Category Archives: Devotional

C.S. Lewis on Humility

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I have been reading (actually listening on my commute) C.S. Lewis’ classic the Screwtape Letters. These letters are insightful and challenging looks at how to live out the Christian life.

CSLewis

They are written from the perspective of how demons might seek to tempt and pull us away from our relationship with God (known as the Enemy).

In letter #14 we find the master tempter Screwtape instructing his nephew, Wormwood, on how to deal with a problem. The person (aka the patient) that has been assigned to Wormwood, whom he is responsible for tempting and discouraging, is growing in his Christian walk.

Your patient has become humble

The first line of attack that Screwtape encourages his nephew to consider is to get his patient to focus on his humility. In this way they might attempt to draw out the vice pride as the man would suddenly start to think: I am being humble. Continue reading →

7 Observations on Sharing the Gospel from 1 Thessalonians

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PaulI’ve been reading through the letters to the Thessalonians. These letters were written by Paul while on his 2nd Missionary Journey, sometime between 50 and 52 AD. Most scholars assume that the first letter was written shortly after Paul arrived in Corinth, after Timothy rejoined him & Silas. The second is also assumed to have been written in Corinth during the 18 month stay (Acts 18:11).

Paul’s missionary outreach to the city is captured in Acts 17:1-9. The stay is rather brief. How brief is a matter of debate. The Jewish people in the city became jealous when many people started to follow Christ so they stirred up the crowds and incited a riot that forced Paul and Silas to leave.

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we can learn seven things about sharing the Gospel. Continue reading →

5 Things John says about Jesus in 1 John

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In the prologue to the epistle we know as 1 John, the Apostle writesThe Apostle John

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, … which we have touched with our hands … we proclaim to you

Here are 5 things that John proclaims to us about Jesus in this letter:

Jesus is the Christ

  • contra the claims of the false teachers (2:22), John boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ (1:3; 2:1; 3:23; 4:2; 5:1, 6, 20). All who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son sent by the Father to be the Savior, have eternal life (3:23; 4:14; 5:1,12 cmp John 3:16; 11:27).
  • John does not go to great lengths to explain the term Christ – which means Messiah — in this epistle. But it is evident from his Gospel that Messiah refers to the Savior and King promised to Israel and written about in the Scriptures (John 1:41; 4:25; 7:27,31,42; 12:34).

Jesus is Righteous Continue reading →