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”… making the most of every opportunity
Summary: Old jokes and old sayings are the bulk of today’s meditation. Paul’s “opportunity” is also translated as “time” and “season.” The real question is, “What are you doing now?”
Continue reading “Ephesians 5:16a – Opper Nockity”In love he predestined us …
Summary: Knowledge is a concept that presumes something can be known. Imagination is the tool God gave us to fill in the gaps where knowledge is not possible. In between is a place where people argue over the meaning of words.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:5a – The Cosmic Clock”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Summary: Paul makes unusual claims in his letter to the Ephesians. Whether or not we understand what the Bible tells us about God will determine how much of what Paul is saying makes sense.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:3 – Amazing Claims!”His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
Summary: From our human perspective it may look like the work of spreading the Gospel is limited to the people around us. From God’s point of view, the work continues generation after generation.
Continue reading “Luke 1:50 – Re-Generation”
The end of all things is near.
Summary: The end of all things is not the end for everything. In truth, it is the beginning.
Continue reading “1 Peter 4:7 (a) — The End of all Things”
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him…
John often refers to what Jesus knows. As we read John’s gospel account of Jesus’ ministry, it is easy to pick out the people who don’t “get” Jesus. They simply don’t know who Jesus is. But Jesus knows who they are. In fact, Jesus knows their hearts (John 2: 24-25).
There is an interesting illustration of what it means to “know” in the second chapter of John. The story is set in Cana at a wedding feast. The party has run out of wine, and Jesus’ mother, Mary, takes this minor crisis to her son. Jesus then changes the water into wine. In verse 9, it says, “… the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.”
The servants knew what had happened because they had filled the jars with water. They had seen the water poured into the cup given to the steward. They heard the steward declare that not only was the water actually wine, but it was “the best.” John distinguishes between what the servants know and what the steward knows. The steward does not know where the wine has come from. The servants do because they were there and they know what they have seen and heard.
Similarly, Jesus knows what is going to happen to him because he has already seen and heard what will be done. Please do not ask me how this works. I don’t know. I do know that God exists outside of time and that God is both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. God’s ability to foretell what will happen with certainty and knowledge is one of the things that makes God God.
As Christians, we often marvel that Jesus would go to the cross knowing what would happen. Today, for a moment, let us just marvel at the fact that Jesus knows.
Food for Thought: What does it mean for you that Jesus knows everything about you. Not only what has happened to you in the past and what is happening now, but what will happen during every moment that remains of your life on earth?
Please click “Continue Reading” for comments.
Continue reading “Knowing (III) – John 18: 4a”
Jesus replied, ”The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
Clear back in John 2:4, Jesus tells people that his hour has not yet come. John repeats this fact in chapters 7 and 8. Beginning here in chapter 12, Jesus says that the hour has now come.
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces invaded northern France by landing on the beaches of Normandy. The day of the invasion was called “D-Day.” In military lingo, the “D” stood for “Day.” Not just any day though, but THE DAY.
Continue reading “H-Hour – John 12: 23”
Jesus answered, ”Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
Are there twelve hours of daylight? The answer to that is, “… it depends.” It depends on where you are on the planet and what time of year it is. In Anchorage, Alaska there is only about one hour of daylight during the months of December and January. In June and July, there are about twenty-three hours of daylight. Jerusalem is about the same latitude as Ensenada, Mexico; just south of the border. That far south the seasonal shift is much less noticeable, but it is still there.
Continue reading “Jesus Time – John 11: 9-10”