The Family Bible Journey Podcast

Paul ends this epistle by reminding his readers to live their lives in light of eternity. He reminds them of the Holy Spirit's work in their lives. He builds them up by assuring them that the God Who called them to faith will bring them safely to their eternal home.

God promises to deliver us from all that assails and afflicts us. Because He is God, and reigns over all, we can laugh, even in the face of danger.

Israel thought she could be saved from the Assyrians by the mighty Pharaoh and his army. Their hopes were dashed when Egypt was defeated. Let us learn from their mistakes by not trusting in the people or powers of our day, trusting instead in the Lord, Who is powerful to save.

Christian living is not complicated. Love the Lord. Love your people. If we can keep our heads down while serving the Lord and others, everything will be just fine, even as we are being prepared for, and preparing others for eternity.

In a sin cursed world, God works in strange ways. We call this the "alien work" of God. Here we reflect on His ability to turn suffering into gladness and even death into life.

Isaiah told God's people, a hundred years before it would happen, that they would be exiled. He also told them, over 150 years prior to its fulfillment, that they would return to their land. What hope these passages must have given people who Isaiah would never know, because they weren't even born, when He recorded them.

When we follow the Lord in faith, we are a great encouragement to those around us. So let us encourage each other to faith by putting our faith into practice.

Isaiah is confident in the Lord's power to redeem even the hard stuff of this life. Why is it easier for us, sometimes, to trust the Lord with the stuff of the next life, than the stuff of this life? The longer we live, when we are looking for him, the more we understand how the Lord gives us ability to trust Him with the stuff of this life and the next.

We struggle with the twin realities of God's justice and love. His justice demands payment for sin, yet His love forgives sin. As His people, let us not take his love for granted. Instead, aware of his wrath, let us seek to live in righteousness.

If we put anyone other than Christ as our Number One, we will falter. There is tremendous pressure from the workplace, to the school yard, to the courthouse, to defer to the "great." Paul here encourages us to bow to none but Christ, as this is the only pure motive for any decision.

Tyre and Sidon were prosperous neighbors of Judah, who were economic and cultural influencers. Many were made wealthy from their trade. When they fell, all who based their lives on the profit and influence peddling of these kingdoms wound up no better than anyone else.

God's wrath falls on Jerusalem and Judah in this chapter. They were no better than their neighbors, and were equally desrving of God's condemnation. In the tail end of the chapter we are introduced to two historical characters, who teach us poignent lessons about God's judgment and mercy.

Paul was only in Thessaloniki for a short time. A few weeks, and he was run out of the synogogue. A few months, and he was run out of town. Nonetheless, he forged deep and meaningful relationships with the Thessalonians, that are a great encouragement to us today.

Babylon terrified all around, as the global power that put every other nation within her reach into subjection. She may be the most powerful of nations at the time, but she will fare no better than the rest when God's wrath comes to rest on her. Here we are warned not to trust in human strength. It cannot avail in God's sight.

Despite the historic and ethnic tensions between the people of the Nile and the Hebrew people, God's promised redemption is for all! The prophet describes, in denouncing Israel's nearest African neighbors, that even though these nations have been historically at odds, that they will be reconciled in His Savior.

Paul encourages us to make the best use of our time. We do that by investing in the welfare, especially the spiritual welfare, of others. When we as God's people take God at His Word, and try to make the best use of our time, we can't even begin to imagine how we will experience Christ, and be blessed in Him.

After many chapters of judgment and promised forgiveness of His own people Israel, the Lord's attention turns to their nearest neighbors. Even though Israel's neighbors had seen the Lord act mightily to save His people, and heard the words of the prophets, most of these people persisted in idolatry and ungodliness. Despite their persistent unbelief, God offers them hope in the same Savior He has promised His people.

Death and God's judgement will be the great equalizers of all. Earthly success is an illusion that will be shown as counterfeit if those who found it failed to embrace the Lord and His way.

