Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Galatians 5:6 Part 1

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“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”
– ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:6‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever done an escape room? It’s one of the latest social trends sweeping American culture. The idea is that you have been locked in some room and in order to get out you have to work through a series of clues to find the right key. These aren’t just blank rooms with envelopes on a table, though, they are richly decorated with clues seamlessly worked into the decorations. And each room has its own theme running the gamut from cute and quaint to intense and frightening. The idea has even hit it big enough that you can buy a board game version at your local store. 

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:31-32 Part 2

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“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
– ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:31-32‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter)

In the first part of this reflection I asked the important question: Why be good? After thinking about it for a bit, I landed on the idea that we need a better foundation for our efforts to be and do good toward the people around us than most of the ones we encounter in our culture. As Christians we have one, but we sometimes forget it and trade it out for one that’s better than average, but still not the best there is. Namely, we often rely on the Bible to serve as our justification for being good. Jesus is better. Let’s talk about why. 

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Digging in Deeper: Matthew 6:19

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“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,”
– ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:19‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter)

The other day I was making small talk with an acquaintance. Given that we were only a couple of days past Christmas, we asked each other the obligatory, “How was your Christmas?” question. Both of us assured the other that it had been good and that, more importantly, the kids had had fun. We agreed that if the kids were happy, that was a key ingredient to a fun Christmas morning. Then he said something to which I could only respond politely because I didn’t agree. 

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Digging in Deeper: Luke 2:7

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“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever had anything not go the way you were expecting? Perhaps the better question is whether or not you’ve had that happen yet today. We regularly make plans only to have to throw those plans in the trash when they bump up against the walls of reality. The real question we need to face here is not whether or not we’ve faced this disruption of intent, but what we did about it when it happened. 

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Digging in Deeper: Matthew 1:18

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“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter) 

When was the last time you had plans for your life and they were suddenly wrecked by something over which you had zero control? That’s never a fun place to be. Even the most free-wheeling, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person still occasionally makes plans and isn’t all that much a fan of seeing them interrupted. Joseph feels your pain. 

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