Deep in Scripture Radio

Philippians 4 contains one of the most robust calls to joy in all of Scripture. And yet when Paul writes in Philippians 4:11 that he has learned the secret of being content in every situation, he's saying so from inside a prison cell. How was St. Paul able to find joy and rest and contentment in the Lord, regardless of what life threw at him? And how can we, in our day and age, rest in Christ in a world that seems to be falling apart around us? Marcus and JonMarc look at some simple ways to practice contentment in everyday life.

Continuing on the theme of spiritual humility, Marcus and JonMarc Grodi look more at St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy, and the advice Paul gives regarding pride and the sins connected with it. A desire for controversy leads to an air of superiority, and blinds us not only to the truth, but also to our own faults. Paul knew that this kind of pride was a major temptation in his time, and is certainly pervasive in our own time. Marcus and JonMarc dig into St. Paul's advice to Timothy on spiritual pride, and the universal call to holiness in spite of, and even in the midst of, scandal and dissent.

In St. Paul's first letter to Timothy, he gives a number of wise instructions about how Timothy should conduct himself as a spiritual leader, and how to avoid temptations that will derail not only his ministry, but his relationship with God. Love of money, an unhealthy interest in controversies, and a conceited heart -- all these things bring focus on the self instead of God, and replace humility with the sin of pride. But, as Paul reminds Timothy in the face of all these temptations, "Godliness with contentment is great gain."

There is a major difference between the contemporary secular concept of love, and the way that love is presented in the Scriptures. Especially in chapter 13 of St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, there is a sacrificial quality of love, which requires the exercise of will rather than a reliance upon emotional whims. Marcus and JonMarc Grodi look at the Christian call to true charity, and how Jesus is our ultimate example of a love that is willing to risk everything for the good of the other.