The Family Bible Journey Podcast

What are the benefits of being God's child? Here, Paul begins a chapters-long discussion of our relationship with God as His children. It begins in this chapter by reminding us of God's faithfulness to all generations. The same loving care of the Heavenly Father that God's people have always known is ours in Christ Jesus.

When nations, businesses and even the Church are governed by those who are primarily concerned with power, or selfish aims, the whole organization suffers. The anitdote to human pride and selfishness is the wisdom of God, putting the other first, to serve the common good. May God grant us so to do!

We hear an encouragement to walk in the Lord's wisdom and to surround ourselves with good and faithful friends. When we do, we need not praise ourselves, because good and faithful people are praised as a blessing by others. How much more satisfying this is, to be praised by others, than to fall into the trap of self-promotion that is all too common in the world today.

In the middle of a heated debate, Paul proclaims one of his most confident assertions of faith. "I am crucified with Christ! It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!" The faith that we have is the gift of Christ's righteousness as our own. This great exchange-God's righteousness for human sinfulness, is the basis of our salvation.

Many of the proverbs in this section are repeats or tweaks of earlier proverbs. Often times in ancient and Biblical literature, important parts are repeated towards the end of books, psalms and songs, so that we don't miss the most important parts.

Jesus uses one of the proverbs in this chapter a number of times in His earthly ministry. St. Paul also quotes another in Romans. The fact that both Jesus and St. Paul revered these words as God's unchanging truth, gives us great confidence as we seek and follow the Lord in faith.

Paul's spiritual children in the faith were being attacked by a group who were teaching that the work of salvation wasn't completed by Jesus. Paul takes to task those who were teaching that Christians had to accept portions of the Old Testament law to be "true" Christians. He begins his epistle on the offensive by correcting the false assertions of these false teachers.

We live in a world full of people intent on blaming everyone else for what's wrong in the world, and even what they don't like about themselves. As God's chosen and redeemed people, we pay attention first and foremost to ourselves. We will seek the Lord and His way, even when our way is dark and dreary.

We live in a world without discipline. Everyone is engouraged to indulge every desire and seek happiness as the goal of life. Proverbs teaches that a little discipline goes a long way if we want to live a truly successful life.

We dare not judge others, knowing that there is only one Judge Who will matter in the end. How does the coming judgment affect our understanding of and relationships with others?

We are warned about the dangers of poverty, both financial and spiritual, in this chapter. It is the spiritual poverty of greed that leads many to financial ruin, as our financial system is designed to reward the rich and further impoverish the poor. But worse than suffering the effects of financial poverty is the corrosive effect of spiritual poverty, which allows one to justify impoverishing another for greedy personal gain.

When we walk in the Lord's way, there is confidence that comes from following a true path. Even if we get distracted, or sidetracked, or stumble along the way, so long as we seek the Lord's way, we are heading in the right direction.

Paul was very concerned about the Corinthians who seemed to be prepared to accept any false teacher, but were reluctant to embrace his tried and true words. We do well today to test the spirits, to see if we are listening to those whose words are in accord with scripture or contrary to it.

We live in a world full of people who have been conditioned to think that projecting an image of self is not only acceptable, it's the way to be. Even if their projected image is a fiction, they expect to win acceptance for who they are pretending to be. God's people don't need to project or imagine, because we know who we are, and know that everyone will be known for who they are (not who they pretend to be) in the end.

We used to talk of common sense, but so many are so far from the Lord that I now refer to wisdom as not-so-common sense. We explore the blessings of not-so-common sense in general and particularly in family life.

Paul compares his ministry to the swindlers and counterfeits who had plagued the churches in Corinth. He served the Christians in love and would rather be impoverished than impose upon them. We serve a loving Master, who moves us to serve in love, even when we serve those who are not so lovable.

We often feel justified when we speak our opinion, but the wise person knows it is always better to listen before speaking. If your lips are moving, you're not learning. Let us resist the temptation to speak first, so that we may been seen as wise, instead of playing the part of the fool.

A patently false proverb!?! We will learn how a proverb that is 100% wrong found itself in holy scripture, and what it tells us about superstition, and putting our faith in the wrong places.

Acrocorinth is the name of the ancient stronghold that guarded Corinth. Perched atop a rugged ridge, it was an imposing fortress. Paul uses this mountaintop stronghold as a parable for the strongholds satan builds in our lives and communities when we aren't led by godliness.

Pride is deceptive and persuasive. Because the human heart is easily turned inward, and away from others, our conscience can deceive us. In order to avoid the foolishness of pride, we need to pay careful attention to God's Word, which can never steer us wrong.

Nowadays the world confuses loudness with leadership and confidence (I dare say arrogance) with competence. In this chapter, we learn the blessing of speaking kind, not harsh words. When we use our tongues to lift others up, we share the love and life we ourselves have first received from the Lord our Maker.

Paul teaches us that those who are generous will reap generously. We will learn how the parable of this chapter naturally grows out of the large agricultural economy of ancient Corinth.

It has been said there is no shortcut to success, and this is true! We reflect on the wisdom of hard work in this chapter. God has given us our strength, intellect, hands and feet to do good work. Let us honor the Lord by making good use of all that he has given to us.

We are wise to recognze how the people we surround ourselves with affect the trajectory of our lives. While we want to be friendly with all, in order to win some with the gospel, we are also careful to spend much time with people whose goals and aspirations are similar to ours. This protects us from ungodliness and prepares us for greater service in the Lord's kingdom.

We explore different cultural motivations for generosity. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to demonstrate their faith by giving gladly to the saints who were impoverished by a famine in Judea. We consider how our own notions of generosity square with Biblical wisdom, so that we too may excel in godly generosity.

