Archive for the ‘ God ’ Category

VerseD: 1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 10:13, CSB

God cares for us and provides for us. Even in our sinfulness, He still wants to help us in overcoming temptation and sin by the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit within us.

VerseD: Mark 2:27

Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:27, CSB

God provides for us and cares for us. Just as He made a time for rest for us, we should help ease the burden on each other.

VerseD: Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17, CSB

Let us help each other through life, guiding each other in all truth and godliness, helping each other be better equipped to face challenges and draw near to God.

VerseD: Hebrews 13:16

Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

Hebrews 13:16, CSB

Let us help each other through life, guiding each other to the good works of Christ and fellowship with Him and each other in every area of life.

VerseD: Revelation 3:20

See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20, CSB

Let us help each other through life, guiding each other to Jesus, who is calling each of us to fellowship with Him and each other.

VerseD: John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1, CSB

Let us help each other through life, guiding each other toward the Word made flesh, our Creator and God, who helped us overcome sin.

VerseD: Jude 1:22

Have mercy on those who waver

Jude 1:22, CSB

Let us help each other through life, guiding each other through doubts, fears, and misunderstandings about Jesus, God, Scripture, and life.

VerseD: Psalm 27:4

I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4, CSB

Let us help each other through life, guiding each other to worship God and gather together for His glory.

VerseD: James 1:5

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him.

James 1:5, CSB

We can all share the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. God not only wants to help us in our task, but He has promised to help and guide us in sharing the faith. We do not do this alone. He is with us.

Happy π (Pi) Day!

It is a great day! Pi Day Friday! Celebrate mathematics and get a slice of pie! 🥧

Firstly, let me acknowledge what I am sure most of you are surely and most absolutely thinking (and for full clarity, /mild sarcasm): I know the original Greek letter is pronounced like our English letter, p. But in the maths, we generally call it “pie” for delicious and practical reasons.

Secondly, why talk about mathematics and π on a biblical blog? I’m glad you asked! I was going to get around to it! (😉)

The symbol of pi is what is called a constant number (universally true), an irrational number (not simple, reducible, or strictly finite, like “1” or “3” or “42” or “1/3” or “70”), and a fun number (at least by me), and it is used to help find the circumference (length of the outside) and area of a circle, as well as so much more. As far as we know, it has an infinite number of decimal places, starting with 3.1415926……

Hence Pi Day being celebrated on March 14, or as the US and a few others annotate it, 3/14 or 3.14.

So, Please: Why on a Bible blog?

To circle back to our primary purpose, we see the use of this rounded of non-round numbers actually appear in the Bible: 1 Kings 7:23 – the bronze/metal/molten sea/basin that is used for ritual washing in the Temple. It’s measurements were 10 cubits across (about 15 feet/4.5 meters, diameter) and 30 cubits around (about about 45 feet/13.7 meters, circumference). Thay works out to roughly 3, or close to pi.

However, I also like pi for a more punny but very serious reason: the Christian life.

It has to do with being a constant and irrational number.

Pi is a reminder of the Trinity: the constant God that does not make perfect sense to our finite minds.

God’s faithful love is constant.

Psalm 52:1b, CSB

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you”
Malachi 3:6a, ESV

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8, CSB

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth.”
John 14:16-17a, CSB

Pi serves as a reminder that Christ taking on humanity puts a human element in the Trinity, which sounds irrational and like more than 3 in 1 (like 3.14?), which also sounds irrational to our finite minds. (To be clear, I am not saying that humans are now part of the Trinity or that we become God!)

Pi is also a reminder that simple things are not necessarily easy things to understand and can seem foolish to others.

But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.
1 Corinthians 2:14, CSB

but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. [24] Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, [25] because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
1 Corinthians 1:23-25, CSB

So, on Pi Day, get some pie, and remember that the Cbristian life may seem irrational, but it is grounded in the constant God who cleanses and purifies us, who brings our lives full circle to be in relationship with Him through the forgiveness of sins by the work of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father.

Simple as pi[e].