Morning Musings – Page 161

Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 7:2

March 29, 2019March 28, 2019Leave a comment

“But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

The word “sexual” appears three times in that verse, so I suspect that if you’ve read at least this far I have your attention and will continue to have it until either I offend you or else I toe what you assume to be my party line too hard. Our culture is talking about sex. A lot. We should be too. So, let’s do it.

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Morning Musing: Jeremiah 29:7

March 27, 2019March 26, 2019Leave a comment

“Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

How do you live in the context of a hostile culture? As followers of Jesus in an American context, that is a question becoming more and more relevant to our lives every single day. Now, our brothers and sisters around the world and at various times in history have had to live with that question much more pressingly than we have in our lifetimes, but things are changing around us. What do we do? Jeremiah offers some advice to the people of Israel here that we would do well to consider.

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Morning Musing: 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

March 25, 2019March 21, 2019Leave a comment

“Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”‬‬ (CSB- Read the chapter)

At the end of the last post I started talking about what we do in light of the fact that we have this assurance of life after death as followers of Jesus. Paul goes there next too.

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Morning Musing: 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

March 22, 2019March 19, 2019Leave a comment

“So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

So we have this guarantee in a future hope and resurrection that will make meaningful all the struggles and trials we face in this life. We have a down payment on this future joy in the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts and bringing to bear the various fruits of the Spirit. Because of this, Paul says this weird thing about being away from the Lord and then being with the Lord. What does he mean?

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Morning Musing: 2 Corinthians 5:4

March 20, 2019March 23, 2019Leave a comment

“Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

On Sunday mornings right now I am taking the congregation I am privileged to pastor through the book of Ecclesiastes. We’re not hitting every verse by any means, but rather some key highlights, as we wrestle with the question of how we can find meaning for our lives that isn’t going to run out on us when the wind starts blowing in a new direction. What does this have to do with what Paul writes here? Well…everything.

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