Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.
Summary: Paul takes a breath and expresses his confidence that all is not lost for the Galatians.
Continue reading “Galatians 5:10 – An Encouraging Word”… since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven,
Summary: Living in a broken and sinful world seems like an insurmountable challenge. Yet, we all have to face our Maker and our Master at some point.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:9b – The Master”But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
Summary: Loving others as God loves us is a complicated business.
Continue reading “Matthew 5:44 – God-Like Love”
… being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
Summary: Understanding the day of judgment is helpful to understanding our relationship with God. He is the creator, we are the created. If we do not function as we were created to, then we cannot be used. Like scrap wood at a construction site, such people end up in the fire.
Continue reading “2 Peter 3:7c — Smoke”
These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
Summary: The Church, sadly, is not perfect. False teachers have caused confusion and division. Even so, the church is still loved by Jesus, and judgment waits patiently for those who dare mislead the Lord’s bride.
Continue reading “2 Peter 2:17 — Lost in the Fog”
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment …
Summary: Peter gives us a peek into things we cannot see by telling us what happens in the spiritual realm.
Continue reading “2 Peter 2:4 — Example 1: The Crazy Uncle”
—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Summary: Once again we are confronted by the duality of the physical and the spiritual. In physical terms “swift” means “now.” In spiritual terms, “swift” might simply mean “suddenly.”
Continue reading “2 Peter 2:1d — Surprise!”
They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
As Jude dives into the topic of his letter, we immediately understand that there are three groups of people involved.
The first group, the group that James is part of, are “loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.”
The second group, not mentioned by name but implied, are the people of the world who do not know Jesus but need Him. These people are not “lost” to Christ, but neither are they yet “found.” The one thing about this group that applies to all of them is that none of them claim to be Christians.
Continue reading “Jude 1: 7b — The Third Group”
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
The Big Picture
As I read this passage, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day come to mind. They seemed to think of themselves as righteous. They certainly acted like they thought they were God’s gift to humanity. Yet, what they did in conspiring against Jesus was very wicked.
Among all the righteous men who have ever lived, Jesus is by far the most righteous of all. Being without sin, he defines what it means to be righteous. It might be unfair to compare these people to this verse, but it might also open the door to understanding something about God’s perspective.
Continue reading “Psalm Sunday – Psalm 1: 4-6”
If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
Sometimes it feels like the pace of this blog could be picked up a bit. After all, how much detail can you expect from one verse? Well, quite a bit as it turns out.
Today’s verse turns the picture of God as JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE upside down. Instead of threatening plagues or floods, Jesus says he is not here to judge. What?
Is this the same God we read about in the Old Testament?
Well, yes.
It turns out that God had a plan to save the world from the very beginning. (Genesis 3: 15) Jesus could have come in chapter 4 of Genesis, but who would have crucified him and why? There needed to be an understanding established. God needed to explain what righteousness is, and what the cost of sin is. The animal sacrifices conducted by the early Jews demonstrated the messy, bloody, deadly price required for sin. The priesthood established by God acted as an intercessor between God and man. Both sacrifice and intercessor are needed.
Finally, the time was right, and Jesus entered the world. His job: Not to judge the world, but to save it.
Continue reading “Judged? – John 12: 47”