Tag: Righteousness

Man in stained clothes sitting on couch watching television in cluttered, dirty room

Morning Musing: Philippians 4:7-9

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“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Jesus once said that it is not what goes into the body that corrupts it, but what comes out of it. He was talking about food because the Pharisees had been fussing at Him about what the disciples were eating and over their not doing all the proper washings before eating. His point was that they were focused on external matters of symbolic righteousness that didn’t ultimately matter very much while neglecting the much more significant matters of internal righteousness. But when He said that it is not what goes into the body that corrupts it, He wasn’t entirely correct. Let’s talk about why.

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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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Digging in Deeper: 1 Timothy 6:10

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“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Fridays on here are fun, but they’re also a challenge. They’re fun because I take time to write about things that are purely interests for me—thus you get lots of reviews of superhero movies and series. It’s also a challenge, though, because unlike the other four days of the week, I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to write about very far ahead of time. I have more than once gotten to Thursday evening actively still wondering what was going to be on tap for the next day. That was the case this week, in fact. At least it was until my sports fanatic son sent me a note about a sports betting ring involving a bunch of college basketball players being broken up this week. We talked about sports betting a few weeks ago, but here we are again because this was one I just couldn’t ignore.

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Advent Reflections: Psalm 16:7-11

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“I will bless the Lord who counsels me—even at night when my thoughts trouble me. I always let the Lord guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever thought you knew how to do something, only to have someone come along and give you counsel on it? Worse yet, was their counsel right and wise and revealed that you didn’t know as much about doing whatever it was as you thought? And if that seems like an oddly specific situation, all I’ll say is this: more times than I can count. This is bad enough when it’s doing a task that isn’t ultimately all that significant. It’s many times worse to find out you don’t know as much as you thought when it comes to doing life itself. Yet this lies at the heart of the Gospel. God knows how to do life better than we do. The Advent season is a reminder of when God revealed definitively that He knows how to do life better than we do. If we will take His counsel, His presence is the reward. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 14:16-18

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“Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I had a conversation the other day with a young man who is going through a tough season. He loves the Lord and earnestly desires for his life to reflect that, but his road has been rocky all the same. One of the questions he kept coming back to as we talked is what God’s will is for this or that. I finally told Him that while God cares about the details of our lives, He’s more concerned with the forest than the trees. If we are committed to honoring and glorifying Him in the large things, the small things will fall into place. That’s something like Paul is getting at here in instructing the church in Rome on how to get along together. Let’s take a look.

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