Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Summary: At God’s command, Moses used the carrot and stick approach on the Israelites when they entered the land of Canaan. God uses something similar in this command to honor our parents.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:2-3 – Carrot and Stick”Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Summary: In this passage, Paul makes us put on our thinking caps as we try to figure out what he means.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:1 – Caveat”Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Summary: Looking back in time we find a real-life example of what Paul is talking about in this passage. Thinking about Paul’s words in the light of the Old Testament helps us understand what he was trying to say.
Continue reading “Ephesians 4:14 – Taking Control”… of the calling you have received.
Summary: Paul talks about “the” calling we have received, but in his letter, he talks about three different aspects of this calling.
Continue reading “Ephesians 4:1c – Called by Jesus”But now, please forgive their sin …
Summary: The Hebrew word for “forgive” is a word that describes physically lifting a burden up and taking it away. This is a perfect description of what God does for us when we go to him for forgiveness.
Continue reading “Exodus 32:32 – Lifted Up”No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven…
Summary: Asking questions about the Bible often opens the door to new insights. In this meditation, we look at what it meant to be dead before Jesus had gone back to heaven. What we found might surprise you.
Continue reading “John 3:13 – Waiting For Jesus”… flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God …
Summary: Paul makes a statement that seems to contradict other passages in Scripture. Bending our minds around his thoughts sometimes requires looking at things from God’s point of view.
Continue reading “1 Corinthians 15:50 – What Does God See?”I am who I am.
Summary: There is power in a name. Sometimes it is the power to control others, and sometimes it is the power of others to control us. When we confront the living God, we are not given his name because it is beyond our reach.
Continue reading “Exodus 3:14 – What’s In a Name”
Then they hurled insults at him and said, ”You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ”
The Pharisees claimed to be disciples of Moses. This is interesting because the function of a disciple is to be like their teacher. According to the Old Testament (Numbers 12: 3), Moses was humble. In fact, the Bible says he was the most humble person on the planet. In addition, as I read the books of Moses in the Old Testament, what seems to leap off of the page is that Moses did whatever God instructed him to do. He only improvised one time, that that one mistake kept him from entering the Promised Land. Even so, Moses trusted God and was faithful to follow his instructions.
Continue reading “Whose Disciple Are You? – John 9: 28”