Who Makes The Fruit Grow?
A Word From The Word: Fruit There are two reasons to focus on specific words in this series, “A Word From The Word”. Often the reason is that something has been lost in translation from Greek or Hebrew to English that we need to recapture in order to fully understand what God is telling us. Sometimes however, the reason has to do with making sure we actually understand the significance of the word itself, whether in the Greek or English. One of the most important…
Read MoreA Word From the Word: Peace
It has been a few weeks since I have posted, as I have been battling some illness. As I come back to this blog, I want to maintain my focus on Biblical teaching—particularly the meaning of important words the Holy Spirit has chosen to use in scripture. I am also burdened by the events in the world. In the end, I don’t believe these are separate subjects, so today I want to post on an important Biblical word: Peace. I will focus on the New…
Read MoreA Word from the Word: Fear Him!
A Word From The Word: Fear Have you ever wondered why scripture tells us to fear God (For example, Ephesians 5:21)? Especially when it also says we are to love Him, and He loves us, and perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18)? The Greek word translated fear in these passages is phobos, from which we get phobia. The word did mean fear. It could also mean terror, respect, awe, or reverence. All of these are responses to encountering something that is so beyond…
Read MoreA Word From the Word: Obey
A Word From The Word: Obey Discipleship is a popular theme in churches today—and it should be, since it is ultimately the purpose of the church to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Given the fact that Jesus Himself gave this commission to those through whom He would start His Church in just a few days from His statement, it is strange that the average Christian doesn’t fully understand that commission. Jesus told His disciples (a word which simply means students or followers, and which described anyone…
Read MoreA Word from the Word: God’s Actual Name!
I was reminded recently of a powerful word that is often intentionally left out of our English translations of the Bible. It is a word that sheds light on God’s intention with us—and on God Himself. It is a word God Himself gave us, but tradition has caused us to ignore. It is the very name of God. God has only one name, not counting the human name Jesus. The other “names” often mentioned are actually either titles or descriptions. This is important because in…
Read MoreA Word From The Word: Fellowship
When I came to the Lord in the Jesus movement, there was a hunger in that movement—and in the traditional church—for Christian fellowship. There were churches, coffee houses, outreach ministries and bookstores all using one word as their name—“Koinonia”. We were told the word meant fellowship—which of course is a word no one used outside the church. So, we basically didn’t know what this fellowship was supposed to be. But the Bible is very clear about fellowship. It described the lifestyle the earliest Christians led…
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