Category: Bible (Page 34 of 356)

Maybe it’s the theologian in me, but I geek out when I run across a passage in the Bible that refers to the Holy Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Paul referenced the Trinity in a benediction to the Corinthian church:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

A fully developed doctrine of the Trinity is not laid out in the New Testament, but multiple trinitarian formulas exist in the Scriptures. God is one is essence and three in persons. The Father begets, the Son is begotten, and the Holy Spirit proceeds.

Best of all for me and you are the gifts this triune God delivers to those who follow him. Paul prays for his hearers to experience grace from the Son, love from the Father, and companionship with the Holy Spirit.

One in three persons, blessed trinity. We truly serve an amazing God.

2 Corinthians 13 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Sharon Santema

Braised pork cheeks. Creamy mashed potatoes. Apple pie. Dark chocolate. Such foods deserve leisure, moments allowing flavors and textures to rest on the tongue. The opposite of fast food scarfed on the run.

The Scriptures satiate when consumed slowly, when allowed to soak in. Jeremiah wrote of his experience with God’s messages:

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.

The Bible tells us of the amazing Lord God Almighty, his Son Jesus Christ, and our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The words found within deserve time and appreciation, which yields delight and enjoyment. Slow-walking through the Good Book reveals flavors undiscovered in a rush. Pleasure is not too strong a word to describe the experience.

My soul begs for more than a drive-through fix. A vast banquet waits for me, if I’ll slow down and enjoy the spread.

Jeremiah 15 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Elena Leya

A series of contests are playing out across the United States this fall of 2024. Two parties are fielding multiple candidates for positions in our government. The top of the ticket features a neck and neck race for the ultimate seat—the presidency. Power lurks behind all the campaigning and forms the prize sought by so many.

But a deeper power exists…

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Inexplicable power resides with the Lord. The Holy Spirit infuses energy. When we tap such strength we destroy arguments and ideas opposing knowledge of the Lord. Falsehoods that once dominated grow weak, stepped over like trash in the gutter.

My own cleverness fails to break down citadels. The Holy Spirit, given free rein, releases my soul from grandiose declarations proposed by the world around me.

I follow politics and I vote. But I dismiss much of the pontification, because I understand where deep power resides.

2 Corinthians 10 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by canmandawe

We make all sorts of choices throughout the day. Some hum-drum, like what to eat for breakfast, and others exciting, like what to order at a new restaurant. Occasionally a decision arises of real importance, and a few prove life-altering.

Paul praised a group of openhanded givers who contributed far beyond their slender means. Their generosity resulted from a transformational decision:

They exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

These followers of Jesus first decided to give their lives to the Lord. Fully bought in, they then joined Paul and his band to undergird the mission of spreading the amazing news of Jesus far and wide.

After their choice to give their full selves to God, the angst of donating faded. Paul described them as filled with overflowing joy despite their extreme poverty.

This choice lies before me today. The giving of my resources certainly helps those in need, but the Lord can provide resources from a breath. He first wants me and you to give ourselves to Him—every bit of us—and from there anything can happen.

2 Corinthians 8 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Florian Schmetz