternal reward, or a better go around the next time, or relief from something bad. God's grace is something unimaginable. The article of justification is fragile. Not in itself, of course, but in us. I know how quickly a person can forfeit the joy of the Gospel. I know in what slippery places even those stand who seem to have a good footing in the matters of faith. In the midst of the conflict when we should be consoling ourselves with the Gospel, the Law rears up and begins to rage all over our conscience. I say the Gospel is frail because we are frail. --Luther's Commentary on Galatians  Read less