Picturepocket's Blog

Tag: jesus

  • Genesis 2: Begin Again

    In the second chapter of Genesis, God rests on the seventh day. God declares the seventh day holy, which means set apart, because it is the day he rested from his labor. Taking a break from work is part of the rhythm of life from the beginning. Then the story rewinds. The writer describes an…

  • Personal-Pan Prayer

    There are several versions of a meme going around saying how great it is to find God alone in the woods or fishing, and even how preferable it is to hanging out in a stuffy, religious church.  People also are fond of saying “Only God can judge me” as if they aren’t accountable to their…

  • 1 Corinthians 14: Words & Women

    Paul returns from his celebration of love to the gift of prophecy, speaking truths, and tongues, utterances in other languages or unknown words. Paul says that prophecy instructs and consoles the Church while praying in tongues encourages the spirit. There are groups within Christianity today that either over-emphasize or deny the use of tongues in…

  • 1 Corinthians 9: Free for All

    In this chapter, Paul talks about his freedoms and responsibilities as a believer. He reiterates that he is free in Christ. He says that the evidence of his apostleship is the believing community that helped found. The work defines the position, not the other way around. He goes into his rights and privileges; he may…

  • I Corinthians 3: Subcontractors of the Spirit

    Paul continues to address the divisions within the Corinthian Church. He tells them to grow up, they can’t just be sustained on milk, meaning they have to start acting more mature. Paul is going to give them something to chew on. Currently, they are acting out in jealousy and strife, which are not the ways…

  • Acts 9: On the road 

    How Saul is at the beginning of this chapter to how he ends is like night and day. He starts out breathing death threats about the men and women who follow Christ. He plans a trip to the Temple in Jerusalem to get papers giving him permission to go to the synagogues (branch worship locations)…

  • Acts 16: Following the Spirit

    Paul goes to Derbe where he meets a young man named Timothy whose father was Greek and mother was a Jewish believer. Paul has him circumcised to be accepted by the Jewish community. This goes against what Peter has seen in his vision, yet the pressure from the other Jewish believers is strong. It shows…