"He who receives and welcomes you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." (Matthew 10:40, AMP)The Greek language tends to be very concrete. A literal reading of the word translated 'receives, welcomes, accepts' is 'to take with the hand' (Joseph Thayer). What a picture that creates. In the context, this is what I see: you walk into a room, see a familiar person (perhaps one ...  Read More

It happened in Jesus' day and it happens today. We cannot control how others act and react to us, but we can control (by God's grace and His Spirit within us) how we respond to others. Jesus' words in Matthew 10:16 are captivating...  Read More

Matthew has recently become my favorite disciple, thanks to The Chosen's unique approach to his character. This eccentric portrayal aside, I have often pondered Matthew's calling: "Get used to different." Judas aside, Matthew should have been the last person Jesus invited to become The Great Rabbi's disciple/student. Rabbi's wanted someone of good stock, of the correct lineage, of strict formal le...  Read More

Isaiah 53 is a favorite Old Testament Scripture for New Testament writers. It is quoted 7 times in the New Testament, and some believe that to those 7 references you can add another 78 allusions or paraphrases. The first of the quotes is found in Matthew 8:17: "...so that He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 'He Himself took our infirmities [upon Himself] and carried away our diseas...  Read More

Since we reviewed a God-title yesterday, let's follow suit today. In Genesis 21 we are reminded of Abraham's fickleness (not his faithfulness)...  Read More

El-Roi, God Who Sees (Genesis 16:13). El is God in His essence. Sovereign God, God Alone, sees all. To many, that is scary, but if you look at the context, a servant named Hagar is fleeing for her life and in a desperate place, and that is where she encounters God...or should I say, God encounters her...  Read More