Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
… may have power …
Summary: Roots are a metaphor for our relationship with God and his love for us. As we put down roots in love, we find the spiritual water and nutrients we need for life. More than that, we are strengthened with power.
Continue reading “Ephesians 3:18a – Spiritual Potting Soil (Part II)”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”… what you would have them do to you…
Summary: Figuring out why God wants us to love him above all else isn’t hard but it does require some humility.
Continue reading “Matthew 7:12 – Love”Abram believed the Lord…
Summary: If we look to the Bible for examples of a good father, what do we find? It turns out the answer to that question is, “Not much.”
Continue reading “Genesis 15: 6 — A Father’s Love”
I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets …
Summary: What do you think of when you recall the words of the holy prophets? If we turn to Jesus, he makes it easy for us.
Continue reading “2 Peter 3:2a — The Deadly Pun”
… and to mutual affection, love.
Summary: Peter has taken us up the mountain with him, and in today’s passage, he shows us the peak.
Continue reading “2 Peter 1:7b — Top of the Mountain”
But do this with gentleness and respect…
Summary: When we share our story of knowing God with others, we need to do it in a way that communicates both with the mind and the heart. Gentleness and respect both speak to the heart.
Continue reading “1 Peter 3:15 (c) — The Keys to the Heart”
You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to play in the dirt. If there was water nearby, that was even better. When I was about six years old, there was a small creek that ran through the woods at the end of the road by our house. As an adult, I wouldn’t look twice at this “creek.” It was just a trickle of ditch water that meandered away from the road under the trees. As a kid, though, it was a world unto itself.
In the mind of a six-year-old boy, the woods and the creek took on mythic dimensions. Lit only by the soft green light of the sun filtering through the trees, shadows added another dimension of mystery. Sticks, rocks, and mud all transformed from the mundane into magical building materials. Within the space of an eye blink (time did not exist in this place), the trickle of water had transformed into a lake behind a large dam. There were roads, causeways, canals, and rivers. It was a peaceful and idyllic miniature world — until disaster struck!
Continue reading “1 Peter 3:6 (b) — Displaced Fear”
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
So far in these first few words of Peter’s letter to us, he has touched on a number of points:
He continues with more insights into the Christian life:
Continue reading “1 Peter 1:22 — Checklist For Love”
… to be obedient to Jesus Christ …
Just for the record, I don’t claim to know how all this works. Also for the record, I am suspicious of anyone who does claim to know how this works. Jude 1: 8-9 reads:
“In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’“
Just as Jude defers to God’s judgment in disputes with the devil, I’m prone to defer to God’s judgment if there is any mystery about something in the Scriptures. What is very clear is Peter’s understanding of why we are chosen.
Continue reading “1 Peter 1:2 (c) — Pirate Talk”