Deeds – Page 15 – Three Minute Bible

June 6, 2020June 6, 2020

1 Peter 1: 2 (a) — An Absence of Uncertainty

… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…

In our post titled, “God’s Eye” we discussed how God’s view of time is different than our own. In today’s passage, Peter affirms the idea that God knows the future. He uses the word, “foreknowledge” to describe how God chooses us.

Perhaps you have had a sense of “deja vu” now and then? It is the feeling that you have already been someplace or done something before you have actually experienced it. To be clear, that is not anything like foreknowledge.

May 22, 2020May 28, 2020

Jude 1: 23a — Rescue

Two men operate a firehose against a background of hot flame.

…save others by snatching them from the fire…

James is offering us some parting words of wisdom and encouragement. By building yourself up in faith and praying in the Holy Spirit we remain strongly bound to God’s love. Then he tells us to be merciful to those who doubt. Today he adds, “… save others by snatching them from the fire…”

What fire?

In verse 7 Jude writes that Sodom and Gomorrah “… serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” Ouch! That sounds unpleasant!

May 19, 2020May 19, 2020

Jude 1: 21a — Word’s Dawn

… keep yourselves in God’s love …

Jude’s language is interesting. He does not say, “Thank God, we who believe are saved!” He doesn’t rest on his laurels. There is no pointing to how smart he is to have chosen to believe in Jesus. Instead, he offers some advice and encouragement when he writes, “… keep yourselves in God’s love.”

Remember how he started his short letter? In verse three he urges us to “contend for the faith.” In the next verse, he warns us about “certain individuals” who have “secretly slipped in among you.” Immediately we, his readers, are on the alert. Our minds may have started to sift through every “brother” and “sister” we know. We are suspiciously comparing them to the list of clues that Jude gives us to identify the ungodly.

May 7, 2020May 8, 2020

Jude 1: 12b — Tossed Sheep

…shepherds who feed only themselves.

Many years ago a young man from a small town went to study at the university. Unsure of what to do with his life, he studied a wide variety of topics. In his sophomore year, a campus ministry group that focused on college-age men discovered him. This group took him under their wing and counted him as one of their own until one day when they found out he was interested in religion.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to them. He had all the signs; a passion for God’s Word, a love of Truth, and a hunger to know more. Thinking of the university as a place to learn he had taken a world religion class and found it very interesting.

May 6, 2020May 8, 2020

Jude 1: 12A — Food

A small glass of wine and bread against a black background.

These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—

What is a “love feast?” Who eats there? Why should anyone have qualms about it?

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, is a great resource on this question. He describes in detail what the love feast is, who and how to eat it, and why it should be taken very seriously.

What is it?

April 19, 2020April 20, 2020

Jude 1:1c — A Hard Thing

…who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

As we begin our study of Jude’s letter, he tells us who he is and who he is writing to. The people he writes to “have been called” by God to walk in light and mercy. Today he adds that they are “loved in God the Father.” (NIV)

The Greek in this instance is either difficult to translate or it reflects an idiom that was common in Jude’s day but is not common now. The English Standard Version (ESV) translates the Greek this way: “…beloved in God the Father….” This formulation makes more sense to me than the NIV in this case.

Unless a person knows Greek, it is a good idea to explore different translations when a passage is difficult for you. This Bible website allows you to see all the available English translations at once.

April 10, 2020April 10, 2020

James 5: 14 — A Test of Faith

A dog with a cone around his neck symbolizes being sick.

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

As I read this verse I am almost overwhelmed by the implications. How should we begin? Perhaps we should begin with being sick.

Who among us has not been sick at one time or another? Often our sickness passes and we get better. Some kinds of sickness affect the body for years. Other sicknesses lead to death. Sometimes quickly, other times very slowly.

As a Christian, we do not fear death. Yet almost no one yearns to be ill. We like feeling well. That is how we are intended to be.

April 7, 2020April 7, 2020

James 5: 12 — Do You Swear…?

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

Note: Today we return to chapter five. We have explored the forgotten verses in chapter four. James has been admonishing us to avoid making boasts about what we will do. Instead, preface every thought with, “If it is the Lord’s will… This ties in nicely with today’s passage.

What kind of swearing is James talking about? Do we still swear in the way James uses the word?

The traditional definition of “swear” is to make a solemn statement or vow promising to do something or affirming something is true. The functional definition in common use today is to express contempt with what is known as a “four-letter word.” (Sadly, the use of “swear words” has become so common that some people are hardly able to speak without using them.)

James is referring to the use of an affirmation or vow. So why would such a statement condemn us?

April 1, 2020April 1, 2020

James 5:9 — Reflections

Image shows reflections of trees in the water of a still lake.

Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

In yesterday’s post, “Job or Joy?,” we posed the question, “How do we apply this truth in our fellowship with other Christians?” The “truth” we were discussing had to do with what James said about faith and deeds. He wrote:

“…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2: 17b)

So how do we apply this truth to others in the fellowship of believers?

March 31, 2020April 1, 2020

James 5: 7b-8 — Job or Joy?

A farmer harvest wheat with a combine and truck.

See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

I want to continue the thought that we started yesterday in, “Two Sides.” In short, we contrasted what Paul writes in Ephesians 2: 8-9 with what James writes in James 2: 24. Paul tells us that we are saved by faith, not by works. James writes, “…a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” Are these two statements contradictory?

The key here is in Paul’s use of the word, “works.” The word “work” comes from the Greek, ergon. It describes the kind of work one does for pay. In other words, a job. At the end of the day, one who works at a job is paid in coin or currency. Both parties have what they bargained for. But salvation is not something any of us can afford. The price for our salvation is so far out of reach that we might as well believe that we could jump over the moon by using our own two legs.