"Living it up," usually means that someone has everything going their way. They are enjoying this life and the best of all that this life has to offer. It is an inherently selfish and superficial mentality. God offers us something so much more in Christ, that we can't imagine it, until He reveals it to us in Christ.

Babylon was but a representative of all oppressing and corrupt human power. When Isaiah prophecies her demise, he warns us all that judgement is coming. The theme of coming judgement resounds loudly through out many of the next 25 chapters of Isaiah, so that we may be warned and ready!

We rejoice in Jesus, our Savior, because in Him, God has become our salvation. When we are weak, He is strong. Even when we don't love or don't even like Him, or what He's doing in our life, He loves us still the same. So much so that He redeems even our weakest moments.

It's hard to tell the difference beetween the genuine article and a counterfeit, even when it comes to faith. Paul teaches the Colossians to find their stay in Christ alone, and to be firmly rooted in His work in their lives. We are also taught how to tell the difference between what is and is not important when it comes to our life in Christ.

In this chapter, we hear yet another bright and hopeful passage of prophecy that describes the gracious reign of Jesus in our lives. Living in a world of injustice and oppression, we hear how our Savior will exalt the downcast. Instead of being decieved by appearances, He will always judge in righteousness and truth.

The opening verses of Isaiah 9 are read each year by many Christians as a part of the Christmas Eve liturgy. We are reminded of the One who came from the Galilee, Jesus Christ our Lord. Our faith is strengthened when we hear these verses that so clearly describe our Lord, knowing they were written over 600 years before Jesus was born.

Colossians is written to a small, declining agricultural community that Paul never visited himself. He writes to encourage them in their faith, which was under atttack. Some were trying to get the Colossians to put their faith in something less than Christ. Paul's words encourage them, as they do us, by rooting us deeply in Christ, the Source of our love and life.

Judah and Jerusalem had no chance against the overwhelming power of her neighbors to the north who were conspiring against her. But God saved Jerusalem from destruction, as yet another example of His saving power. The idea of the prey escaping the jaws of certain death offers a vivid illustration of Israel's fate in this episode.

God offers wicked King Ahab the opportunity to ask for a sign of His divine power. In a false pretense of faith, Ahab rejects the Lord's offer. God, undeterred by the king's stubborned unbelief, gives the believing Jews the sign of Imanuel as assurance of His loving redemption.

Paul accomplished untold good for people who were blessed by His labors. We are encouraged to know that when we labor with the Lord and for the Lord, that He will prosper us. It may not look like it. It may not always feel like it. But we know that the Lord's purpose will endure at the end, so we do well to serve the Lord in boldness and love.

Isaiah recounts the day he was called into heaven's glory, and made a prophet of the Most High God. In one of the few places in holy scripture we get to see into heaven, we learn that God's prophets are His, not ours. Those whom God calls into holy ministry serve Him, not us. Their divine call carries great weight and tremendous responsibility for both the preachers and the hearers.

The parable of the vineyard is used by Isaiah, and at least three times by Jesus, as a warning not to use God's love and mercy as the excuse to indulge sinful selfish desires. We live in a world that celebrates ungodliness. We may be tempted to use God's forgiveness as an excuse to indulge our sinful desires. Resisting this temptation, let us strive to live in the Lord's way, as unpopular as that may be.

Philippi was a town full of citizen soldiers. They enjoyed the blessings of being citizens of a favored Roman colony. They also knew the price that must be paid, often by others in blood, for the blessings of citizenship. As we read this chapter, we are encouraged in our valiant fight for Christ, and encouraged by the promised resurrection and life everlasting that are ours in Him.

Despite Judah's rank idolatry, God still loved His people. He promised, in the midst of their spiritual rebellion against Him, that He'd love them. Instead of treating them as they deserve, He will would send a Savior to them.

By the time God sent Isaiah to Judah, they had fallen deep into spiritual depraivity. His judgment began at home, and extended to the godless nations around them. God had grown tired of their hypocrisy, which favored self and friends over foreigners and enemies.

