Needs – Page 5 – Three Minute Bible

June 26, 2020June 26, 2020

1 Peter 1:13 (a) — Tour Guide

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober…

Years ago back in the late 1970s, I drove a tour bus in Alaska. Not only did I drive the bus, but thanks to the wonders of a microphone mounted on a flex arm I was also the tour guide. Having driven over one hundred thousand miles of Alaskan highways and byways, I feel fairly well qualified to state that a trip through the barren wastelands of Alaska and the Yukon is much more entertaining with a tour guide than it is driving-driving-driving until you get to the next place on the map.

A good tour guide knows a lot about his or her territory. A tour guide has to know where they are at any given time. That kind of goes without saying.

June 17, 2020June 17, 2020

1 Peter 1:9 — Random Thoughts

Hundreds of small multi-colored cubes floating against a black background.

… for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So what is the point of having faith in Jesus? Why would anyone want to believe in someone that they cannot see? Well, the answer it turns out has to do with something else we cannot see; the salvation of our souls.

Two days ago, in the post, “Testimony,” I shared the short version of how I came to believe in Jesus. Along the way, I had to come to believe in “all things visible and invisible” as it says in the Nicene Creed. One thing I firmly believe in is the existence of my soul. If I were no more than a stalk of celery or a blade of grass I wouldn’t care what happens to me. But I do care. I care a lot. And the fact that we care about what happens to us sets you and me apart from almost everything else in Creation.

April 20, 2020April 20, 2020

Jude 1: 2 — Form

A clay pot is formed on a potter's wheel.

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

There is a very pleasant formality in the form of letters in the first century. The writer introduces who they are, and acknowledges the person or peoples they are writing to. They say something nice.

In this case, Jude offers mercy, peace, and love.

These are not random words pulled out of thin air. They are three things that only God can give and that humans need to survive.

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020

James 4: 13-14 — Stage Fright

A stage microphone stands out against a blurred background.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Note: Somehow I skipped over verses 13-17 in chapter 4. I’m not sure why, but as I started preparing for James 5: 12 I was reminded of the passage I had skipped over. So, let’s rewind for a few days and visit these words of James.

As I write this the world is embroiled in a war against an unseen enemy. A virus known as “Covid-19” has been unleashed and is running rampant. Wherever it goes, it lashes out at everyone around it. What sets it apart from other viruses is its speed and the potential nastiness of its effect on a person’s lungs. Within a matter of weeks beginning last December, the virus has infected most of the rest of the world. Slowly (it seemed) more information has become available. Suddenly, it seems, the country was shut down and we are all sitting at home.

Today we wonder how this happened. How did we become virtual prisoners in our own homes?

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020

James 4: 2b-3 — Water

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

What is it you really need? Do you know? Needs are things we sometimes take for granted. For example, we need water but we don’t always want water. But take away your favorite beverages and plain water starts to look pretty good. Imagine you no longer have access to coffee or tea, sodas or fruit juice, or any other of the hundreds of possibilities. Now water looks great!

Here in the Northwest, we have a seemingly unlimited supply of water. But suppose you find yourself stranded in the middle of Eastern Oregon, miles from any town. Now you need water.

What else do we need, but sometimes lose sight of in the midst of all our daily distractions?