Tag: Christian living

Morning Musing: Philippians 1:12-14

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“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In his letter to the Thessalonian believers, Paul said that we should give thanks in everything. That sounds nice in theory, but tends to fall apart in practice. This is because there are things that happen to us on occasion that we are not thankful for. Sometimes we are rather unthankful for them. How do you respond when something that seems irredeemably bad happens? Frustration? Anger? Righteous indignation? As if offering a case study for the Thessalonians, Paul here follows his own command, giving us a pretty interesting perspective. Let’s check it out.

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Honor for Two Lives Well Lived: 2 Timothy 4:6-8

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“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I will do my second funeral in as many weeks tomorrow. To say it has been a busy couple of weeks is to put it rather mildly. But that’s nothing compared with what these two families have been through. And that’s not because the passing of these two great ladies was itself unexpected or particularly difficult. Both were expected and blessedly peaceful. Rather, it is because the days between a loved one’s passing and the funeral service are exceedingly busy. This is especially true when a loved one has spent their life pouring into others as Mae Brooks and Judy Tucker did. You have to manage all of the various details of working with the funeral home to put together the service on top of all of the outpourings of love and care from friends and family and neighbors. You wouldn’t necessarily trade any of that away, but it’s a lot. The real process of grieving doesn’t really begin until after the funeral is over. What has me writing this morning is the fact that these two funerals are almost like carbon copies of each other. Let me tell you about why and why that’s such a good thing.

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Morning Musing: Philippians 1:6

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“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I was watching a movie the other night and in one scene a dad had taken his kids backpacking in the mountains. As they were hiking to their intended campsite, he kept telling them, “There’s just one more hill.” But then they’d crest that hill only to find another one waiting for them. Sometimes life feels that way. We make some forward progress only to discover just how much further we still have to go. This is especially true when we’re talking about following Jesus and becoming more like Him. Paul here offers us some encouragement in the journey. Let’s take a look.

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Digging in Deeper: Genesis 2:24

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“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Well, here we are at another Friday when I didn’t have any idea what I was going to write about as I finished the day and got into bed, but then just before going to sleep something dropped straight into my metaphorical lap that I just couldn’t avoid. One of the things that I tell my church as often as I can make it come up naturally is that being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean completely disengaging from any media sources that are not fully supportive of the Christian worldview. Rather, it means engaging wisely and with their worldview radar on high alert so they can identify ideas that are contrary to the truth and consciously reject them. They should do this they are engaging with various media by themselves, of course, but they should be especially vigilant about doing it when engaging with their kids both so that they are teaching them what is correct, but also so they are teaching them how to engage critically and through the lens of the Christian worldview. Well, the most recent episode of Abbott Elementary that we watched last night gave me the opportunity to do just that. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 16:19-23

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“The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you. I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What are you known for? Is it a particular habit? A personality trait? Your vocation? There are all kinds of things people wind up being known for. Not all of them, though, are good. The same thing goes for the church. Churches have reputations. Some are known to be contentious and unwelcoming. Some are just known for being large. Some are known because of all the effective kingdom-advancing work they do. Paul commends the church in Rome here for something they were known for. I’ve got to say: theirs isn’t bad. Let’s talk about it and what follows as the letter draws to a close with the next post.

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