Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
… all the Law and the Prophets.
Summary: God doesn’t want to fence us in, but he doesn’t want us to spend eternity in hell, either. Confronted with this conundrum, he works hard to help us stay within his will.
Continue reading “Matthew 22: 40 — Line Blind”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Summary: Looking at ourselves as if we are a cartoon symbol opens up new insights into our relationship with God.
Continue reading “Matthew 7:24 — Three-In-One”Do not keep on babbling like pagans…
Summary: God is actually quite generous with clear instructions for living the way he wants us to live. Today’s meditation looks at a simple but important principle to keep in mind when we come before God in prayer.
Continue reading “Matthew 6: 7-8 — The Rabble and the Babble”But when you pray, go into your room…
Summary: The Sermon on the Mount includes some very specific instructions from our Lord. In the middle of the sermon, Jesus tells us how to pray.
Continue reading “Matthew 6:6 — Go To Your Room!”… your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Summary: “Why pray?” is a question with a million answers. We look at a few of them in today’s meditation.
Continue reading “Matthew 5: 8 — Why Pray?”This, then, is how you should pray …
Summary: People “should” take a daily vitamin but not everyone does. We don’t die right away if we choose not to take one but there might be consequences. The Lord’s Prayer is the same. If we don’t use it, there could be consequences.
Continue reading “Matthew 6: 9 — Should or Shall?”This, then, is how you should pray …
Summary: In this meditation, we look at the second part of the Lord’s Prayer. Where the first part reminds us to acknowledge God, the second part focuses on our needs.
Continue reading “Matthew 6: 9 — Give Us”This, then, is how you should pray …
Summary: Here we begin to take a look at the Lord’s Prayer. Why is it structured the way it is? Let’s begin to take a look.
Continue reading “Matthew 6: 9 — Echos”“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites…”
Summary: Knowing Jesus provides us with reasons to trust what he tells us. Knowing how to pray also requires knowing how not to pray.
Continue reading “Matthew 6: 5 — How Not to Pray”When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Summary: As we prepare to study the Lord’s Prayer, it is helpful to conclude our mediation on who is teaching us this prayer with a look at Jesus’ authority to teach.
Continue reading “Matthew 7: 28-29 — Jesus’ Authority”