A Living Being Genesis 2:4–7 The Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7 The phrase translated “a living creature” (actually, “living soul”) in Genesis 2:7 is also used in Genesis 1:24 of the animals. But as a result of the particulars of man’s…

Image of God Genesis 1:27–31 So God created man in his own image. Genesis 1:27 To be made in God’s image means that men and women possess the attributes of personality, as God himself does, but as the animals, plants, and matter do not. To have personality, one must possess knowledge, feelings (including religious feelings),…

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:44 What is Jesus saying? In John 15:16 Jesus says, “You did not choose me—but I chose you…” Here in 6:44 he explains why. He is saying that left to…

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42 What are you devoted to? I suspect, for most of us, the list is quite short. Maybe we consider ourselves devoted to our family or to a job we love. We might be devoted…

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will…

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you…

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” Ephesians 1:4 In love … These words have a reassuring weight. For years they comforted me the way God’s rod and staff comfort the Psalmist, the way a baseball bat comforts you when…

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you….

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you….

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” Psalm 19:7-8 In Psalm 19:7-8, David pens four succinct couplets, pairing a declaration about…