365 Reflections

Genesis 10:8–12 (ESV)   Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord . Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord .” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. The first use of the word, "Kingdom" is found in these verses. It is interestingly not refefring to God's kingdom. It refers to that of Nimrod, the first mighty man on the Earth. Three times the passage refers to his "mighty" characteristics and he is the prototypical human warlord that will follow humanities history even up to the present day.  Barnhouse renders the Hebrew description of Nimrod as follows: He was an arrogant tyrant, defiant before the face of the Lord; wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, t...

In Acts 27 Paul was sent by ship from Caesarea to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. Interestingly, the ship comes ashore to an island called, "Crete." The Roman Authorities wanted to get to Rome early and so set sail despite warnings from Paul and the ship would eventually meet a brutal storm costing all the cargo and finally be shipwrecked on the island called Malta. During the hectic voyage, it says this: Acts 27:21  (ESV)   Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. But the interesting thing is how Crete comes into play in the New Testament later on. Something must have happened to Paul on that short stay in Crete. He must have saw a need to spread the Gospel and wanted to do so but wasn't afforded the opportunity. These people would not escape his conscience however, and at some point Paul would make it to Cret...

Galatians 6:14 (ESV) But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Paul finishes off Galatians with this stunning statement.  He is a man totally lost and forever found in the cross.  His achievements are nothing, his legacy surrendered to Jesus Christ.  He is completely engrossed in the life given him by the death, burial and resurrection of his Lord. He says, "far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Far be it!  In other words, I don't want anything else attached to my name than the cross of Christ.   Oh to get there.  For there and only there is the true separation from this world completed.   We struggle with our idols of desire.  What we want, what we would like to achieve, leave behind and master or acquire.  But in the end, nothing outside of Jesus matters. I think this is why Paul...

Christians often need a WAKE-UP CALL. James is about to give one. James 4:4 (ESV) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. To truly understand what James means in chapter four, you have to understand the Greek idea of friendship.  One commentator said, "Hellenistic friendship “involved ‘sharing all things’ in a unity both spiritual and physical.” What were they sharing? Covetousness and out of control desires that led them to do despicable things to each other. The "brothers" of James' audience were certainly a dysfunctional group.  It gives me hope for the church of the 21st Century.  They were killing each other (and some commentators do not take that as a metaphor from the text).  Wow. Even with all their faults and even in their horrible spiritual condition, James doesn't lead them to condemnation.  Of...