Thessalonians Highlights

I don't have a lot of highlights from 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Honestly, I think they're good books but a little more personally directed than many of Paul's letters. So here's what I got:

4:11-12 - "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." Does something about my life win the respect of outsiders? Or does my tendency to want the latest juicy tidbit of gossip just make me blend in?

4:17 - "And so we will be with the Lord forever." This is in a larger context of talking about Jesus' return. It just makes me so excited to be in the tangible presence of God - forever!

5:11 - "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up." I don't think I do very much encouraging of others. I really need to grow in this area.

5:21-22 - "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." I didn't want to highlight this one. It made me feel uncomfortable. Sometimes I don't want to avoid every kind of evil! It was precisely my discomfort that drew out my highlighter.

Philippians and Colossians Highlights

Past my no-screen time so I'll make this brief. They're pretty short books.

Philippians 1:21 - "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I'd love to really have this perspective. Not just spout the verse off but really feel like every moment on this life is for Christ, and to really anticipate eternity with him.

Philippians 1:27 - "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." When you really think about it, that's a big call. To be worthy of Christ's sacrifice for us?

Philippians 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Nothing. That's a big word. On my best days I only do a few things out of selfishness. And those days don't come around a lot. But nothing?

Philippians 2:4 - "Do everything without complaining or arguing." This verse sums up exactly who I want to be. The person who just has a good attitude about even the crappy things. Unfortunately, it doesn't sum up who I am most of the time.

Philippians 3 - Really I just love this whole chapter. Probably my favorite in the whole Bible. It's all about how nothing is as awesome as knowing Christ, and that's why we forget what's happened and look ahead towards Jesus, pressing on toward him and eagerly awaiting the day when we will be with him in heaven.

Philippians 4:5 - "Let your gentleness be evident to all." See notes on 2:4.

Colossians 2:6-7 - "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Salvation is about so much more that just "praying the prayer." Truly having faith means we're in a growing relationship, being built up in Christ. This is my problem with the whole "seeker-friendly" movement of the late 90s-early 2000's. Reaching out is great, but if there's no discipleship plan to go with it, all we're doing is maybe getting people to pray an empty prayer.

Colossians 3:23-24 - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for men...It is the Lord Christ you are serving." I try to do this, but I constantly find myself seeking the approval of my superiors and co-workers. I want so badly to be really, truly working for the Lord, not for men.

Isaiah Highlights Part 3 (the end)

The rest of my highlights:

43:2 - "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass over the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." This goes on to talk about how God has ransomed us and will save us. What I love most is the promise that he'll be with us. There are hard times, but he will be with us and keep us safe.

43:18 - "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." I find it so hard to move on from past hurts. I used to bounce back so easily. Now those past wounds become stumbling blocks. But God is doing a new thing, making a way in the desert.

48:18 - "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like the river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." Obedience isn't about rigid rules. God's commands are there to protect us, and they bring about peace.

55:2 - "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." Only one thing ultimately satisfies. Everything else brings only temporary delight.

55:9 - "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Thank goodness. I've certainly proven that my ways and thoughts aren't always the best plan!

66:2 - "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." I am so far from humble. But that's the spirit God desires of us. I have a lot to learn about humility.

I skipped a few, but I felt like this series was getting too long, so I'm ending it here.

Isaiah Highlights Part 2

Here are some more of my highlights from Isaiah:

30:15 - "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." We make ourselves so busy, but the real strength is in rest, quietness - relying on God.

30:18 - "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"

30:20-21 - "Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." I love the moments when I feel I've got that kind of tangible guidance.

32:17 - "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever." Now there's a motivation to pursue righteousness.

33:6 - "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure."

40:8 - "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." I don't live for this temporary world. I live for the One who stands forever.

I'll stop there for now.

Isaiah Highlights

I finished Isaiah this morning, and here are my highlights:

7:4 - "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." God makes it pretty clear all throughout the Bible that he doesn't like wishy-washy faith. You're either in or out. This verse convicted me - am I standing firm?

16:5 - "In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of the righteous." Of all the Messianic prophecies in Isaiah, this one was new to me. And I love the description of Jesus seeking justice and speeding the cause of the righteous.

17:7-8 - "In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands." God is incomparable. Nothing in this world deserves our attention over him.

25:1 - "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." This one gave me perspective. When we're going through hard times, we can hold on to the fact that God plans marvelous things well in advance.

25:8 - "The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth." Not much to say about this one - I just look forward to that day.

29:13 - "These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." This reminded me of DC Talk: "The greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

29:16 - "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it. 'He did not make me'? Can the pot say of the potter, 'He knows nothing'?" Above this world of women who feel they don't look good enough, and  who constantly compare themselves to others in all kinds of ways, there is a Creator who shaped you just the way he wanted you.

OK. This is getting long and I'm not even halfway through Isaiah. I'll stop there and continue tomorrow.

Ephesians

I've decided to start a new blogging tradition: blogging about the passages I highlighted when I finish a book of the Bible. I thought this would be a nice recap for me, and a nice way to share what I'm learning from God's Word. And so, without further adieu, I present: Ephesians.

1:3 - "spiritual blessing in Christ." The whole verse is good, but I just highlighted that part. It struck me how often I consider blessings tangible things. Spiritual blessings is a whole separate level.

1:11 - "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." This one struck me because of the last part. We have free will, but ultimately God works it out for his ultimate purposes.

2:10 - "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." One I'd memorized, but a good refresher. We're here for a reason. A specific reason. God has specific things he wants us to accomplish for him. We were created to do those very things. What an amazing sense of purpose.

4:1 - "As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." What a great piggyback off of 2:10 - we've got this amazing calling to do the very good works God prepared for us. I love this challenge to live worthy of that calling. Not just to do the good works, but to live as one who is clearly working for God in everything.

4:2, 13, 15, 16 - "in love" "unity" "in love" "in love" - It stuck out to me how much the word love was used in talking about unity. We've got to love each other.

4:22-24 - "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desire; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." I feel like this verse captures the journey of faith - putting off our old as we strive to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building  others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." In middle school I recited this verse to those who swear around me. But now it strikes me that this verse isn't so much about abstaining from swearing - it's about considering how each word you say benefits those who listen. Do I build people up, or tear them down?

5:15 - "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." This one challenged me. How much intentionality is there to how I live? Do I make the most of every opportunity to be wise? Do I even recognize those opportunities?

6:12- "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." So often the troubles of this world feel so consuming. We look at the tangible things and get so discouraged, forgetting that in the big picture, we're in this cosmic battle against powerful dark forces. That's why we must wear the armor of God and stand firm.

I have a couple more thoughts on Ephesians that I want to elaborate on in more detail, so stay tuned for that tomorrow!