Category: Morning Musings

Morning Musings: Proverbs 21:26

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“All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.”  (ESV)

Being righteous doesn’t mean being perfect.  That is certainly the goal, but the two aren’t the same thing.  The righteous person still has desires for all kinds of different things, many of them things which are not good for them.  As Solomon writes here, he craves and craves all day long.  What the righteous person does do is deny those cravings for the sake of others.  He learns to say no to what he wants in order that he might be able to give to those around him.  She is in control of her desires in order leverage her resources for the benefit of people who do not have similar access to them. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

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“So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

If we let them, the troubles of this world will completely overwhelm us and leave us unable to pursue the path of Jesus with anything resembling the commitment we need in order to gain the benefits from it.  Problems in our marriages, problems with our kids, troubles at work, hardships at school, financial challenges, family issues, interpersonal doubts, and so on can fill our field of view until we don’t see anything else.  They become the lens through which we see everything else.  Depression (not clinical), discouragement, and malaise become our constant companions. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 4:4

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“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Now, this idea would no doubt be pretty offensive and off-putting to have as our lead when we share the Gospel with someone else: “You’re not going to really understand what I’m about to tell you, but that’s okay because the Devil has probably blinded your mind to it.”  But it is something that is pretty important for us to keep firmly in mind as we do. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 3:3

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“And you show that you are letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The Corinthians were a letter from Christ, delivered by Paul?  Huh?

Think about it like this.  What might a letter from Jesus have to say?  From the witness of the Gospels we can say a few things.  It would say, “I love you.”  It would say, “I am for you.  I want you to live fully the life God designed you to live and I’m going to help you every step of your journey to do that.  I gave my life for you so that you can be a part of My Father’s family.  I want you to leave behind the sin that drags you down and steals life from you.  The abundant life of the kingdom can be yours if only you will trust me.” Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Psalm 104:1

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“Bless the Lord, O my soul!  O Lord my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

One of the things popular in sports psychology is self-talk.  How we talk to ourselves can affect how we perform, and not just in sports.  Folks with a positive conversation going on in their minds and hearts will tend to do a bit better in life on the whole than folks with a negative conversation going.  Constantly telling ourselves we’re no good isn’t terribly helpful.  When we can point our hearts to hope instead of doubt, faith instead of fear, joy instead of gloom, we will be better off than otherwise. Read the rest…