5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the … Continue reading
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set … Continue reading
Chapter 8 showed us that Jesus is our high priest. Now we move into understanding the sanctuary that He entered as priest, and the difference between the old covenant and new covenant priesthoods. Verses 1-5 give us a brief description of the tabernacle as erected by Moses, in which Aaron was the first priest. The … Continue reading
Chapter 6 spoke about the surety of God’s promise He gave about Christ; “you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek”. God swore on oath to it by 2 unchangeable things: Himself, and His Name. Now the writer helps us understand a bit more about this man Melchizedek who resembles Christ. For this Melchizedek, … Continue reading
Jesus is Tested in the Wilderness At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. – Mark 1:12-13 Matthew 4 Luke 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After … Continue reading
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For … Continue reading
“I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 … Continue reading
He 33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37 Turn … Continue reading
Aleph 1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they have walked in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully … Continue reading
As we are continuing through our study of the Gospels, we are now introduced to the book of Mark. Mark was written by John Mark, the son of a woman named Mary in whose house the early Jerusalem church would meet, and it is addressed the church at Rome who was in the midst of … Continue reading
The Escape to Egypt 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the … Continue reading
English Standard Version (ESV) Abraham Justified by Faith What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted … Continue reading
Jesus Presented in the Temple 22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in … Continue reading
Romans 3 (ESV) God’s Righteousness Upheld 3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let … Continue reading
We are all familiar with the Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5) and those famous lines Jesus says at the beginning which we now refer to as the ‘Beatitudes’. But have you ever actually thought about what each of those means? When translated directly from the Greek there is an amazing rush of … Continue reading
A prayer of David. 1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips. 2 Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. 3 Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have … Continue reading
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; 4 who despises a vile person but … Continue reading
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know … Continue reading
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that … Continue reading
16 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive … Continue reading
