Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.
Summary: In this passage, Paul lays down a challenge: What or whom do you see in him?
If you heard an ordinary person say these words, you would have every right to question whether or not they were serious. You might rightly wonder if they were being egotistical. But Paul is no ordinary man.
Continue reading “Philippians 4:9a – No Ordinary Man”
… and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Summary: Learning how to follow Jesus is like learning to dance. A good teacher makes it easy.
Who do you know that lives as Paul did?
Anybody?
Maybe you have never run across his twin, but there are a lot of people who model their lives after Paul. Even if they are not one hundred percent successful, there is usually something we can learn by watching them.
Continue reading “Philippians 3:17b – Learning to Live”These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Summary: God’s Word is full of surprises. Paul’s use of the word “shadow” offers a unique insight into the relationship between the Old Testament and the New.
“A shadow of things to come” is an evocative phrase. Oddly, it is also evasive. The “shadow” is a real thing, but it does not have any real value.
When Paul says we are not to let anyone judge us by what we eat or drink or whether or not we follow the old customs of Jewish festivals and Sabbath days (verse 16), he is pointing to the “shadow.”
Continue reading “Colossians 2:17 – Things to Come”But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
Summary: Paul arrives at the crown jewel of his argument for the Gospel. In it, he brings together all the threads he has been working with to make his case.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:4-5 – The Diamond and the Light”