Meditate on it

Wisdom, Understanding, & Knowledge  "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.  By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."  Proverbs 24:3 What a lovely analogy.  I'm not sure that I fully grasp it entirely, even now, but in my mind, there is an image of a beautiful, comfortable, stimulating home furnished with treasures.  However, these are not worldly treasures but spiritual ones. I'm curious to tease out the difference between "wisdom"  "knowledge" and "understanding."  Is he trying to get at some deeper nuance here or just stating that when we take time to be discerning and thoughtful that our lives will be rich indeed? wisdom chokmâh khok-maw' From H2449; wisdom (in a good sense): - skillful, wisdom, wisely, wit. understanding tâbûn  tebûnâh  tôbûnâh taw-boon', teb-oo-naw', to-boo-naw' The second and third forms being feminine; from H9

Proverbs 23:1-3 Gluttony, interestingly, translates the Hebrew nep̱eš, which has a variety of meanings including physical life (Pro_13:3, Pro_13:8), oneself (Pro_19:8; Pro_21:23), one’s appetite (Pro_16:26) or craving (Pro_10:3), and the seat of those cravings (Pro_21:10 is lit., “the wicked soul craves”). From that stems the idea of gluttony in Pro_23:2.  BKC "My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad." Proverbs 23:13 I definitely feel this way about our children--if they choose wisely, it makes me happy and content.

From BKC---I find this list of sinful behavior food for thought--especially interesting to have the Greek words thrown in there too: "The catalog of evil Jesus gave has a strong Old Testament flavor and consists of 12 items. First, there are six plural nouns (in Gr.) depicting wicked acts viewed individually: sexual immorality (porneiai, “illicit sexual activities of various kinds”); theft (klopai); murder (phonoi); adultery (moicheiai, illicit sexual relations by a married person); greed (pleonexiai, “covetings”), insatiable cravings for what belongs to another; malice (ponēriai, “wickednesses”), the many ways evil thoughts express themselves. Second, there are six singular nouns depicting evil dispositions: deceit (dolos), cunning maneuvers designed to ensnare someone for one’s personal advantage; lewdness (aselgeia; cf. Rom_13:13; Gal_5:19; Eph_4:19; 2Pe_2:2, 2Pe_2:7), unrestrained and unconcealed immoral behavior; envy (opthalmos  ponēros, lit., “an evil eye,” a Heb. expre

"But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "He's just a carpenter--Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?" They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further." Mark 6 The Message Ah, the fickle nature of people. This reminds me of so many folks I've peripherally touched base with about Jesus---there is an arrogance that they know all about him, yet they do not know him at all. [Herod Antipas is another half-hearted listener....intrigued enough to want to speak with him, even though it perplexed him, but not enough commitment to commit himself to Christ. The cost was clearly too high for Herod, and he eventually caved to the whims of a girl: "... for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, a

A thought from Barnes: "Something should be given her to eat - “He had raised her by extraordinary power, but he willed that she should be sustained by ordinary means.” He also in this gave full evidence that she was really restored to life and health. The changes were great, sudden, and certain. There could be no illusion. So, when the Saviour had risen, he gave evidence of his own resurrection by eating with his disciples, Joh_21:1-13." Jesus was such a mix of hard/soft, spiritual/practical, a fascinating blend of qualities.  I love the way he thinks to feed her, physically sustain her here.  It definitely speak to the thought that his concern was not wholly just her spirit but her body as well.

Worthwhile distinction made by JFB's commentary here: "Yes, the multitude “thronged and pressed Him” - they jostled against Him, but all involuntarily; they were merely carried along; but one, one only - “a certain person - TOUCHED HIM,” with the conscious, voluntary, dependent touch of faith, reaching forth its hand expressly to have contact with Him. This and this only Jesus acknowledges and seeks out. Even so, as Augustine long ago said, multitudes still come similarly close to Christ in the means of grace, but all to no purpose, being only sucked into the crowd. The voluntary, living contact of faith is that electric conductor which alone draws virtue out of Him."  -JFB This is one of the greatest mysteries of our faith---how some hear the Word, touch his hem, and yet come away unchanged, while others hearts are stirred.

Edward Knippers, Jesus & the Demonaic Very rough trail of thoughts about hashing through Mark 5, the account of the demon possessed man where Christ frees him from "legion," and the demons seek refuge in the herd of pigs. I've thought about the evil presence behind a mob--the group drive toward evil. It makes sense to me that there could be this type of multiple person evil within a person. Mobs strike me as harbors of evil. Courson also thinks there is a connection or lesson in the self-destructive choice of the demons to run the pigs over a cliff and connects this to the spirit of despair associated with suicide. "Such behavior shows that demon possession is not mere sickness or insanity but a desperate satanic attempt to distort and destroy God’s image in man" (cf. TDNT, s.v. “daimōn,” 2:18-19). -BKC on the demonic man in the caves All BKC: "The command to the demon (Mar_5:6-10) The brief statement of Jesus’ encounter with the demoniac (Mar_5

"Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to GOD than religious performance." -Proverbs 21:3 "Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived, can get the better of GOD." -Proverbs 21:30

Briggs and I were discussing parables the other day.  Did God seek to veil the truth from some through these?  Did their own hardness of heart prevent them from seeing, believing, and being saved?  It's a complicated issue.   From Bible Knowledge Commentary on this: "They were like the Israelites in Isaiah’s day (Isa_6:9-10). Isaiah said that this spiritual blindness and deafness that comes to people is God’s judgment. He particularly referred to Israel as a nation (cf. Mar_6:9, “this people”) for rejecting God’s revelation, especially as expressed in Jesus. They would see or hear the imagery of a parable but they would not understand its spiritual meaning. Otherwise (mēpote, “lest perhaps”) they might turn to God (repent) and be forgiven by Him. Jesus’ audiences were not denied the opportunity to believe in Him. But after they persistently closed their minds to His message (cf. Mar_1:15), they were excluded from further understanding of it by His use of parables. Yet even

From BKC: The opening verse ( a verbless phrase ) stands as the book’s title and theme. The word gospel (euangeliou, “good news”) does not refer to Mark’s book, known as “the Gospel of Mark.” Instead it refers to the good news about Jesus Christ. Those acquainted with the Old Testament knew the importance of the word “gospel” (cf. Isa_40:9; Isa_41:27; Isa_52:7; Isa_61:1-3). “News” meant that something significant had happened. When Mark used the word, it had Using hyperbole (cf. also Mar_1:32-33, Mar_1:37), Mark showed the great impact John made on all areas of Judea and Jerusalem. The people went out and were baptized by John in the Jordan River (cf. Mar_1:9) as they confessed their sins to God. The imperfect tense of the Greek verbs portrays in motion-picture fashion the continual procession of people who kept going out to hear John’s preaching and to be baptized by him. John emphasized the importance of the Coming One and showed his own humility (cf. Joh_3:27-30) by dec