The original Greek New Testament contains two different words which are translated with the one English verb “love.” Many of us who have spent some years in the Christian church are familiar with these. One is agapao – related to the noun agape. The other is phileo. These two words have been commonly distinguished by
It was a packed few hours – that time between the “Last Supper” and the short walk to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had much to say to His disciples as He prepared to leave them. Chapters 13-17 of John record Jesus’ words during these hours in more detail than we find anywhere else. He
Consider consideration. Like many other words, to consider can have a few related, but different, common meanings. When we speak of considering a situation, possible outcomes, options, and such, we mean that there are things that should be thought about carefully and taken into account before an action is taken. When we speak of considering
There are those among us who desire to love God with their whole heart and find no reason to hope in themselves or in this world. They find their chasing of fleshly desires and the opinions of other people to be bondage and not freedom. To be sure, they have doubts. They have hard questions
How often we try to talk ourselves into having hope based on ourselves… “Surely God must see my earnestness. I’m an improvement on my former self and definitely not as bad as I could be. And there are all those times that I did nice things instead of what I might otherwise have done. God
Last time we considered from Psalm 62 some the things that David mentioned as faulty alternatives to seeking God for refuge and how that God is indeed the answer to noisy, anxious waiting. This time we’ll meditate on the things that are part of waiting in silence. So, what is silence? Is it absolute? Is
In the text of this week’s sermon, Psalm 62, David wrote twice of “waiting in silence.” “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (verse 1, ESV)“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence” (verse 5, ESV) This silent waiting is such a key part of Psalm 62, we would do well to understand
The exaltation of man is a dangerous thing. Of course, it all seems to make sense at the time. Great orators and charismatic leaders move minds and inflame passions. Civic pride swells under strong leadership. People sing the praises of one who promises deliverance. On the other side, there are those who are exalted in
This past weekend, Pastor Mike led us in worship from Psalm 46 which includes a statement attributed to God Himself which is repeated with enlargement: “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (v 10) Note the boldness of these claims! There is no hint of contingency in them.
There’s a viral pandemic in progress as this first meditation is being written. By now, it’s just about all that’s on anyone’s mind. There is real danger out there. But with the widespread danger to our health, there lurks another danger that is more significant and is of greater consequence – that we would forget
