Three Minute Bible

December 22, 2019December 23, 2019

Psalm Sunday – Psalm 1: 3

That person [the one who delights in the law of the Lord] is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

Good Soil

There is something you may have heard about called the “prosperity gospel.*” I acknowledge this because it is a hot topic for many Bible-believing Christians. In the study of James that we just started James dives right in by talking about “trials of many kinds.” Paul, in his letter to the Romans (Chapter 5) starts with a discussion of sufferings and how believers are to “glory in our sufferings” (vs 3). So there is a potential for confusion. Some verses, like today’s, offer the hope of prospering while others talk about the reality of suffering. Yet I firmly believe that “all scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16).

So what do we make of this?

December 21, 2019December 22, 2019

Position – James 1: 9

Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.

James presents us with an interesting challenge here: What is the difference between “circumstances” and “position?”

The term “circumstance” generally refers to something both external and material. Oftentimes it refers to a person’s financial situation. People without money are in “poor circumstances.” But James recognizes that being poor in material things has little to nothing to do with one’s “position” in life.

Why?

Does James have some special insight here? I think he does.

December 20, 2019December 21, 2019

Double-Minded – James 1: 7-8

That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I should have included this verse with yesterday’s post. Still, there may be something here for us. Let’s take a look…

James has opened his letter talking about “trials of many kinds” and how from a godly perspective they should be considered “pure joy.” He then writes that he wants believers to be “mature and complete, not lacking in anything.” Immediately he focuses on wisdom. We don’t know why, but James thinks it is important. All we have to do to get godly wisdom is to ask. The caveat is that we need to believe when we ask, Then James contrasts belief with doubts. He says the doubter is like a “wave on the sea.”

In today’s verse, he talks about people who should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Who are these people? Who asks something from the Lord but does not believe?

December 19, 2019December 20, 2019

Opposites – James 1: 6

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James has just written that God is generous in giving to those who ask for wisdom. He makes the point that God is not looking to find fault. God simply wants everyone to have wisdom.

But then James adds this little caveat: “.. you must believe and not doubt…” He compares someone who doubts to a wave on the sea, tossed around by the wind first one way and then another. So what is he talking about?

December 18, 2019July 20, 2020

Welcome!

Welcome to Three Minute Bible, a daily meditation on Scripture. If you have comments or suggestions about the blog please contact me at: jeff@threeminutebible.com. I would love to hear from you! — Jeff Englund

December 18, 2019December 19, 2019

Wisdom Wednesday – James 1: 5

It turns out that today’s “Wisdom Wednesday” post is found in the next installment of James…

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Finding Wisdom

What good is wisdom? What does it buy you? How is a person with this thing called “wisdom” any better off than the next one who has none? What is wisdom anyway?

December 17, 2019December 18, 2019

The Eternal Perspective – James 1: 4

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I was reading Ecclesiastes yesterday. Chapter 1 begins, “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher…” “Everything is meaningless.” I pondered this attitude of Solomon’s wondering what it means. As I thought about it, I realized that compared to being in the presence of God, everything in this life actually is meaningless.

God’s values are not man’s values. We saw this in the words and actions of Jesus as we studied John’s gospel. Jesus is not from around here, a fact made evident by his the way he talked and what he did.

I believe the Bible is consistent on this point. It seems so in this passage from James. He wants us to be “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” It is up to us, his readers, to decipher what “thing” he is talking about!

December 16, 2019December 18, 2019

Affirmation Monday – 2 Peter 1: 3-4

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Escape

If 2 Peter were a car, it would be one where the driver has stomped on the gas and when the engine has redlined, popped the clutch. The result is a very high-speed start.

Peter has barely said, “Hello!” before he dives into the essentials of Christian living. His first words are brassy, powerful, and encouraging. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life…”

Wow.

It is easy to take our eye off of the ball (and of Scripture) and lose sight of this truth. We have everything we need for a godly life.

So what do we need?

December 15, 2019December 18, 2019

Psalm Sunday – Psalm 1: 1-2

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.

Today’s meditation begins another new feature at Three Minute Bible, Psalm Sunday. Each Sunday we will look into the Psalms for inspiration. I don’t know if we will jump around the book of Psalms or go straight through. Either way, there is a lot of material here so I’m not worried about running out of things to talk about.

Two Paths

In today’s verse, King David points to two different paths. One path is described as the place where the wicked are. Sinners are there as are mockers. Is this information helpful? How do we discern what is sin or what the wicked do? Mocking is easy to recognize, but is the mocker bad?

December 14, 2019December 18, 2019

Testing – James 1: 3

…because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

The word, “test” is one of those words with many connotations and meanings. In today’s verse James explains what he means by suggesting we should consider “trials of many kinds” as “pure joy.” Testing, he says, produces perseverance.

He is not talking about the kind of testing that an engineer might use to determine how strong something is. That kind of test requires pushing a material or design to the breaking point. When testing a material that way, we measure where the failure is. That information is used to design something that will not fail when it undergoes a different kind of test.