“Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better” Hebrews 7:7. Here in Hebrews 7 we see Abraham, the man the Jewish people look to as their ancestral father, a man God chose out of heathen surroundings, obviously because his heart was open toward God, and thus with whom God could make covenant, […]
Two little words that pack a powerful punch is “let us” and they are used often throughout scripture, many times in the book in of Hebrews alone. The first of these is in 4:1 where God is reviewing how Israel failed to enter Canaan’s rest because of unbelief and consequently their failure to obey! The […]
Ephesians 1:11 says “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance…” this is a beneficiary, often called an heir, although technically in America the conditions under which a beneficiary and an heir receive the inheritance may differ, the benefits are the same; in either case it is receiving assets from a predecessor. We are promised […]
Ephesians 1:4 continues by telling us why we have been chosen; it is not just so we can enter heaven, though that is the end result, neither is it so we can boast that we have been placed in God’s safety net; it is “that we should be holy and without blame (unblemished)…” So what […]
In introducing Jesus John 1:4 says “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This shows us that in the original creation of Genesis 1 and 2 life came from God through Jesus. The life of the new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 also comes from God through Him; as the […]
No less than seven times in John’s gospel did Jesus identify Himself as “I am”, I see these powerful statements linking Him with God the Father who in Exodus 3:14 indentified Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM”. As “God manifest in the flesh” 1 Timothy 3:16, Jesus is everything God the Father […]
In Luke 19:11-27 we understand the people “thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately”, a false assumption that looked for an earthly kingdom overlooking the fact that a spiritual kingdom had to be established first. Jesus being in the vicinity of Jerusalem, Israel’s capitol, was apparently fueling the false expectation among the people that […]
Weather you view the story in Luke 16:19-31 as a parable or an actual event the “bottom line” remains the same. Material wealth in itself should not be viewed as a sign of God’s favor and blessing, neither should the lack thereof, in itself, be viewed as a sign of His disfavor or judgment! God […]
In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus gives us two examples in parable illustrating the superior value of the kingdom of heaven. In verse 44 He likens “the kingdom of heaven (to) treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys […]
Another parable of Jesus is recorded in Luke 14:16-24 where He tells the story of a host that was giving a great banquet; the custom was that the invitations would be sent out in advance and when the feast was ready a notice would be sent out. His friends had received the invitation, apparently accepted […]