fire – Three Minute Bible

June 6, 2026June 8, 2026

1 Timothy 4:16b – The Test of Fire

Cartoon: Two guys are talking. The one on the left looks cool and calm. The other one looks like he has been on fire. The first guy asks, "Did you pass the test?" (Grok)

Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Summary: Once again, Paul challenges us to dive into the Greek to understand what he is trying to tell us.

In the last meditation, “1 Timothy 4:16a – Me, Myself, and I,” we looked at Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” Paul wasn’t reprimanding Timothy in any way, but was instead encouraging and cautioning him as one worker does to a co-worker.

July 23, 2025July 23, 2025

Philippians 2:6b – Fire and Ice

A picture of the earth floating in space. Half is on fire and half is covered in ice. (Grok)

[Jesus]… did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

Summary: The nature of Jesus comes into focus in this passage. Understanding who Jesus is helps us understand how he wants us to live.

Who, exactly, is Jesus?

If you have read the Bible, or even if you have just heard about him from others, you probably know he is the “Messiah” (Matthew 16:16), the “Son of God” (Mark 1:1).

February 13, 2025February 13, 2025

Colossians 3:8e – Doom Loop

Hand holding a lighted wooden match with a dark woods in the background.

[… rid yourselves of] … slander …

Summary: By following each step in Paul’s thinking, we discover that he has something very specific in mind.

Let’s go back and review the whole verse so far:

“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander …”

Paul is painting a portrait of a slave to SELF. When we put our self-interest above God and others, we will always find things that offend us. The rest of the world is only interested in pleasing themselves, so since my SELF is most important (to me), it is very irritating when other people do not share my concern for my own happiness.

February 3, 2025February 3, 2025

Colossians 3:5d – Good Passion and Bad

Picture of road leading down to Dante's Inferno.

[Put to death] … lust …

Summary: How is lust different than sexual immorality? The difference is significant. As we look into the roots of the word Paul used, we find a life-saving warning.

Paul’s third category of things to put to death is represented in the NIV by the word “lust.” About half of all English translations use this word. The other half, with a few exceptions, use the word “passion.” Both are a fair translation, but some clarification is helpful here.

The word Paul uses in Greek is “páthos.” “Páthos” is a word that describes a feeling we humans sometimes have. It is correctly translated as “passion,” but it is a very specific kind of passion.