Tag: Morning Musings

Morning Musings: 1 John 2:22

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“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Although it is not so much a topic of conversation as it was a few years ago, there is a fair bit of interest in the idea and the person of the Antichrist.  In popular literature of varying sorts, the Antichrist is going to be the figure at the end of the world who unites the forces of evil against the forces of good, and who must be defeated to avoid the end of the world. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Daniel 6:4

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“Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Daniel was now in the service of the third king and of two different nations, all in the same place.  You don’t achieve such a thing unless you have a reputation that precedes you by a long, long way.  Indeed, Daniel had a reputation for wisdom, character, and integrity that was far above anyone else in the whole of the kingdom.  In fact, when his enemies determined to take him down because of their jealousy of his power and position, the only possible basis they could find for accusing and condemning him was his faithfulness to God. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Peter 3:15-16

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“And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.  There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Just a little note here on the defense of the Bible.  Some critics have argued that the writings of the New Testament “became” Scripture gradually.  It was the result of a power play by men seeking power for themselves and these writings were a convenient way to get it through the levers of religion.  But, when they were written no one considered them Scripture.  Except for this… Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Psalm 135:15-18

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“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.  They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.  Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

In the ancient world, idols were obvious.  Someone who worshipped an idol would often literally bow down before a statue.  He would make sacrifices before a big hunk of carved rock or wood or shaped metal.  They were things made by human hands.  Today…not so much.  But, just because idolatry is more difficult to spot doesn’t meant the reality of it is any different. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Peter 1:5-8

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“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Do you want to be effective?  We all do, don’t we?  We want to be able to have an impact on the people and environment around us.  Not only that, but we want to do so in a way that will last and have meaning.  The question, then, becomes: How do we do this?  How can we have an effective impact on our situations? Read the rest…