Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
… you may be able to stand your ground,
Summary: In the old days, “standing your ground” meant just that. You would stand in a spot on the ground and defend it with your life. In the world of spiritual matters, we stand on a different kind of ground.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:13c – The Ground We Stand On”
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James is rather blunt here. Sometimes when people are blunt, they stray into generalizations that are hurtful because they are not true. Is James’ statement entirely true?
Unfortunately, yes.
Jesus, James’ half-brother, makes the same point over and over again. In one example he says:
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”
(Matthew 5: 21-22a)
That is a very black and white statement. I have to confess I have been angry with a brother once or twice. (That may be a bit of an understatement.) Technically that means I am subject to judgment.
We are faced with the same choice every minute of every day: God or not God. If we choose God, we choose to put him above all else. We love him with all our heart, our soul and our mind. If we are not doing that, then we are choosing what James refers to as “the world.”
Continue reading “James 4: 4 — Enemy of God”
”And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
Does anyone out there remember a corny sci-fi TV show from the ’60s called, “Lost in Space?” I don’t remember a lot about it, but I do remember that the character named Dr. Smith. He was always trying to cause trouble. Oddly, the people he was trying to hurt always seemed to be willing to overlook his faults at the end of each show.
Jesus has a similar problem. He has twelve disciples who travel with him everywhere. They know everything about Jesus and every move he makes. Jesus loves them all but one of them is his enemy.
Continue reading “My Enemy – John 13: 10b-11”