Promises for the Battle
Just Thinking
I Was Just Thinking … About Present Contentment
Hebrews 13:5 commands us to be content with our present financial circumstances, so that we don’t act unlovingly. A literal rendering of the Greek is “Be content with the present things.” While the “present things” surely include our possessions and money, they refer also to everything that is a part of our life situation. Surely … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Fear and Faith
Fear is real and rational when reality confronts us with what appears to be danger. However, when we perceive Jesus’ presence, our perception of reality changes. As followers of Jesus we can fight fear with faith by acknowledging that Jesus’ supernatural abilities are immediately available to us whenever he makes his presence felt. Consider Peter’s … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Exulting in Tribulation
“Exult in tribulation.” says Romans 5:3. And James joins with Paul, telling us to “count it all joy when you meet various trials” (James 1:2). But how is it possible to do this when life’s adversities inflict real pain and seem to darken our future prospects? These commands seem nonsensical until we remember that God’s … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Strengthening Faith
Paul’s sole objective was to work so that people’s faith in the Lord might develop and make progress. In Philippians 1:25 he said, “I will again be with you so that your faith (and resulting joy) might increase.” The faith of these Philippian Christians was already quite advanced. Every time Paul remembered them, he thanked … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Responding to Grace
When John Newton wrote the song “Amazing Grace,” he celebrated the panorama of God’s grace, including the grace that saved him, the grace that brought him through trials, and the prospect of a grace-filled life of joy and peace in eternity, for which he expected to continue praising God after ten thousand years. Newton’s song … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About the Panorama of Grace
Grace is all about joy! God’s grace is how he expresses and how we experience the fullness of his joy. John Newton, the former slave ship captain turned Christian pastor and poet, celebrated his experience of God’s grace in song. His poem, “Amazing Grace,” written in 1772 to illustrate his 1773 New Year’s Sunday sermon, … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About the Blessing of Chastening
According to Deuteronomy 28:47, we are to serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart, “because of the abundance of all things.” My initial response is that I know of no one, myself included, who has an “abundance of all things.” Everyone senses deficiencies in some part of our lives. Nevertheless, according to this … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About a Good Reason to Rejoice at Easter
Sometimes the answer to the question Why celebrate Jesus’ resurrection? focuses on the forgiveness of our sin. That is a good reason to celebrate. Knowing that God no longer holds our sin against us, because Jesus cleared God’s name of any charge of unjustly doing good to those who deserve punishment, should take a load … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Humble Exultation
Because the gospel writers frame their narratives differently, we sometimes need to weave them together in order to see the big picture. Only Luke reprises Jesus’ parable about the noble who went to a distant land in order to receive the authority to rule as king. Because he was near to Jerusalem, and because his … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Defeating Covetousness
The Bible teaches that certain attitudes of mind and heart give Satan a foothold in our lives. For example, Ephesians 4:26–27 says that to allow anger against others to persist is to give place to the devil. 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 urges us to cast down all those attitudes (“arguments”) which scorn the knowledge of God. … Continue reading
Promises for the Battle 