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

Matthew 18:16 says, ''... that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'' The quotation in Matthew 18:16 is from Deuteronomy 19:15,[ though the principal is referenced in Deuteronomy 17:6 as well], and speaks of the establishing of legal matters. The last part of the phrase from Deuteronomy 19:15, literally means, ''... put into force'' or ''make legally binding''. What is significant about this is the legal principal, when it is applied to the ar

1 Timothy 2:1 says, ''... that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, (and) giving of thanks, be made for all men,..'' INTERCESSIONS - This word group, is used 8 times in the NT. (Acts 25:24; Rm. 8:26-27, 34; 11:2; 1 Tim. 2:1; 4:5; Heb. 7:25). The original meaning of the words, as with all language, changed over time: 1) Initially, the words meant a simple ''chance meeting'' with someone. 2) Since most interaction with others involves speaking, the meaning devel

John 7:37-38 says, "Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said [Zech. 14:8], from [out of ,KJV] his innermost being [belly, KJV] shall flow [continuously] springs (and) rivers of living water." (Amplified) The setting of this passage, is the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrated the coming harvest. Water was taken, by t

Romans 8:26 says, "... the Spirit also helps our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." This verse was always a puzzle to me, in that even those Greek scholars who did not practice speaking in other tongues, quoted this verse as referring to speaking in other tongues; [ with other scriptural texts (1 Cor. 14:13ff; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20) in the sense of the Holy Sp

Ephesians 6:18 says, " Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints..." First of all, it needs to be noted, that this verse is part of a passage that deals with our spiritual warfare with emphasis on various aspects of military armor. Without commenting too extensively on the passage, in this study, it is also important to note, that the reason for the engagement in battle, is not b

Luke 11:22 says, "But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, He takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils." This passage, and the other NT references concerning binding the strong man, (Matt.12:29; Mk. 3:27) are taken from Isaiah 49:24-25, referring to the coming Messiah, the Christ. "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus says the Lord: 'Even the captives of the mighty shall be