Luke 18:13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.Thought:The tax collector had no list of religious achievements and no defense to offer. He felt the weight of his guilt so deeply that he could not even lift his eyes. His posture and his words revealed a heart that had stopped pretend...

Luke 18:11–12The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.Thought:The Pharisee did not lie about his religious activities. He truly fasted, gave tithes, and likely avoided many public sins. The problem was not what he did b...

Romans 8:35 and 37–39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ … Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come Nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our L...

Romans 8:29–30  For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified.Thought:Paul shows how God’s saving work is like a never-ending chain, stretching back to the beginni...

2 Corinthians 4:17–18For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal.Thought:Michelangelo’s masterpiece on the Sistine Chapel ceiling was hidden for years...