“I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!” (Genesis 32:10 NLT). As Jacob returned to the land of Canaan with his wives,
‘The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do”‘ (Psalm 12:5 NLT). We tend to turn our eyes away from the helpless, fearing they may ask us for
“The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields” (Matthew 9:37-38 NLT). Jesus told His disciples that multitudes of people were ready to be led into the Kingdom, but there weren’t enough workers to
‘Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?”‘ (Matthew 9:4 NLT). When Jesus forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, some religious teachers who witnessed it said to themselves that he had committed blasphemy. For only God can forgive sin. Yet, Jesus “knew
“His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite” (Genesis 25:9 NLT). Isaac and Ishmael buried their father, Abraham, in the same tomb he had bought to bury Sarah. These two sons became two great peoples. The Jewish nation came
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT). What does the Bible mean by the “heart?” It is a metaphor for the inner self, where a person’s character, with its
“Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the LORD, the Eternal God” (Genesis 21:33 NLT). As Abraham grew in his relationship with God, more and more was revealed to him concerning the nature and character of God. Often these revelations took the form of a new name of God. Two
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25 NLT). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus discussed the human activity of worry. Clearly, worry is sinful because
“May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 NLT). That which is called the “Lord’s Prayer” might rightly be called the Lord’s teaching prayer or model prayer, for He gives it to us to teach us how to pray. Even the order of the
“Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love” (Psalm 6:4 NLT). In weakness and affliction, David cried out to the Lord. He felt distant from the Lord, so he prayed that the Lord would “return” to him, as if the Lord had somehow moved away. He cried out for “rescue,”