Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
… and giving joyful thanks to the Father,
Summary: It is one thing to say we are thankful, and it is another thing altogether to be joyfully thankful. Meditating on the difference helps us to understand what Paul is saying in this passage.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:12a – Joyful Thanks”May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ …
Summary: As Paul gives us an important pointer about boasting, he also points us to the deeper meanings of the words he used.
Continue reading “Galatians 6:14a – Did Paul Pun?”[T]he fruit of the Spirit …
Summary: Looking back at Paul’s list of the “fruit of the Spirit,” we discover that the fruit of God’s Spirit is actually poured into us before we can share it with others.
Continue reading “Galatians 5:22-23 – Looking Back, Part 2”But the fruit of the Spirit is … joy
Summary: When God comes to live in us, surprising things happen!
Continue reading “Galatians 5:22c – Letting God be God”
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Summary: Happy Thanksgiving! I hope and pray that your day today is blessed beyond all reasonable measure.
Continue reading “Psalm 100:4 — Happy Thanksgiving!”
…and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…
Who could object to having inexpressible and glorious Joy? Even for a moment, let alone for a lifetime. But for eternity? Really?
To put this verse in context Peter says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and…you believe in him … and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…”
In yesterday’s post, “Testimony,” we discussed why people believe in Jesus even two thousand years after he lived on earth. The answer, it seems, is that God calls us to believe and makes it possible for us to believe. But how? How does God do this?
Continue reading “1 Peter 1:8 (b) — Joy”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
— Romans 15:13
If you look at any United States coin, written on the front are the words, “In God We Trust.” Over the years I have come to marvel at the implications of what it means to trust in God.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he ties together trust, hope, joy, and peace. All this is by the power of the Holy Spirit. Without God, we do not have access to that power.
So what? So what if we don’t have trust?
Continue reading “Affirmation Monday – In God We Trust”
I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
Perhaps you have been wondering why Jesus would be praying like he is at this time? We have been told that it was not uncommon for Jesus to go off by himself to pray. Why this prayer here and now? Why pray where his disciples can hear him?
Todays’ verse gives us the answers to these questions. Jesus wants his disciples to hear him tell his Father about them. Is this a reasonable thing to do? It is if you are Jesus and you are more concerned about how your disciples feel that you are your own feelings.
Where you ever in a situation where someone was bragging on you to someone else that you cared about? When you were a child, did a teacher ever say something nice about your work in school to your parents when you were listening? Have you ever worked for someone who stood up for you or praised you in front of his boss or manager? How does that feel?
Continue reading “Affirmation – John 17: 13”