“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice…” Psalm 95:6-7 The word “bow” is synonymous with worship toward God or respect…
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household…” Ephesians 2:19 Paul was arrested and imprisoned in AD 58 to protect him from a Jewish mob in the temple. Paul spent a year and a half in prison in Caesarea and two years under…
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 The context of this verse is justification by faith in Jesus Christ, the fact that Jesus has redeemed all those who believe in Him. Racial, social, and gender distinctions…
“Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”” John 6:29 The crowd had just asked Jesus about righteous “works” in the previous verse, and Jesus answered by singling out one necessary work … to have faith in Him. The people were wanting to do work for God,…
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.” Isaiah 26:3 The term “perfect peace” literally is “peace, peace,” which comes only from the Lord, who is called the Prince of Peace. “Trust in You” means knowing God and His love gives true peace. Martin Luther said, “This…
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 The Greek word we interpret as “member” can also be interpreted as limb or…
“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165 In Psalm 119, the psalmist took great delight in God’s Word because his soul had been made alive by God’s grace, and it was now his responsibility to praise the living Lord. Like a lost sheep, who never find…
“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned his ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1-2 These verses simply state the reason for the psalm … the Lord answered the Psalmist’s cry for help. The rest of…
“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:18-19 “My foot is slipping” meant imminent death, indicating the serious nature of the threats to the psalmist. “Your unfailing love” or steadfast love is a loyalty to one’s community,…
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32 Paul answers the rhetorical question in the previous verse with a question. Since God has done the greatest thing, giving His own Son, will He not…