Paul encourages us to embody the spirit of Christ, which is a spirit of sacrifice, service and humility. The world seeks its own glory and praise. We seek the glory and praise of another, knowing that when we do, all those around us are blessed.

Not only does Isaiah utter many prophecies about Christ, he also prophecies the rise of the Church. Christian or not, it is hard to deny the fact that the Church has been the most influential, and in many ways most influential earthly institution.

Isaiah stands as a mighty prophet to the kingdom of Judah through earthly prosperity and spiritual poverty. He lived under good and evil kings. His words are just as applicable to us today, because we live in a time that is materially rich and spiritually poor.

Paul affirms his love for his dear children in faith of Philippi. This city was home to many of the first converts to Christianity in Europe. As Paul encourages these Christians by pouring his heart out to them, we think of those that we love, who we want to encourage in their faith.

The book closes with an easy tie to Christ's undying love for us. We appreciate this book as a unique and powerful description of love and look forward to the day we will live in such love forever!

The wondrous love described for us in this book is but a foreshadowing and foretaste of the uninhibited love we will enjoy in heaven. Try hard as we might, we can't even begin to imagine the love we will have with each other and know with God in His presence.

The final chapter of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians concludes his twin themes of the righteousness we have in Christ Jesus and the continual work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which leads us in godliness. His very familiar parable comparing the gifts of the spirit to Roman armor is a beautiful depiction of the blessings that we have as God's people. We are well fitted and well suited for spiritual warfare as God's soldiers, redeemed in Christ Jesus, and built up by the Holy Spirit's continual work in our lives.

Solomon is captivated, no, intoxicated by the beauty of his wife. Here we explore some of the poignant metaphors describing his love for her.

The Song of Solomon is an epic romantic poem, penned by young King Solomon, before he wandered far and wide from the Lord's will. It is a description of human and divine love, a picture of God's love for you! Although it may make some uncomfortable with its frank and detailed account of Solomon's relations with one of his many wives, its lessons are timeless.

Husband and wives are called in this chapter to surrender their desires their wants, and their needs and to sacrifice for their spouse. It is hard for us to love those who hurt us, but that is exactly what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. In this section talking about serving one another in Christ, we learn how marriage, in particular, is a wonderful display of God's work in the world.

There is no better time than the present to honor God! This is what wisdom teaches. God's Wisdom keeps us on the straight and narrow and blesses us in every season of life. Thanks be to God for His unending patience and everlasting love!

There is a pervasive "paralysis of analysis" gripping many, institutions, and a great number of churches. When we are in preservation mode, we operate out of fear, not faith. Instead of waiting for everything to be just right, Solomon encourages us to invest and get to work.

All Christians share a common calling to speak the truth in love. Even though distinct offices are mentioned in this passage, we do well to focus on our shared calling. When we grow spiritually, we are conformed by the Holy Spirit's power to the likeness of Christ, to be a blessing to others, even as God in Christ Jesus has blessed us.

The Parable of the Woodcutters is a modern leadership paradigm, the seventh principle of Steven Covey's famous leadership book about highly effective individuals. Abe Lincoln is also rumored to have taught this parable, but we learn it here from the lips of Solomon. It enourages us towards effectiveness and efficiency in all that we do by applying wisdom to every aspect of our lives.

The common Hebrew toast at weddings and celebrations is, "L'Chayim!" It means, "to life," or "for life!" It is an encouragement and blessing for us to enjoy the blessings God gives us in this life. Amidst all that subtracts from our joy and peace, it is good to thank God for the blessing of this life by enjoying it as the gift it is. "L'Chayim!"

Paul leaned into his calling as an apostle, encouraging the Ephesians in their faith. The same God who calls His children to faith calls faithful pastors to serve in His Church. We will discuss this holy calling and consider how God's blessing of ministers is a blessing for the entire church.

Solomon recognized that God's mercy is often used by men to justify doing more sin, more wrong, more injustice. The temptaion to judge God is purely human, and comes from the part of us that wants to be god, wants be the judge. Recognizing this sin within ourselves, we seek the Lord in faith and thank Him for His mercy.