Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
[…the sound doctrine] that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God…
Summary: Paul’s definition of sound doctrine depends on an understanding of the Gospel.
Paul began this passage talking about using the law “properly” (1 Timothy 1:8). This inspired a frenzy of meditations dealing with judging, law, covenants, and Paul’s examples of what the law is used for.
Continue reading “1 Timothy 1:11a – Good News!”
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence…
Summary: Paul’s commendation of the Philippians’ obedience points us to a vital truth: that true obedience is only possible when we rely on God to guide us.
Paul’s words about obedience in this passage are like a key that opens many doors. One door leads to doing God’s will. The others, however many there are, lead into darkness.
Discerning the right door without God’s help is beyond human understanding.
Continue reading “Philippians 2:12a – Trust and Obey”
… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
Summary: Examining Christ’s humility and obedience opens a fascinating line of inquiry into our Lord’s personality and the world we live in.
Arrogance is the opposite of humility.
Another way of putting it is that arrogance is “self-centered,” while humility is not.
Continue reading “Philippians 2:8b – Our Selfless God”
And being found in appearance as a man…
Summary: Paul is walking us through what it means to think like Jesus. His understanding of the Lord is reflected in the clarity of his description of what sets Jesus apart.
Paul is in the middle of describing the mindset of Jesus Christ.
Whatever you might think of Jesus, it seems obvious he was in a pickle. Here he was, the one through whom all things were made (John 1:3), reduced to being a social outcast in his own creation. (His disciple, Nathanael, when he found out Jesus was from Nazareth, said: “Can anything good come from there?” — John 1:46).
Continue reading “Philippians 2:8a – Two Things”
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything …
Summary: Understanding Paul’s words often depends on understanding the Greek word he uses. In this case, the word “slave” can be misleading if we don’t look deeper.
The use of the word “slaves” in this passage is disturbing to a lot of people. It should be. Forcing people to serve us under threat of torture or death is horrible. It is basically stealing people’s lives from them.
If this passage were all about slaves, we could skip it and move on.
Continue reading “Colossians 3:22a – Doing Our Job Well”Not even those who are circumcised keep the law …
Summary: Keeping the law is simple, but that doesn’t mean it is easy.
Continue reading “Galatians 6:13a – Keeping the Law”Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Summary: Being a father is a tall order. As humans, we are beset with many hurdles and distractions. Meanwhile, God is our spiritual Father. He is never too busy for you or me.
Continue reading “Ephesians 6:4 – The Curse of Free Will”
…and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
What does it mean for a Christian to “obey” the message? The message is the offer of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to obey?
Each of us comes to the Lord from a different place. By that, I mean that you and I are very different. We have grown up in different ways, and have different opinions and experiences. Even in my own family my three brothers all experienced growing up from a different point of view.
Continue reading “1 Peter 2:8 — Obedience”
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”
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
How many people would willingly go to their death in order that others might live? There are a few brave and selfless souls in the world who have given their lives to save others.
More often than not, people who give their lives were hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. The fireman or policeman who loses their life in the line of duty was doing something incredibly brave. In most cases, they were not planning on dying. The person who jumps in to try and save a drowning person and dies in the process didn’t mean to die, they just wanted to help someone else.
Jesus knew he would have to die. He also knew why, and he knew who would get the glory.
Continue reading “Obedience – John 12: 27-28a”