The main purpose of this brief letter is to convince Philemon to take in his runaway slave, Oenisimus. A couple of things stand out to me in Paul's appeal. One is that Paul is pretty insistent that Philemon do as Paul requests concerning Oenisimus, while still giving Philemon room to do it voluntarily. A second … Continue reading Philemon.
Month: June 2023
Colossians 4.
These personal greetings from Paul as he finishes his letter to the Colossians make reality out of this old text. To hear the names of his fellow workers, and some of the details of their situation, and Paul's advice to them ... it's like stepping into their lives and seeing God's hand at work in … Continue reading Colossians 4.
Week 25.
Twenty five weeks. Surely someone has a summary comment for the week just past.
Colossians 3.
There are so many good exhortations from Paul in this chapter -- both what not to do and what to do. From them, I'll just highlight this section: 15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body 0to this peace), and be thankful. 16 Let the word … Continue reading Colossians 3.
Colossians 2.
In verses 20-23 we get a pretty clear picture of the deceitful philosophies Paul is referring to in verse 8: "8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." That picture is of an ascetic … Continue reading Colossians 2.
Colossians 1.
This first chapter of Paul's letter to the Christians in Colossae contains this great statement about Christ that the NET translation titles "The Supremacy of Christ". I just want to repeat it here. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in … Continue reading Colossians 1.
Philippians 4.
Quoted here, is the New Living Translation. "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!" Yes, rejoice! Here is one of my very favorite choices the NLT translators make in all their translation (v.6a): "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything." Here's the context. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray … Continue reading Philippians 4.
Philippians 3.
Paul says to the Philippians in this chapter to model their lives after his. Just before that, he offered this thought that they (and we) could model: 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for … Continue reading Philippians 3.
Week 24.
End of Ephesians, half of Philippians. Any words from any one?
Philippians 2.
I read this chapter yesterday, but didn't get a chance to post until this morning. I'm ripping this quote right out of the middle of its context. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society ... … Continue reading Philippians 2.