God's Word is life for His people, because only in His Word does He reveal His wisdom, His will and His ways to us. When we live into HIs Way and speak His Words, we are a blessing to others in both this life and the next.

We consider the earthly and eternal blessings of living our lives with a 10,000 year perspective. When we share Christ's love and righteousness with others, they are blessed both now and forever. This gives us great reason to live godly lives by investing ourselves in the eternal welfare of others.

The Greek Justice system was more interested in restoring relationships, and holding others accountable in healthy social systems. The "Bema," or, "Judgement Seat," was a place where legal decrees were made in the interest of reconciliation within healthy accountability systems. The goal was not to win or punish, but rather to restore social order that was threatened by crime or deviations from accepted societal norms and traditions that promoted the welfare of all.

Anger, hate and greed. These three attitudes define our age. In this chapter, we learn God's response to sinful selfishness.

Twin parables in this chapter highlight the blessing of wisdom and the curse of foolishness. The proverbs excel at highlighting competing worldly wisdom and God's way. One leads to life. The other to death in all sorts of forms.

Corinth was full of so many Temples, they were hard to miss. The allure of these unholy houses of worship proved a constant temptation and trap for the Corinthian Christians. Idols of our day may not be as easily recognized, but they are equally seductive. In faith, we flee such ungodliness and pursue holiness.

The Son of God professes His love for you in this epic chapter! He rejoices in you. He delights in you. God's love is an excellent antidote for all that assails us.

This is the Wisdom chapter of the Wisdom book of the Bible! In it, the Second person of the Trinity speaks to us from before time. He calls loudly and freely to all who receive his Word and blessing.

Sin is seductive, and leads to ruin, as is, and as does, adultery. We listen to the Lord's Wisdom, knowing that we are destined to defeat if left to our own devices. God calls to us in love, and warns of the deadly fruit of sin in our lives, so that we don't have to learn the hard way.

Building upon the jars of clay parable, Paul uses tents and houses to show how our earthly bodies will be transformed in the resurrection. Our hope for what is to be revealed in us gives us good reason to share the faith we have been given. When we share our hope in Christ, God's redeeming love transforms those around us.

Sloth, dissension and lust are three sins capable of completely corrupting and ruining our lives. In this chapter, we are warned not to give in to these tempations, but rather to resist them with the wisdom God provides, knowing the dire risks we take if we don't.

What does Solomon mean when he encourages his son to, "drink from his own well?" It is a metaphor best understood in a time and place where clean drinking water was a most precious commodity. It is an illustration of wedded love, which properly understood, encourages us towards godliness.

Corinthian clay jars were anything but ordinary. Their incerdibly fine texture and workmanship made them highly prized by ancient mariners. You never knew what treasure was hidden inside. For many reasons, this parable spoke volumes to the Corinthian Christians whom Paul portrays as jars of clay.

Watching a sunrise, from predawn darkness to full light of mid day, gives us a beautiful and fitting image of God's wisdom at work in our lives. As our hearts and minds are enlightened with His love, our lives are blessed with an awareness of God's presence that transforms our lives and blesses all around us.

My grandma highlighted these verses from Proverbs 3 in the Bible she gave me when I was in middle school. This gives us opportunity to reflect on the legacy of faith that many listeners seek to leave for their children through their own family Bible journal and journey.

According to Greek tradition and mythology, mere mortals had scant chance at attaining the divine. In this chapter, Paul explains how the Holy Spirit working in us brings us ever closer to God and His glory.

Wisdom doesn't prevent all suffering, but it does protect us from much unnecessary suffering. Believe it or not, rates of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases are much lower for those who abstain from premarital or extramarital sex. It's common sense for those who know the Lord and seek to walk in His Wisdom, even if it's uncommon in our day and age. Instead of doing wrong, and wondering why we are suffering, let's seek to do right, and see how God's ways bless our way.

The Proverbs are a collection of wise sayings, mostly of Solomon, the wisest man to ever live. Wisdom teaches godliness. The same God Who authored the natural laws that hold all things together shares insight into life that we can only recieve through faith. Thus, we seek the Lord in these chapters, to learn from Him who we are, and how we are to live.

In the ancient Olympic games, only one winner was crowned, and led in "victorious procession" while all the other competitors left as losers. All the praise and adulation given these ancient athletes, the great glory they garnered through their athletic prowess, Paul uses to encourage the Corinthian believers. We too will be led in triumphant procession in Christ. Not be cause of our great performance, but because of His love shown to us.

The psalms conclude with fitting songs of praise sung by the angels, heavenly host, us, and all of creation. We will forever thank God for His goodness to us and finally enjoy the life He's created us to live, in unbroken fellowship and communion with Him and all who are in heaven with us.

Ever long for someone that you love, who, for whatever reason, you are seperated from? In this longing, you have felt a thimbleful of God's love and longing for you! In light of such unfathomable love, we will praise Him both now and forever.

Paul uses the disappointment the Corinthians expressed towards him as a contrast to God's unfailing love for them. The Greek gods were notoriously fickle towards their subjects. Our God, to the contrary, is always favorable towards us because of the love we have received from Him.

How often do we think of God as a kind God? Those of us who know His goodness and kindness, we call to Him in love. The peace of knowing His kindness and love allows the godly to close their earthly eyes in death, looking forward to being welcomed by the God Who is always kind to us.

These three psalms of praise fit nicely into the psalter as reflections of the faithful person as this earthly life draws to a close. The entire psalter is a reflection on God's enduring faithfulness throughout life. As the book draws near its conclusion, we praise God for His unending goodness.

Just as the Corinthians were encouraged to prepare for Paul's return, we also are preparing for Christ's return. When we invest in His kingdom, we look forward with joy to see how our "investments" paid off in the eternal well-being of others.