By:
On:
In: abuse, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:17-18) The immediate context includes verses 13-16, which tell us, if I understand them correctly: Quietly let your wisdom and understanding be evident in how you conduct yourself, enduring injury with patience and without resentment (Thank you m-w.com.) Do not boast of being such while deceitfully hiding in your heart an attitude of hostility toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage and ambitions that put yourself first and furtherRead More →

By:
On:
In: Bible and Theology, God's Character, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15) Quite a bit packed into this one verse. First,  Peter reminds us Christ isn’t like us. He’s holy, not a sinner, and should be honored as such. If we don’t watch ourselves, we will project our sinful thinking onto Christ to justify our pet sins, since, obviously, Jesus would think that is okay (often we pull out our sinful version of love here.)Read More →