There is the common maxim that "people are down, on what they're not up on", which seems to reflect the reality that people having limited knowledge, or no knowledge, of a subject, still make a judgment concerning it, based on a total absence of the facts. This seems nonsensical, but everyone has biases, whether they admit to them or not. Based on their environment in which they have lived, and are living, their family history, how they have been educated up to that point, an

Many people have seen a magician perform and watch them use magic words, and pull a rabbit out of a seemingly empty hat, or make someone...

In the morning, "...they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots", or "from its roots" (Wuest; Beck; Rotherham; KJV), [11:20] "FROM" is (ek), 1537, designating the place of origin or the point where the motion or action proceeded from. Change is initiated in the spiritual realm, where there is no apparent visible change, and you can't see it, until the words spoken produce, like the seeds that they are, the physical result of what has been said. When words of faith are utter

"If you don't know where you're going...any road will get you there" Many people pursue career options based on some form of monetary return; job security; company benefits; or some other perceived gain but miss actual fulfillment in what they do, and more often than not, end up toiling in their occupation or profession, for the rest of their lives. Ephesians 2:1 says, "...and you who were dead in trespasses and sins..." The first thing to note concerning this text is that i

"But you divinely loved ones, building up ourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20) In the expertise of building construction there is often the mass produced "cookie cutter" builds, which are basically all identical with maybe a reverse floor plan or a different color scheme or a changeup in the color of flooring or cabinets, but otherwise, they are all identical, with very little individuality. However, a custom build is something that is intr

Proverbs 25:1 says, ''These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out.'' God doesn't just arbitrarily insert commentary on certain portions of scripture, so why does God mention this action taken by Hezekiah? I have encouraged my family to daily read, out loud, the book of Proverbs, because it deals with relationships, in every area, but there's another reason to daily read Proverbs. ROYAL ADVISORS In Nations like Egypt and Israel, as

Proverbs 3:6 says, ''In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.'' The words ''ways'' and ''paths'', are used almost interchangeably in a lot of passages, but they are different in meaning: WAYS - means your main direction in life, or we would say, the course of your life. PATHS - refers to the actual road you are traveling on, on your course of life. It's almost like looking at a road map to see your destination and how your going to get there [becaus

John 3:16, a scripture that most Believers know by heart, says, ''For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...'' LOVE The word used here for love, is the Greek word ''agape'', a word commonly referred to as ''the God-kind of love''. This definition, however, misses some of the basic meaning of the word, and how it applies to the scripture quoted, and our lives. There are four basic words for ''love'' in the Greek language, and all of them express ''love''

2 Timothy 3:16 contains the famous phrase, ''... all scripture is given by inspiration of God...'' IS GIVEN BY - The words ''.. is given by..'', are actually not in the Greek text, and tradition, more than translation has adopted the word ''.. inspiration.. '' in the verse. INSPIRATION - The Greek word translated ''... inspiration... '', is only used here in the Bible, though the concept, and meaning of the word is a central truth of the scriptures. Without getting too techn

Hebrews 11:6 says, '' But without faith (it is) impossible to please (Him); for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and (that) He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.'' This had always been a puzzling verse to me, in that it it seemed almost nonsensical that anyone would come to God, if he didn't believe that God existed? Obviously a person would have to believe in the existence of God or he would never approach Him. The seeming contradiction is cleared u

PROVERBS 22:6 says, ''... train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he won't depart from it.'' This scripture is fairly well known, and is usually interpreted in relation to raising children in a godly fashion. This interpretation is generally true, but specifically, the meaning is much more exciting! TRAIN - is elsewhere translated as ''dedicate'', primarily referring to houses or the temple. It comes from the meaning of smearing crushed dates on an infan

Proverbs 4:20 says, ''My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings..'' ATTEND - is an expression taken from the observation of animals, meaning ''to prick up'' the ear. When a dog or dear hears a sound, their attention immediately becomes absorbed by what they heard, and they ''prick up'' their ears to focus in exclusively on the sound. [ That's the Hebrew word.] The Greek word used here in the LXX (Septuagint), is the same word used in Hebrews 2:1, translat

Proverbs 4:21 says, ''.. let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart..'' LET THEM NOT - is not passive, but active, in the sense of ''do not allow''. DEPART - is a parallel to Hebrews 2:1, of not allowing God's word out of your sight. The Hebrew word, in this context, means to lose sight of something, or something being lost out of sight. The Greek word, is a nautical term, referring to the almost unnoticed, gradual movement, past a certain poin

Hebrews 2:1 says, ''... we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let (them) slip...'' LET THEM SLIP - This phrase, is one word in the Greek, representing a nautical term. ( Both Greek and Hebrew words in scripture paint ''word pictures'' that give us a visual representation of what God is communicating to us.) The ''word picture'' is that of a ship gradually, and almost unnoticeably, drifting past a certain point. In

James 4:7 says, ''Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.'' 1 Peter 5:9 says,''... resist [the devil] steadfast in the faith,..'' Both of these verses speak of ''resisting'' the devil, but the Greek gives a specific context to this exhortation. RESIST - The word is used in both verses, with the same meaning. We get the English word ''antihistamine'', ( a drug used to withstand adverse affects in the treatment of allergies) from

Jude 20 says, ''But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit...'' Next to praying [speaking] the word out loud; reading the word out loud; meditating the word [speaking the word out loud to yourself], praying in other languages, [or as we commonly say, ''praying in tongues''], is a significantly powerful spiritual dynamic in our lives. BUILDING UP...ON - These words, meaning ''to edify'', are normally used to mean ''to build a

Isaiah 53:4 says, ''Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.'' BORNE - The Hebrew word means ''to bear a burden'' for another. [ It is often spoken of the bearing of sin], in the sense of substitution, to take upon the penalty for another. Significantly, it means to ''bear on the body'', for another. CARRIED - The Hebrew word means to ''carry away'' or ''remove''. Both words are synonymous in mean

Matthew 8:17 says, ''That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet, saying, 'He Himself took our infirmities, and bore (our) sicknesses." This verse is a direct quotation of Isaiah 53:4, but it is unique in two distinct aspects: 1) Over 95% of all NT quotations from the OT, are from the LXX (septuagint) [the Greek translation of the OT], but this quotation is from the Hebrew text. 2) The other unique aspect of this verse, is that it quotes Isaiah 53:4, bu

Proverbs 25:21-22 says, ''If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; For thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.'' I recall seeing a humorous cartoon illustration of a girl throwing hot food on the head of her annoying younger brother, in an attempt to fulfill the teaching of this verse. That type of action would, at first glance seem to be what this verse promotes, but of course misses th

1 Timothy 2:1 says, ''... first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, (and) giving of thanks, be made for all... ''. The words in this verse specifically deal with prayer for others, but the principals found in the words for prayer, apply generally to everyone. To understand these concepts, it is necessary to view these words in their historical setting. What is presented in these words, is that of a petitioner standing before a king making a request, where the thron