Plainfield Ponderings - Scripture Meditations

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Ponder with me what all of Scripture is hanging on - the commands of love. The short narrative of a pharisaical lawyer approaching Jesus to test Him about what is the greatest command of Scripture is fairly familiar to most disciples. However, the last sentence, only recorded in Matthew is as shocking as anything...that ALL of Scripture is hanging on these too. Let's ponder together how serious motive is, especially when dealing with the details of Scripture. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the recurrence of 3-day trials in Scripture. Numbers have so much more meaning than just the numerical value. The Bible has dozens and dozens of 3-day tests where people are pushed to trust the Lord more. This included the death and burial of Jesus, while He laid in the grave for a part of 3 days. That 3-day test is especially pertinent to our darkest 3-day test we'll walk through - death. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me what our natural responses to trials are. It's normally fight or flight! That is the common way psychologists have worded it. We either want to run far away and not deal with it, or we want to dig our heels in and fight like crazy. There's a third option that Jeremiah preached a ton when Jerusalem was suffering—wait on God. Join me in meditating on this. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the danger and idolatry of seeking glory from people. Sometimes we take this "no harm, no foul" mentality about seeking glory from others—as if it were not 'THAT' big of a deal, as long as it doesn't get in the way of serving God. That is not how Scripture portrays it though. The apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus both speak about the impossibility of having true faith while seeking the approval of men. Ponder this sobering topic with me. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me what it looks like for God to be our Master. It's easy to throw out the common, broad descriptions of what that means—such as doing the will of the Lord. Nothing wrong with that! Jesus did that at times too. However, in this episode we dig in on the specifics. What did it mean to King David in Psalm 16 for God to be His Master, and is that true of us too? Join me in thinking through this practical topic. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the Lord's church in prophecy. Most often when we think of future prophecies, we mainly think of prophecies about Jesus...but what about the church? Are there prophecies that speak about His church? If so, what do those texts say about the position and responsibility of the church? Nothing we say is different from what you've seen in the N.T., but let's hear it from a different voice—the voice of Micah. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me the "sign of Joseph". It's a play on words regarding what Jesus did say - "the sign of Jonah". There is nothing in Jonah's story that explicitly says it is speaking about the Messiah's resurrection, and the same could be said about the story of Joseph. Jesus is telling us how to read the O.T. though, by pulling on the Jonah thread ... and so we do the same in this episode but with Joseph's story. I hope and pray it builds your faith in the resurrection—the sign of all signs. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about how our eyes dictate our actions. This episode is especially focusing on parents and grandparents. Right after the famous saying from Jesus about not hiding lamps under a basket, Jesus gives us some further wisdom about how we can shine in this world...perhaps it is something we haven't focused enough on. We act on what we take in. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the greatest piece of evidence in Scripture concerning Jesus—the resurrection. It is the sign of all signs. When Jesus had one piece of evidence to give the Jews, He pointed to His resurrection. This lesson is only a "Part 1" as we ponder Christ pointing to the O.T. in support of His resurrection. We will pick up again next week as we think about Joseph and how the Genesis narrative speaks of resurrection too. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me—what is the path to God's glory? Jesus had many instances of honor, adoration, even worship throughout His life on earth. We might be tempted to say that some of them were Him being glorified. However, in John 12, Jesus makes it clear that His path to glory is only through death. How about our path to God's glory? Will it be any different? Join me in thinking through it. To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]