it was a rich, gloriously hopeful secret. By Paul’s time, God had let the cat out of the bag.   But it was so much more unfathomable than...

Previously he told us he is a servant of the Gospel (1.23), and now he tells us he is a servant of the church (1.24). All with the...

The second part of Col 1.24 always leaves me scratching my curly white head:   Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my...

The more I read the Bible, the more I see a connection between the Great Commission and persecution and suffering.   Now I rejoice in my...

Still looking at the letter to the folks in Colossae, verse 1.23, now at parts b and c   the gospel that you heard, which has been...

And concerning yesterday’s 3 S’s: stable, steadfast, and shifting-not, Job said in this morning’s reading:   My foot has held fast to his...

Been a while since I wrote, mostly because in the past seven weeks I have been away on four trips. And partly because I have been reading...

A teensy-weensy bit of sarcasm from our friend Job.     He says to his friends, who all thought they had a PhD in counseling:   “No doubt...

Certain little everyday words can be very important in scripture. Words like “but” and “therefore.” Or, in today’s case, the word “if.”  ...

Jesus wanted to make me holy and blameless and above reproach. And he nailed it! I am holy, blameless, and above reproach.   And you, who...

[And you] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. Col 1.22a I am reconciled!   But, because one good deed deserves...

He had never known the burden of sin on His person, He had never felt the shame of it.   He chose the sad road that leads to joy, and, on...

In my last post I mused a bit on Psalm 86. It has continued to be in my rereading and, this morning as I sit in New Delhi, I find it to...

I have been in the opening of David’s prayer in Ps 86 for a few days now, and I am challenged. Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,...

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deed… (Col 1.21)   Yep. I remember it well.

We read, in Col 1.20, that: and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, Let’s continue on with the...

We would have every reason to believe Jesus was born in the year Zero, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. They tell us it was more...

This line in Col 1.20 gives me pause: ...and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven... Just the...

Pleasing God is cool. But, you might say He doesn’t please easily.   On one occasion, He shouted down from above the clouds, “Hey Son,...

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  Col 1.18b   The beginning . Hard to put a...