Tag: Morning Musings

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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Morning Musing: Philippians 1:7-8

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“Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Being a part of the church can be tough. Now, some of that depends on the individual church. Some churches are hard to connect with because their culture is broken. But being a part of a church that is healthy and welcoming doesn’t happen automatically. Even the best church takes some work and intentionality to be a part of. It takes building relationships and investing in those relationships over time. When you do that, something like what Paul describes here becomes possible. Let’s talk about it.

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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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Morning Musing: Romans 16:25-27

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“Now to him who is able to strengthen you  according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles—to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to him be the glory forever! Amen.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

This has been quite a journey. As I sit early writing this little opener, I’m not sure yet when I’ll actually write the rest of this post, but I think it’ll wind up being sometime in January. That’ll make just over a year that we have been walking together through Paul’s letter to the Roman believers. We have covered a lot of ground—a lot of good ground. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I’m looking forward to our next. Here at the end, Paul offers a final benediction. Let’s wrap up our journey by walking through the rich theology he lays out for us here.

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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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