Category: Daily Reflections

“On the question of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him…” –2 Thessalonians 2:1 The Thessalonians had been seduced into becoming agitated and terrified because they thought the world was about to end (2 Thes 2:2). Some Thessalonians even quit their jobs because they thought they had only a few days left on the earth (2 Thes 3:7ff). Also, some of the Corinthians divorced their unbelieving spouses, possibly because they expected the Lord to come and the world to end at any minute (1 Cor 7:12ff). These early Christians were wrong in their reaction...

“It is no more than right that we thank God unceasingly for you, brothers, because your faith grows apace and your mutual love increases.” –2 Thessalonians 1:3 Paul thanked the Lord unceasingly for the Thessalonian Christians because their faith and mutual love grew. Paul expected the early Christians to grow in holiness and for their growth to be clearly recognizable. Thus, Paul could thank the Lord for their growth. If someone asked us whether our faith has grown in the last twelve months, many of us would be at a loss to answer. We probably have an ambiguous idea that...

“Jesus was fully aware that His disciples were murmuring in protest at what He had said. ‘Does it shake your faith?’ He asked them.” –John 6:61 Jesus challenges us to believe His mysterious statement: “The bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51). A typical reaction to this challenge is to ask the question: “How can He give us His flesh to eat?” (Jn 6:52) Jesus does not directly answer this question. Rather, He extends an even more puzzling challenge by repeatedly insisting that we eat His Flesh and drink His Blood (Jn...

“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” –Matthew 23:12 If we don’t humble ourselves, the Lord will do it for us. We can either start off humbled and end up exalted, or start off exalted and end up humbled. Obviously, it behooves us to humble ourselves now. Yet to do this we must know what humility is. Humility is not humiliation. True humility is not putting ourselves down but facing reality. The word “humility” derives from the root word meaning “earth.” Humility is being “down-to-earth,” realistic. Reality is that we are “earthen vessels” (2...

“When He is dealing with the arrogant, He is stern, but to the humble He shows kindness.” –Proverbs 3:34 God is perfect, crucified, unconditional, and infinite Love. He wants to lavish His love on us in ways we would appreciate. However, His love is always given to lead us to salvation and sanctification. Thus, many times the Lord expresses His love in ways difficult for us to understand. For example, if we are proud, the Lord will be stern to us to challenge the pride which endangers our salvation (Prv 3:34; 1 Pt 5:5). Also, the Lord often wishes to...