Apr 4

Feb 1

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution We belong to God
    The language is that of slaves owned by God. We were slaves already to sin, but God purchased us, set us free from sin and now we belong to Him, the lover of our souls! Paul says we were bought "with a price". Why add this? To emphasize the great cost that God paid on our behalf, the suffering and death of Jesus Therefore, we no longer own our lives – all souls belong to God - especially those who were bought at a price (1 Cor. 16:9; Ezek. 18:4). Being bought at a price refers to… Read more »

Jan 19

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution Who is the audience?
    It seems to me that the direct audience here would be Jewish Christians scattered throughout Asia. Peter was known as the apostle to the Jews, as Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. Also the term "elect" or "chosen people" was first used of the Jews. However some verses such as 1:14 make me think that it was directed more to Gentile believers. Hmm... Read more »

Jan 8

Nov 25

Nov 13

Sep 23

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution Thanks for support - my God will repay
    Paul is thanking them for their partnership with his ministry - both financial and emotional/spiritual. This is a friendship letter, usually when they receive from a friend, make a promise of returning the favor - Paul knows that he is not in that place, so he ends with my God will repay for your good deed! Read more »

Sep 5

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution The Good Samaritan
    Who is my neighbor? The man in distress is someone people overlook, someone invisible. We now look for obvious classes of the poor and downtrodden and we reach out to them - but what about the annoying guy who lives right next to us? How about that obnoxious person at work who treats us so poorly? Good Samaritan: 1. Noticed the man in need - he saw him 2. He let this man's need interrupt his life. Love is the accurate estimate and adequate response to another's need. There were so… Read more »

Aug 14

Aug 13

Aug 8

Jul 16

Jul 6

Jun 19

Jun 15

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution Jesus Identifying with Israel
    Here Jesus identifies with Israel. He symbolically goes through the temptations they did, but he comes through without sin. First he fasts for forty days and nights, correlating to the time Israel spent in the wilderness. He is hungry and tempted by food - like the Israelites when God gave them the quail and the manna. All of Jesus' replies to the devil come from Deuteronomy 6-8 and each temptation is a temptation to sin against the great commandment in Deuteronomy 6:5, to love God &q… Read more »

Jun 4

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution Following God Doesn't Mean Life Is Nice
    God takes away Ezekiel's "dearest treasure" or the "delight of his eyes". He must have loved his wife dearly by these descriptions. Even though he obeyed God and did all the right things, Ezekiel's wife dies. I think many times a bigger testimony to who God is can be communicated when we still go on with hope and purpose even though our "dearest treasure" is taken away. Read more »

May 4

Apr 27

Apr 22

  • highplainsdrifter
    highplainsdrifter added a text contribution Jeremiah the person
    Jeremiah refutes the popular, modern notion that the end of religion is an integrated personality, freed of its fears, its doubts, and its frustrations. Certainly Jeremiah was no integrated personality. It is doubtful if... he ever knew the meaning of the word "peace". We have no evidence that his internal struggle was ever ended, although the passing years no doubt brought an increasing acceptance of destiny. Jeremiah, if his "confessions" are any index, needed a course i… Read more »