Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
At one time we too were … deceived …
Summary: Being a demon is hard work. You cannot force people to leave God’s Light, you have to tempt them. Fortunately for the demons, their work is made easier when we turn our back on God.
Continue reading “Titus 3:3 (d) — Going Astray”
… full of meaningless talk and deception …
Summary: Paul points us to a key facet of rebellious people: They are full of meaningless talk and deception. These two things are very real and very dangerous. If we let them, they can steal our lives.
Continue reading “Titus 1:10 (b) — A Waste of Air”
… which God, who does not lie …
Summary: God is good. He is able to choose not to lie. Being created in God’s image we also have a choice.
Continue reading “Titus 1:2 (b) — Good versus Evil”
Resist him, standing firm in the faith…
Summary: The devil has ways of messing with our minds and the minds of others. We can be attacked from both directions. Our only hope in standing up to the devil is to put on the armor of God.
Continue reading “1 Peter 5:9 (a) — How the Devil Roars”
As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
Summary: There are two ways to try and live for God. One works and the other doesn’t. The one that works is to fill our lives with Jesus, who points us to God.
Continue reading “1 Peter 4: 2 — More Jesus”
“Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”
Summary: Peter warns us against the power of fear and the danger of turning our imagination against ourselves. We need to keep our focus on Godly possibilities.
Continue reading “1 Peter 3:14 (b) — Godly Possibilities”
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing…
Summary: What is evil? Anything you don’t like might qualify. Peter tells us to respond to things we don’t like with a blessing.
Continue reading “1 Peter 3:9 (a) — Essence of Evil”
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands …
One of the things that is difficult to get our heads around in this life is that we are not alone. There is a saying that goes, “What you see is what you get,” but that is not true for the world we live in. There is so much more to life than what we can see.
In our recent post, “The Back Side of the Page,” we took a look at what is behind the facade of what we call reality. Behind the stage props we call “life,” there is a larger and more real existence. It is where we find God, the angels, Satan, and his demons. It is also where we find our spiritual existence. What is hard to see are the connections between the physical and the spiritual, but they are very real.
Continue reading “1 Peter 3:1 — The Same Old Deception”
For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.
Peter is going to talk about “unjust suffering” for a while. As he explores this theme, he segues into the topic of wives submitting to their husbands. I’m not saying that there is a connection here, but I suspect that the wives who are reading this might have some special insights on this passage. Anyway, for now, he is content to focus on the general topic of unjust suffering.
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:19 — Pain Gauge”
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires…
…which wage war against your soul.
Today we look at the second half of verse eleven. These six words are profoundly meaningful. As we put on the wedding garment, the righteousness of Christ, we wonder, “Do we have to wear these clothes all the time?” The answer is yes, and these six words explain why.
In this passage, Peter does not warn us against doing sinful things. He has already done that in verse two when he writes, “…be obedient to Jesus Christ ”
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:11 (b) — Impressions”