Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Jude 1:17-18

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But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

If you ever want to feel accomplished in reading the Bible, start with a book like Obadiah or Philemon or Jude here. You may not understand all (or even most) of what you’re seeing, but you can finish the whole book in a few minutes. Then you can say, “Why, yes, I have read whole books of the Bible before.” And when you do, you’ll come across some gems like this one. So…what does it mean?

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Digging in Deeper: Malachi 1:2-3a

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“I have loved you,” says the Lord. Yet you ask, “How have you loved us?” “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

This morning we ran into this incredibly hard statement on God’s part that He hated someone. Namely, He hated Esau, Jacob’s brother. But, the observation wasn’t specific to just Esau. It included the entire nation of his descendants as well. Fortunately, the way God was using the words “love” and “hate” in Malachi, wasn’t the same as the way we often use them today. He simply meant that He chose one over the other. There were no emotions involved. The thing is, even understanding that, this passage is still really hard to accept. Let’s talk about why.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 22:6

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“Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost.”‬‬ (The Message – Read the chapter) 

Parenting is tough. I can say that with confidence and I’m only ten years into it. Every season has its challenges. And every season feels like its challenges are bigger and harder than the season before it. You can’t imagine it could get any harder—or better—and then it does. If you are a parent committed to seeing your children grow to love and follow the Lord, this just adds an extra burden to the pile. This particular burden is great enough, verses like this one are often claimed as a cover for mistakes we might have made along the way. Is that okay? 

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Digging in Deeper: Micah 6:8

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“Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever tried to read one of those End User License Agreements you normally just click “accept” and ignore when downloading some program onto your computer? I have. Most are just line after line of legalese that eventually make your eyes go cross. It would be nice if some company would offer a kind of three-point summary of it along with the link to read the full text. EULA’s are bad enough. Have you ever felt that way about the Bible? It sure would be nice to have a summary of all of that, wouldn’t it? 

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 24:11-12

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“Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we didn’t know about this,’ won’t he who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t he who protects your life know? Won’t he repay a person according to his work?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever read a verse and felt convicted by it? I’ve spent the past several days reading through Proverbs 24. I initially came to this spot because I caught a verse in another context and wanted to write a note about it. Taking my own advice, I read the whole context. There’s a ton of great stuff in this chapter. And there’s this passage. It’s grabbed my heart and mind and hasn’t let go. If you would, let me explore that with you. 

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