Philippians 1:27-2:18 Dear RTB’ers, For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had… (vv. 1:29-30a) I can’t read this verse without my mind going back to Acts 16, the incident of Paul …
Author Archives: Fred
April 17 / Philippians 1:12-26
Philippians 1:12-26 Dear RTB’ers, A really good passage today, with a couple of very strong truths proclaimed. First, after acknowledging that his example in his imprisonment has caused others of the brethren to preach the gospel, Paul maintains that not all are preaching from a true heart: Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, …
April 16 / Philippians 1:1-11
Philippians 1:1-11 Dear RTB’ers, We now leave the Old Testament for a week to spend time with Paul in his letter to the Philippians – one of my favorites of all of Paul’s epistles. When I think of this letter, I think “joy”; this epistle bespeaks that feeling over and over. We see that even …
April 15 / Lamentations 5
Lamentations 5 Dear RTB’ers, Again, labels for each of the five chapters of Lamentations: Today, Judah’s appeal for God’s forgiveness. However, the first 18 verses sound very similar to yesterday’s reading – the difficult plight of Jerusalem’s survivors. But finally, to close the chapter and the Book, the writer (Jeremiah?) asks one more time for …
April 14 / Lamentations 4
Lamentations 4 Dear RTB’ers, Again, labels for each of the five chapters of Lamentations: Today, the contrast between Zion’s past and present. John’s link from yesterday asked us to put ourselves into Jerusalem after the fall, to see, smell, feel the horrors of what had happened. That’s a good suggestion for today’s reading, especially the …
April 13 / Lamentations 3
Lamentations 3 Dear RTB’ers, Recalling from two days ago, labels for each of the five chapters of Lamentations: Today, Judah’s complaint and her appeal for consolation… But first, a word about some Old Testament writings. (NOTE: For some of you, I’m probably repeating myself; for others, I hope these few words help.) You may have …
April 12 / Lamentations 2
Lamentations 2 Dear RTB’ers, Recalling from yesterday, labels for each of the five chapters of Lamentations: Today, the Lord’s anger against His people… And yes, we see His anger in almost every verse, written as a narrative in the first half of the chapter, but then changing to the author (Jeremiah?) speaking personally from verse …
April 11 / Lamentations 1
Lamentations 1 Dear RTB’ers, I could sense a collective sigh of relief as we left Jeremiah yesterday. But today we dive right back in, to his reflections on the fall of Jerusalem. Our STS book provides some insight into Lamentations. My Study Bible added more, especially its label for each of the five chapters of …
April 10 / Jeremiah 51:59-52:34
Jeremiah 51:59-52:34 Dear RTB’ers, Today we finish Jeremiah. We’ll have a lot to talk about at our RTB gathering on Sunday after coffee hour in Nathan Hall. (Recall that April’s first Sunday of the month was Easter Sunday, so we rescheduled.) Today’s six verses in chapter 51 are a bit confusing. Jeremiah sends a message …
April 9 / Jeremiah 51:1-58
Jeremiah 51:1-58 Dear RTB’ers, The destruction of Babylon. As with yesterday’s post, today we have a number of references to Israel and Judah, even more than yesterday. See Jeremiah 51:5-6, 10, 11b, 19, 34-36a, 45, 49, 50-51. God makes it clear that Babylon is being judged for what they did to Israel: The LORD has …