It was great to see you both at the game today! I can't wait to see the new family picture! The word for this week is "sting". It's only found in one portion of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:55-56:
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. KJV
This is the Greek word "kentron". Strong's Concordance says this: from kenteo (to prick); a point, a sting (figuratively, poison). Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: a sting as that of bees or scorpions. I really like this from the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: When sin, on which its power rests, is vanquished by Christ, the sting is withdrawn and death becomes impotent. We know from Romans 6:23 that the ultimate price that must be paid for sin is death. This is not physical death, but eternal separation from the God of the Bible. Every human being is a spirit being, possessing a soul and living in a body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The spirit and soul will live forever, SOMEWHERE. That choice is ours to make. So, for the born again believer, death is no longer an enemy, but the "ticket" to an eternity in the presence of God! I refuse to leave here before I have "finished my course" (2 Timothy 4:7-8), but when I do, I'm ready! It is so wonderful to know that you and your family will (one day a LONG time from now) be there too! The Message Bible is really good, too! Here are verses 54-58:
54 Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! 55 Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now? 56 It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. 57 But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three — sin, guilt, death — are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! 58 With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
I LOVE that! Here is a song from Hillsong Worship's new album called "O Praise The Name":
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
