Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it …
Grace Gems
Bible Gem 1049 – He’s got More than Me (Luke 15:22-30)
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, …
Bible Gem 984 – Jesus Full of Grace and Truth: Causing Offence (Luke 11:45)
“Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.” “Yes, “said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease …
Bible Gem 215 – Stumbling into Grace (Rom 9:30-10:13)
What can we say, then? Gentiles, who were not pursuing righteousness, have attained righteousness, a righteousness that comes through faith. But Israel, who did pursue the righteousness that is based on the law, did not arrive at that law. Why not? Because they did not …
Bible Gem 136 – Of Slaves and Saints and other things (Romans 1:1 & 7)
The words that need attention: servant [ δοῦλος] is better translated slave than servant. To dig on this word look at ISBE where it gives you eight pages of comment. So often we consider ourselves “servants of the Lord” with the implicit sense that we …
Bible Gem 724 – Peace and Grace to You (Eph 6:23-24)
Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:23-24 We have now reached the point of …
Bible Gem 640 – So None can Boast (Eph 2:8-9)
“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9 Or …
Bible Gem 639 – But God’s mercy . . . (Eph 2:4-7)
But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) …
Bible Gem 619 – Oh How Marvelous His Grace (Ephesians 1:7-8)
according to (because of) the riches of His grace [a relative phrase of cause and effect] which He made abound to us [and relative of intensity referring to that same grace] in (with) wisdom and understanding [qualifying the nature of the causation] Ephesians 1:7-8 Note …
Bible Gem 617 – Gracing grace in the Beloved (Eph 1:6)
to the praise of the glory [more stacked phrases one on top of the other which need unpacking] of His Grace [the final phrase here is the focus of the series that went before it] which He graced to us [a relative clause referring back …