Tag: Morning Musings

Morning Musing: Ephesians 2:1-3

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“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I was having a conversation with my Student Minister the other day that started when I played for him a song I have discovered recently that captures the story of Scripture and the Gospel better than any other I’ve ever heard. Over the course of the conversation, he made the observation that Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of the best statements of the Gospel in the whole of the Scriptures. I’ve read the passage several times, but not recently. So, when I started a new Bible reading plan and the very first passage was Ephesians 2:1-10, I took it as a good sign I should re-familiarize myself with it. I’m glad I did, because he was right. Let me take you through it over the next few days. It starts grim here, but gets a whole lot better really quickly as the Gospel does. Here goes nothing.

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Morning Musing: 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12

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“In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brother and sisters, to do this even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We live in a fame-obsessed culture. Social media has made it possible for anyone to become known and followed by millions of people. My boys are all currently taken in by the Minecraft YouTube star, RageElixir. Gary Woo (his real name) started making videos about playing Minecraft when he was in high school. For some reason they started going viral, and now he’s a millionaire because of it. Yet by every observation I’ve made from being forced to watch along with them, he’s just a regular guy. There’s nothing particularly special about him that would seem to make him an obvious choice for YouTube stardom. But the cultural phenomenon of people like Gary becoming rich and famous has planted the idea in many other young hearts and minds that if he can do it, then so I can. Actually, the thinking of many young people today goes a step beyond this. Not only can I become famous, if I want my life to amount to anything, I need to become famous. This kind of thinking has taken over the culture…and the church. If I am going to accomplish anything meaningful for God, I need to be famous first. What Paul writes here, though, points us in exactly the opposite direction.

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Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 4:15

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“For you may have countless instructors in Christ, but you don’t have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When was the last time you got advice from someone else? I suspect it was fairly recently. Oh, it may have not come directly from a person – we tend to be far too isolated from one another these days for that to happen – but if you engage with any form of media (especially social media) you’ve probably received some advice. We live in a world in which there is no shortage of people waiting to tell us how we should live our lives (including, I suppose, this very blog). Some of the advice is general, some of it is very specific, but it is all looking for an opportunity to be given to us. And for all this advice, how are we doing as a people? Are we healthier, wealthier, and wiser? Maybe what we need is not more advice. Maybe Paul is onto something here in what otherwise seems like a stray observation. Let’s explore this a bit together this morning.

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Morning Musing: Colossians 3:1-2

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“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What you think about most determines a great deal about your life; what it looks like and the direction it will go. The challenge of this fact is that we live in a world in which we are bombarded by things to think about all the time. Everywhere we look there are things thrusting themselves in our faces, demanding we give them our attention. If following Jesus is something you endeavor for at all, how do we manage such a feat with anything resembling faithfulness? Paul offers us some pretty sound advice here.

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Morning Musing: 1 Samuel 7:12

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“Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, ‘The Lord has helped us to this point.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

How good is your memory? I’ll admit, mine’s not great. Well, it’s pretty good, but it doesn’t always work conveniently. The things that stick and the things that don’t sometimes seem to have no rhyme or reason to them. It’s good to remember, though. Being controlled by the past obviously isn’t good, but learning from it and understanding how it affects us in the present is worthwhile. One thing that is particularly worth remembering is what God has done in the past. This was something ancient Israel often did very well. Let’s talk about how and why it matters.

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