Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:26-27

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“‘Be angry and do not sin.’ Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Anger is a challenging emotion. It is also a masking emotion. Anger can serve as an easy emotional substitute for whatever it is we are actually feeling. Often we don’t or can’t put word to what our actual emotional state is, and because anger is easier to both understand and express, we just let that take over. Sometimes anger is the right emotional response to a particular situation. More often it probably is not. But in spite of the good that can come from righteous and proper anger – anger over injustice, for instance – when anger gets in the driver’s seat of our lives, it can cause all sorts of chaos. I’m thinking about anger this morning because that complicated emotion lies at the heart of the newest Marvel offering. Let’s talk about Captain America: Brave New World.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:9-18

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“What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews  and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The Gospel is good news. But before it’s good news, it’s hard news. In our journey through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we are almost to where the great apostle starts to unpack the good news. For the last few weeks, though, it’s pretty much been all hard news. We’ve got two last stops to make on Paul’s journey through the hard news. The next one is a kind of summary that offers a final setup to the good news. This one, though, is where Paul finally lands with both feet on the hard news and doesn’t hold back. Brace yourself. This one is tough.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 1:28-32

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***An extra post today. I was doing some cleaning up on the back end of the blog, and accidentally deleted this post from a few weeks ago. My meticulousness wouldn’t let me leave out this one passage from the series. Good thing I saved it in another place as well. Happy Monday.***

“And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know God’s just sentence — that those who practice such things deserve to die  — they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Worldview is everything. Belief dictates behavior. Worldview determines belief. Therefore, worldview lies at the heart of every single decision we make, every action we take, every word we speak, even every thought we think. Because of this, having the right worldview is a really big deal. All worldviews, you see, are not created equal. Now, some borrow ideas from other worldviews because their own worldview produces ideas that address not very good. But idea borrowing like this can be an indication of a flawed worldview. Choosing a worldview known to be flawed is a moral decision. It is a moral decision that will be judged appropriately. As Paul wraps up his opening condemnation of sin in light of the Gospel, these ideas are present in his thinking. Let’s explore them.

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Digging in Deeper: Matthew 16:7-8

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“They were discussing among themselves, ‘We didn’t bring any bread.’ Aware of this, Jesus said, ‘You of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you do not have bread?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We tend to be a reactive people. When a problem presents itself, we focus on that problem until it gets solved. Then we go back into whatever our regular pattern is until the next problem presents itself. Then, we give that all of our attention until it is gone too. If we are not careful, our entire world can be defined by merely what’s in front of us that we can see at the moment. The problem with this is that there’s more to the world than we can see if we’re only looking forward. When we fixate on the immediate, we can easily miss out on the ultimate. Matthew tells the story of when the disciples once fell into this trap. I got the chance to talk about this recently with my Wednesday night Bible study group. Let’s explore the idea today for a few minutes together.

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Morning Musing: Romans 2:25-29

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“Circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if an uncircumcised man keeps the law’s requirements, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who keeps the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart — by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is it that makes you who you are? Most people have some sort of identity that they count as defining of them. This identity is often at least somewhat connected to the tribe they consider themselves to be a part of. Actually, our tribal association very often plays a huge role in defining who we are. Although some people break from the tribe they were born into in order to intentionally join another one, most people stay at least mentally connected with the tribe they were born into throughout their life. We literally cannot understand ourselves apart from the framework our tribe provides…even if we don’t properly understand what that framework (i.e., worldview) is. If someone were to come along and tell you that everything you thought you knew about your tribe was wrong, to say this revelation would be disorienting (assuming you even gave them the time of day) is likely a rather dramatic understatement. Well, that’s what Paul does here. Let’s talk about it and what it means for us.

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