365 Reflections

There is a challenging moment in 1 Samuel 4 that could cause alarm if we are not already aware of what God is doing beneath the surface of Israel's history. The nation goes out to war against the Philistines. They take to battle and suffer defeat rather quickly. As they assess what's wrong they realize they did not bring that ancient Ark into battle as their forefathers did before them. So they get the ark, march back into battle whooping and cheering as they go. 1 Samuel 4:5–9 (ESV) As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! W...

There's no doubt, suffering could erode or deepen our trust in God. Notice the language Peter uses: 1 Peter 4:19 (ESV) Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. You could say 1 Peter is the Job of the New Testament just like Ephesians is the Deuteronomy Joshua of the New Testament.  Peter is the answer to many of Job's questions.   Sometimes, it is God's will that we should suffer.  What is our response?   Do we demand answers? Do we look for a quick resolution? Do we whine and cry? Do we give up? No.  We entrust our soul to a "faithful Creator." Peter harkens back to the idea of God as Creator.  Interestingly, only here in the New Testament (1 Peter 4:19) is God called "Creator."  Think Peter is saying something??? He's saying: God is the architect of this universe.  His design and details are what matters.  Sometimes, suffering for t...

Six times in Titus the phrase, "good works" shows up.  Six times!  It's the most of any book in the New Testament and Titus only has 3 chapters.  And each time it's mentioned, it's in reference to what we are to do because of what Christ has done. But what kind of good works?  Are we to sit in church and pray a lot?  Are we to teach sunday school and greet people at the door?  Sure.  But I think there's more to it than that. First, Paul makes the most clear presentation of salvation in the entire New Testament. Titus 3:4–7 (ESV) But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. He did this. ...

Titus 2:14 ESV (He)  gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Why are we saved? Do we truly understand the purpose behind God's saving us? Or do we sometimes feel like God saved us for our own sakes? How we answer that question is severely important. Paul reminds Titus why we were saved. If we believe that we are saved for our own sakes then God becomes a means to our ultimate ends. That He saved us so we could have that life we always dreamed of and then go to heaven when we die. This is not what the Gospel teaches us. This is not what the Old Testament teaches us either. One of our favorite Psalms contains a phrase to help us understand the theme of redemption. Psalms 23:3 " He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. " In Titus, as he usually does, Paul backs up the teachings of the Old Testament through the new covenant persp...

It has been said of many exuberant Evangelical Christians: "I can't hear what you're saying because your actions are speaking much louder." Faith apart from works is a major theme for James 2. James opens chapter three with a personal plea: "Don't go trying to be teachers. Most of you shouldn't be.  Because our tongues are the hardest parts of our bodies to control." Evidently James is addressing a certain condition of the church.  This "I want to be up front and important" theme of aspiring teachers who really couldn't toe the line in daily life.  We see their attitude addressed in verse 14: James 3:14 (ESV) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. We still see this idol of importance in the church today.  People want to look significant.  They want to be in front of a crowd dispensing wisdom, they seek their value in guiding others through words of eloquenc...