Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job…
Summary: The Book of Job is very instructive when it comes to being tested by God. We can learn a lot from listening in on Job’s conversation with his three friends.
Continue reading “Job 1:1 – My Own Eyes”Now I know that you fear God …
Summary: How does God know whether we fear him or not? In Genesis, we find an example of God testing Abraham to see how serious his faith is.
Continue reading “Genesis 22:12 – God’s Question”So Abraham rose early in the morning…
Summary: The Bible is full of examples of people being “tested” or, as the KJV says, “tempted.” In this meditation, we look at Abraham’s response to one such situation.
Continue reading “Genesis 22:3 – Instant Answer”And lead us not into temptation …
Summary: The word “temptation” is another word with multiple meanings. If we forget that, we may find ourselves misunderstanding what God has said.
Continue reading “Matthew 6:13 – Apples & Pineapples”And lead us …
Summary: How we speak the words we speak has a great impact on the meaning others hear in our words. It also impacts what we hear in our own words. Pausing after the words “lead us” leads us to consider their meaning more closely.
Continue reading “Matthew 6:13 – The Powerful Pause”Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Summary: Forgiveness is a tricky business. If we are going to forgive others, we have to have been forgiven to have some to give. Fortunately, we have a God with an infinite supply of forgiveness.
Continue reading “Colossians 3:13 – Truly Forgiven”If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
Summary: Allowing someone to slap us and then inviting them to slap us again is counter-intuitive. Why would anybody do that?
Continue reading “Matthew 5:39 – Slap Happy”But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
Summary: Loving others as God loves us is a complicated business.
Continue reading “Matthew 5:44 – God-Like Love”Your sins are forgiven.
Summary: Forgiveness and repentance go hand-in-hand. We cannot understand one without understanding the other.
Continue reading “Luke 7:48 – The Gambler”When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Summary: There is an intriguing story in Luke about a man who comes to Jesus to be healed. Instead of being healed, he is forgiven and we are left to wonder why.
Continue reading “Luke 5:20 – Sent Away”