Some thoughts on Scripture

2 Peter 1:5-7--"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverence, to perseverence godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." When I think of the qualities in... Sign in to see full entry.

I Peter 5:5b-8--"'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.' Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a... Sign in to see full entry.

I Peter 4:1--"Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin." Our flesh is a weakness we carry around with us daily. We suffer, and we sin. But Christ came in the flesh, and He suffered more than... Sign in to see full entry.

I Peter 3:4--"Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." I once knew two sisters in the Lord who had two very different ways of responding to people in their needs, neither one of which was... Sign in to see full entry.

I Peter 2: 5--"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." I like the word choice here. We are being built into the house of God, not as bricks, but as stones. We are not bricks,... Sign in to see full entry.

James 5:1-4--"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure... Sign in to see full entry.

James 4:8--"Draw Near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James' verse here is loaded with double or parallel meaning. When he is imploring to his readers to draw near to God, he is hearkening to the Hebrew times of old... Sign in to see full entry.

James 3:4,8--"Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder whereever the pilot desires.... But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." It is amazing how powerful the tongue is. Nations go to... Sign in to see full entry.

James 2:18--"But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Many people stumble over this verse and this chapter in James, including Martin Luther. Luther, in the course of his Bible translation, gave James... Sign in to see full entry.

James 1:25--"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." Some people might think that perfect liberty or freedom is the same as having no law. But liberty is not anarchy. And... Sign in to see full entry.