Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Each one should test their own actions.
Summary: The Bible challenges us to look in the mirror and take the log out of our own eye (Matthew 7:3). Paul applies the challenge in a slightly different way and asks us the question, “Who do we think we are?”
Continue reading “Galatians 6:4a – The Test”… for we are members of his body.
Summary: Being a member of the body of Christ is more than simply saying, “I believe.” We must find a way to get along with other believers, too.
Continue reading “Ephesians 5:30 – The Need for Humility”Be completely humble and gentle;
Summary: To be humble and gentle is asking a lot. Paul is really asking us to step outside of our emotional selves and take control. Fortunately, he also prays that God gives us the power to do just that.
Continue reading “Ephesians 4:2a – Horse and Rider”Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
Summary: What kind of gift should we give our Creator this Christmas? John gives us a clue.
Continue reading “1 John 2:6 – Merry Christmas!”
With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly…
Summary: There are many famous names in the Bible. There are also names like Silas, who are not well known but did very important work.
Continue reading “1 Peter 5:12 (a) — Unsung Hero”
Submit…
The word “triggered” has taken on new meaning in the English lexicon. It has always been around, of course, and used in the practical sense of activating something with a trigger. During the war, if a booby trap was set off you would say it had been “triggered.” These days the word is often used to describe a strong adverse emotional reaction to something. For example, “The student in the front row was triggered when the instructor mentioned that they had voted for the president.”
Words that set off an emotional reaction are “trigger words.” One of the oldest trigger words in the English language is the word, “submit.”
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:13 (a) — The Meaning of Submit”
There is a story in the Old Testament about a man named Naaman. He was an important man in his time as he commanded the entire army for the kingdom where he lived. He suffered from leprosy which in those days was a death sentence.
One day he heard about a prophet in Samaria who could cure leprosy, but when he heard what the cure was, he balked. What he was told to do was beneath his dignity. Eventually, he chose to humble himself, and his reward was that he was healed.
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,’ he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means “Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.