Digging in Deeper – Page 129

Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 12:5-6

February 11, 2019February 12, 2019Leave a comment

“And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

The believers who received the letter of Hebrews had a hard life. They were part of a movement that was new and unpopular and even considered by some to be an atheistic, cannibalistic cult. They faced economic hardship, social ostracism, and outright persecution on a regular basis. Their former friends who were Jews wouldn’t have anything to do with them anymore and the Roman government fed them to the lions in the arena. And, as we saw last time, the author here said the best way to handle all of this was to consider it to be the discipline of a loving father. What should they—and we—do with that?

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Digging in Deeper: Acts 4:1-2

February 8, 2019February 5, 2019Leave a comment

“While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them, because they were annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

Why do you believe in Jesus? Maybe that’s a bit too forward for an opening question. Maybe you don’t believe in Jesus—no judgment here. But, what do you believe about Jesus? If you’ve ever even thought about Jesus before, what possessed you to do so? Why is His name something anyone is still talking about today?

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Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 12:1

February 6, 2019February 5, 2019Leave a comment

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

By the time this post goes live it will probably be the week of the Super Bowl. I’ll either be really excited, or completely disinterested. The reason for that is that my team, the Kansas City Chiefs, are playing tomorrow in the conference championship game against the New England Patriots. What’s more, for the first time ever, they will play this game at home. Although it’s hard to quantify, everyone knows that playing at home gives the home team an advantage over the visitors. Writing this, I’m hopeful we don’t waste it.

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Digging in Deeper: Matthew 13:18

February 1, 2019January 29, 2019Leave a comment

“So listen to the parable of the sower…”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

The parable of the sower is a story about a farmer planting seed that’s really a story about how people receive the word of the Gospel. Four seed destinations equals four different types of responses. Last time we talked about what they are, but what do they actually mean? Let’s take a look.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 John 4:20

January 30, 2019February 1, 2019Leave a comment

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

So, the first time we looked at this verse, we established the rather uncomfortable truth that we either love or hate the people around us. If we are not committed to intentionally moving them in the direction of Jesus, we hate them. It may not be an intense, emotional, passionate hatred the way we might normally think of when we hear the word, but throughout the Scriptures the word “hatred” often means to merely reject. Even without the emotion, if we reject the people whom God has accepted, we have a problem. What John says next makes all of this even more uncomfortable.

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