Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
“… what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
Summary: In this half of verse 18, Peter points to two types of people who reject the kingdom of God. While we might tend to lump them together, it is worth examining what Peter is pointing us to.
Continue reading “1 Peter 4:18 (b) — A Subtle Distinction”
… 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.
Continue reading “1 Peter 1:9 — Random Thoughts”
They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
I like Jude. He doesn’t mince words! The joke line that goes with a passage like today’s is, “So, Jude, tell us how you really feel.”
Ha!
The thing is that Jude isn’t just some guy at work or someone you ran into at a coffee shop (pre-COVID coffee, of course). Jude is someone who, we presume, knows the risen Lord. He may have even been his half-brother.
In today’s passage, Jude describes the ungodly people as “twice dead.” Why? Why twice dead?
Continue reading “Jude 1: 12b-13 — Twice Dead”
Woe to them! …they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error;
The story of Balaam has always been a bit of an enigma for me. The parts of the story recorded in the Bible are both amazing and sketchy. Some people might say this is a shortcoming on the part of the Scriptures, but I don’t think so for two reasons. The first, as I have explained before, is that I believe the Bible is exactly the way God wants it to be. The second is that the apparent gaps in the story are consistent with God’s storytelling in other parts of the Bible. All of the Bible, whether Old or New Testaments, is written in a way that requires us to think.
So what do we know about Balaam? What was this “error” that Jude refers to?
Continue reading “Jude 1:11b — Balaam’s Error”
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
Conspiracy Theory
I am not going to say a lot on today’s verse except to point out that this is a GREAT question! It seems especially appropriate with all the drama in the news these days.
One phrase I’ve heard a lot lately is “conspiracy theory.” It seems like I was able to live most of my life without ever running into a conspiracy theory. Now I cannot turn around without someone claiming that what someone else has said is one.
The way I have heard the phrase used usually involves a complicated plot by shadowy political figures. The problem with such plots is that there is no way to verify the truth. Because of the number of these alleged plots these days, one is caught between succumbing to total paranoia or bemused incredulity.
Continue reading “Psalm Sunday – Psalm 2: 1”
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
The Big Picture
As I read this passage, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day come to mind. They seemed to think of themselves as righteous. They certainly acted like they thought they were God’s gift to humanity. Yet, what they did in conspiring against Jesus was very wicked.
Among all the righteous men who have ever lived, Jesus is by far the most righteous of all. Being without sin, he defines what it means to be righteous. It might be unfair to compare these people to this verse, but it might also open the door to understanding something about God’s perspective.
Continue reading “Psalm Sunday – Psalm 1: 4-6”