Category: Morning Musings

Morning Musing: Psalm 8:1

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“Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with your majesty.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Last night my family and I got the chance to take in the truth of these words in a way it may be a very long time—or ever—before we get to again. We saw the majesty of the Lord through the splendor of creation. It was one of those moments where nature boasts loudly of the fingerprints of God, but which only those with the eyes to see will truly appreciate.  The pictures you see here were all taken by my good friend and excellent photographer, Heather Perry.

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Morning Musing: Matthew 13:18

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

It’s always funny to me when God does this. I began the reading plan that included this verse the same morning that I began writing a sermon whose focus was this passage among others. You will have seen that message before you read this blog entry. That’s why I touched on the same passage multiple times within such a short time span. So then, if God has something to say through this text, what does it mean? 

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Morning Musing: 1 John 4:20

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“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (ESV – Read the chapter) 

Every now and then you come across a verse you’d rather just leave alone all things considered. If you could unread it somehow you might really consider doing that. Or, you could be convinced to make up something that isn’t totally true in order to fall generally in line with whatever it seems to be saying. This is one of those verses. 

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Morning Musing: Galatians 5:6 Part 2

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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) 

In our first look at this verse we talked about the fact that Paul did some serious boat-rocking when he said that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything. He waded right into the middle of a contentious cultural debate and announced that both sides were wrong. Whether you had been circumcised or not did not have any bearing on whether or not you could become a follower of Jesus. Jesus came for everybody and everybody can receive Him no matter the state of their…well, you know. 

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Morning Musing: Ephesians 4:31-32 Part 3

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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) 

We have so far covered the fact that we need some kind of a foundation for our efforts to be good beyond simple convenience, and that as Christians, citing the Bible as that source is problematic. It hurts both our walk and our witness. It hurts our walk by making us legalistic since a text doesn’t love you, it just tells you what to do. It hurts our witness by leaving us in a position of having to rigorously defend every single part of the Bible or risk losing all of it. Incidentally, the defense of the Bible is a big industry in Christian circles even as looking at it critically is a big industry in skeptical ones. We need—and have—a better foundation than this. Fortunately, we do have one: Jesus. 

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