"All of life is business with God…" John Calvin
In Colossians, as in many of his letters, Paul begins by laying a doctrinal foundation of what God has done for us in Christ, before exhorting his readers to then live according to that marvelous truth. In the first two chapters, Paul has unfolded for us the sovereign supremacy of Christ, and the magnificent mystery … Continue reading Citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom
In our passage this week, the nature of the pressures faced by the Colossian church are brought to light at last with Paul’s pastoral concern for them and his condemnation of the practices and the practitioners of the false teachings that threatened to undermine the believers’ faith in the all-sufficiency of their salvation in Christ. … Continue reading Christ Plus Nothing
Last week we considered how Paul could rejoice in suffering, and how we also, because of the riches of the glory of Christ in us, can face our trials with joy. This week we considered how our mutual loving encouragement, a deeper understanding of our Savior, and the actual practice of living out our faith … Continue reading The Triumph of Christ
It’s been a hard couple of weeks. The domain of darkness is sharply apparent. A young woman was murdered on a train in North Carolina and nobody moved to intercede or help her as she died. The initial response was silence. In Utah, a well-known young man was assassinated in front of a crowd of … Continue reading A Prayer We All Need
I like to peruse my Facebook memories each day to see what was happening on “this day” for the past several years. Since March, I’ve been reminded that four years ago the Covid pandemic and subsequent quarantines were the main thing on my and everybody else’s mind. The most significant memory to surface is the … Continue reading Remember and Pray
Last week, Habakkuk faithfully wrestled with the Lord’s perplexing ways. He grounded himself in what he knew to be true—that God is all powerful, he is holy, he is faithful, he is just, and he is a steady refuge in time of storm. None of that squared with what God revealed he was planning. The … Continue reading The Righteous Shall Live By Faith
A few days ago, I recycled an old post about memorizing Scripture, with reasons for and blessings of hiding God's Word in our hearts. Today I'm sharing the method I use to memorize Scripture (also recycled- originally posted in July 2017 at enCourage.) One of the means I list below to aid memorization is focusing … Continue reading Memorizing Scripture, part 2: the How
Several years ago, some friends and I memorized the book of Ephesians. We were digging into Ephesians in our women's Bible study at church, so it seemed appropriate to memorize it as well. I had memorized Philippians the year before, and the year after Ephesians we studied and memorized 1 Peter. Since then, I've fallen … Continue reading The Beauty and Blessing of Memorizing Scripture
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:5b–7 This passage of Scripture is one of the reasons Philippians is … Continue reading When Saints Disagree
Grateful 