Daily Meditations on the Bible
… honor the emperor.
At first, when I looked at today’s text I thought, “Great! I get a day off!” After all, in our country, we have no emperor. Nothing to see here, right?
Wrong. There is a lot to see.
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:17 (d) — Honor”
…offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
This may be one of the most important verses in the Bible. Oh, I know…it looks benign. You can read it and think, “Nice verse…” and go on with your reading. But when I look at this verse I see all the threads in the Bible coming together into one place.
I can guess what you are thinking. You are probably thinking, “Okay, Jeff. Go ahead. Show me how this ties together all the threads in the Bible. But remember, this is ThreeMinuteBible.com, not TwentyYearBible.com, okay?” Okay. Fair enough. Since we are constrained on time, I will use large brush strokes again and see if I can paint a picture of what I see.
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:5 (c) — At the Foot of the Cross”
Amen.
At the end of Jude’s letter is a one-word sentence: Amen. This word is both unique and ubiquitous. Like so many words in Christian traditions “Amen” has assumed a familiarity that leads one to take it for granted. Yet we shouldn’t. There is much to know about this simple word.
Continue reading “Jude 1:25f — So Be It”
… and praying in the Holy Spirit …
In Jude’s closing comments he provides some encouragement and advice for his readers. The goal he encourages us towards is eternal life. The way we get there is by believing in Jesus. We need to keep our relationship with Jesus strong by being strong in faith.
The key to successful relationships is good communication. One way we communicate with God and Jesus is by listening to Him speak through His Word and Spirit. Another way is by speaking to Him in prayer.
Continue reading “Jude 1: 20c — Whisper”
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
We are almost at the end of James’ letter to the “twelve tribes.” Throughout his letter, James talks about what it means to be a righteous person.
A righteous person considers trials to be a joy. He knows that testing leads to perseverance, and perseverance leads to maturity. A righteous person is mature in faith. They are complete.
A righteous person has the wisdom the comes from God because they have asked and not doubted. They are of a single mind, one that is devoted to the Lord.
Continue reading “James 5: 16b — Righteousness”
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.
The title for our meditation is the Greek word, “sōzō.” It is the word that the NIV translates as made “well” in today’s verse. In English, we generally expect that if someone is made well, they are restored to complete health. After looking into the meaning of the Greek, sōzō, I am not entirely sure that is exactly what James meant.
Forgive me, I don’t mean to be questioning the fine minds that did the translation for NIV. Instead, I am questioning our understanding of what it means to be made well. Once again the challenge is discerning who’s point of view we should look at the word through; God’s or ours.
Continue reading “James 5: 15a — Sōzō”
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.
Continue reading “James 5: 14 — A Test of Faith”
Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
Even though there are a lot of things to be afraid of in life, there are also things that make us happy. When a family member is diagnosed with a medical condition we are naturally concerned. When that condition is successfully treated we are happy.
Happiness is a wonderful feeling that comes over us unexpectedly.
Continue reading “James 5: 13b — Songfest”
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.
It seems a bit ironic to read this verse and be in the middle of a pandemic. People are dying and the rest of the world is scared. Who on earth isn’t in trouble right now? Let them pray!
Prayer is a wonderful thing because we don’t pray to someone we don’t believe in, even if it is only a little.
Continue reading “James 5: 13a — Prayer”
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?
Continue reading “James 4: 2b-3 — Water”