Category: Bible (Page 43 of 356)

I recently read a surprising and encouraging report from a professor who referenced an influential talk he heard while a student on a summer mission in 1997. I served as the Bible teacher on that mission in Hungary and spoke numerous times, so it’s quite likely I gave that particular message (I really cannot remember). Regardless, myself and others cultivated the faith of this academic, a few of many who did so along the way.

When you think about your life of faith, who planted the seeds? Who watered the tender shoots? Who are those tending your garden today?

In a discussion with church members in Corinth, Paul reminded them that it really doesn’t matter who plants or waters, because God provides the growth:

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Just like this professor, I received the seed of faith from someone before me and benefited from faithful watering. Of course, others worked before them, all the way back to Jesus our Lord. A cornucopia of growth extending back generations.

Enjoy those who plant and water in your life. Thank them of their hard work, then pass the favor on to others. Finally, always remember that God causes the growth, whether we hear about it in this life or not.

1 Corinthians 3 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Jonathan Kemper

My wife and I are in New York City watching our granddaughter while her parents get away for a few days. Wrangling an almost two-year old keeps us moving, but we are grateful for the time with this little girl.

Thankfully, parks and small playgrounds dot the city. The weather is beautiful, so kids fill the swings and climbing structures. We’re enjoying a nice tour of the local play areas.

Churches and synagogues also exist block after block. Some simply serve as historical sites, but others welcome congregants for worship in a variety of languages. Not everyone here is religious, of course. But many follow their faith and encourage their children to do so as well.

The combo of kids and churches reminds me of a line written in 1,000 BC by King David: Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.

Three thousand years ago the Scriptures predicted generation after generation following the one true God. Parents teaching children, and grandparents encouraging grandchildren guarantees the endurance of the way. It’s tempting to believe genuine faith is fading, but reality looks different. We can believe the Bible when we read of future generations carrying the torch.

Who knows which children on the playgrounds of New York will someday lead churches or cross borders as missionaries? How many will love their neighbor and teach their children the lessons of the Bible? Let’s take David at his word, and rest assured that generations who follow us will also follow the Lord.

Psalm 22 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski

What is our true state of existence? Are we bodies that cease to exist after death? Or are we physical beings possessing a soul? Or maybe the reality is are we souls temporarily inhabiting a body? I got to thinking after reading this line from Dallas Willard:

I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.

This sentence takes a minute to unpack. We are indeed unceasing spiritual beings. We will never stop existing from this point on. Our souls never wear out or disappear. We each have an eternal destiny. Be it a life without end in the presence of the Lord, or an endless lonely forever. Either fortune or grim fate awaits.

God’s great universe speaks to the incomprehensible nature of the new heaven and new earth ushered in on the return of Jesus. In our true state, we will thrive in the midst of God’s glorious plan for us.

The Apostle Paul laid out the basis for such theological perspectives: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

CS Lewis wrote a stunning paragraph stemming from this idea in his book, The Weight of Glory:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

Our true state? Extraordinary, immortal wonders, created to give glory and honor for ever and ever to the Lord, our eternal King. When we worry about who we are, it’s good to remember who God made us to be.

1 Timothy 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Greg Rakozy

When you worry about your future or consider deep life questions, who do you listen to? Often I go to the internet for answers, which provides me with conflicting opinions and plenty to stress about. Perhaps there’s a better way.

Isaiah hammered those around him who sought out dubious sources of wisdom. When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

Instead of dead ends Isaiah offered, Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

God’s instructions alone provided wisdom for the lost people of Israel, just as the Holy Scriptures radiate guidance today.

Mediums and spiritists, social media guides and internet rabbit holes steer us astray. Better to consult the Word of God, which leads out of darkness into the light of dawn.

Isaiah 8 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Tim Gouw