Tag: Bible

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Philippians 4:8d – The Choice

A Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man look-alike reads the Bible. (Grok)

… whatever is pure …think about such things. 

Summary: Trying to tell ourselves what NOT to think about is doomed to fail. Paul’s solution is to redirect our thinking towards something without any worldly contamination.   

Paul is clever! 

There is a scene in the 1984 “Ghostbusters” movie where the four Ghostbusters are in the final battle with “Gozer the Gozerian.” After blasting the apparition with their “proton beams,” Gozer disappears. Thinking that they have “won,” the four heroes relax for a moment until the ground starts to shake and the building begins to sway. 

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Philippians 3:5b – No Secrets

Picture of an ancient Hebrew scroll with the words "Dear Diary" above it. (GROK)

…of the people of Israel…

Summary: Israel is a people with nothing to hide – because all of their ‘dirty laundry’ has been written down in a book that millions of people have read.    

One of the reasons I believe the Bible is from God is because of the “people of Israel.” Not because the people of Israel are intrinsically good, but because they aren’t. It is because only God could make a race of people write down all of their mistakes and then make it their mission in life to preserve the book they wrote. 

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Colossians 4:3c – The Mystery of Of

Old fashioned typesetters at work with the words "mystery" and "Christ" floating in the air.

… so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ …

Summary: Sometimes there are mysteries within mysteries. In this passage, we are presented with a mystery that involves language. Why did the translators add to God’s Word? 

You might have noticed that we sort of skipped over part of this verse in our last meditation. The reason is that I thought it might be good to spend some time focusing on the “mystery of Christ.” 

The Greek word for “mystery” is “mystḗrion,” which is very similar to our English word while at the same time sounds even more mysterious! 

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Colossians 3:8a – Deeds and Weeds

Person hoeing weeds in a garden

 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: …

Summary: Do we really have to “rid” ourselves of the things on Paul’s list of bad habits? The answer to that question leads us to a deeper understanding of God’s will for us. In the end, we discover that spiritual growth involves work, but this work is a response to God’s grace, not a means of earning salvation. 

Our last meditation discovered an interesting link between our Lord’s parable about the kingdom of heaven and how we are to live our lives as believers. In our passage for this meditation, Paul doubles down on that discovery. 

What was that discovery, you ask? 

Simply this: God expects us to work for his kingdom while we are here. 

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Colossians 2:20c-21  – Rules About Rules

Picture of sign that reads "NO JUMPING OFF BRIDGE"

… why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 

Summary: Understanding Paul’s writings often requires an understanding of the world Paul is writing about. We call this “context,” but even that concept has limits. Because God’s thoughts are higher than our own (Isaiah 55:9) we have to stretch our minds to try and understand God’s. 

Reading this passage without context is dangerous! It is very easy to look at Paul’s words and come away with the idea that Christians don’t have to follow any rules. Like most words in the English language, the word “rule” has many applications.  

Paul is not talking about the “rules of the road.” Christians don’t get a free pass to ignore speed limits or drive toward oncoming traffic. We don’t get a “pass” when we go the wrong way on a “one way street.” Christians, like everyone else in the world, still have to follow the traffic rules. 

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