Morning Musing: 2 Peter 1:8

“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

I want to matter. I want for my life to count for something. That desire pulses deep with every beat of my heart. If I were a betting kind of man, I’d bet that you feel this too. While it may manifest itself in different ways, this desire burns at the heart of every single one of us. We want to be able to look back on our lives at some point and be able to say: I accomplished something of value to this world. One of our deepest fears is meaninglessness. Anything that helps at least sort of scratch this itch gets our attention. Given that, what Peter says here should have us rapt with it. 

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Morning Musing: James 1:5-6a

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In the first couple of verses of James’ letter, he tells his audience to consider it great joy when they experience trials of various kinds. We talked about some of the whys and hows of this on Wednesday. Such considerations strengthen our faith and produce endurance in us for when even harder times comes. The question this raises is how do we know how to proceed in this journey? 

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Morning Musing: James 1:2-3

“Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

In college one time I went to hear a lecture given by an education specialist from England. I don’t remember his name or what he talked about, but I do remember one thing he said: humor often comes from the connection of two previously unrelated ideas. He told a joke about a guy accidentally eating a canary to make his point which I also don’t remember, but I do remember laughing until I cried. If what that guy said is true, then the opening of James’ letter here should be hilarious. 

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Morning Musing: Romans 6:1-2

“What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

What should be the relationship of the follower of Jesus to sin? Obviously we shouldn’t do it, but let’s be honest: a simple “ought not” isn’t usually sufficient to keep us from it. We need to understand the why behind the should not before we’re going to wrap our heart and mind around it to a sufficient degree that it begins to have the kind of power in our lives it needs to have. Here in Romans 6, Paul explores this very idea. His treatment may not be exhaustive, but it is powerful. Let’s spend some time unpacking this together. 

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Morning Musing: James 4:7

“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever felt like you were up against something you weren’t prepared to fight? Something you didn’t have the power to overcome? There are times we all feel like that. When it comes to spiritual warfare this is generally even more true. What power do we have to stand against the spiritual forces of darkness in this world? James offers us one here that is both simpler and more powerful than anything else the world has produced. Check it out with me. 

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