Category: Bible (Page 281 of 419)

The Bible contains lots of names. I own a book called All the People in the Bible that’s 578 pages thick. Another called Who’s Who in the Bible weighs in at 626 pages. I find lists of names in the Scriptures especially fascinating. Rather than skim down the page, I’ve learned to pay attention to odd names and the descriptors that follow.

Paul greeted a number of the believers in Rome by name. Here’s an example: Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.

Who was Apelles and what test did he stand?

We don’t know. Apelles was a common name at the time, so it yields few clues. The testing he endured remains buried.

But a line of greeting from Paul reveals some things. Paul suffered through shipwrecks, beatings, mocking, scourges, and stoning. He ran with a resolute crowd. Paul understood fidelity and used that word sparingly. To point out Apelles for his faithfulness and loyalty underscored the man’s character lived out over years of service.

I hope in heaven to visit with all the people found in the Bible. Time will be no more, so no hurry. I imagine a crowd around Apelles, finally hearing his story of faith. I plan to camp there awhile and tease out the details.

Then after him, I’ll continue down a line of saints whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test, those whom we’ve never heard of and whose names grace no list save the one the Lord keeps. For people like Apelles blessed the church down the centuries and exist among us even today. When you notice them (they tend to stay quiet as they work), thank them.

Because you and I and the world around us need such solid people.

Romans 16 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Dorothy Lin

I sometimes find it hard to discover sources of regular encouragement. As I read my newsfeed, or scan through the latest controversy or cancelation on social media, rarely does an impetus to endure raise its head. But Paul reminds me of just such a resource at my fingertips.

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

These past scriptures Paul refers to, our Old Testament, provide a gushing spring of endurance and encouragement. Endurance in the lives of those we read about and encouragement in God’s care for his people.

It’s popular today to discount the teachings of the Old Testament as too ancient or out of touch for our modern era. But Paul pushes an opposite agenda. We need those scriptures.

Everything that was written in the past—enduring wisdom from the hand of God—exists for our benefit. To help encourage us in the faith and to build endurance to live the faith, and even to flourish in the midst of our challenging world.

These Scriptures endured thousands of years. We need them if we hope to enjoy and live out our faith a few dozen more.

Romans 15 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Karim MANJRA

Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.

But great wealth with turmoil makes for good TV.

I remember watching Dallas—great oil wealth with turmoil the size of Texas. Can you believe who shot JR?

My wife and I enjoy The Crown. Opulence and turmoil bookend the Queen of England’s seventy years on the throne.

Even Gilligan’s Island portrayed the shipwrecked troubles of the millionaire Thurston Howell III and his darling wife Lovey.

While I enjoying watching the turmoil of the wealthy, I’m glad I don’t live it. Contentment coupled with the fear of the Lord might not get me on Dr. Phil, but it makes for a good life.

Proverbs 15:16 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Much is written today about the passing along of wealth from one generation to the next, about assets accumulated by baby boomers and how they might pour into the next generation. But what if something better than wealth passes from the older to the younger?

Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

To respect and follow the Lord creates a place of security, a shelter of the Lord’s making. This apparently passes to our children.

Of course, not every child embraces the faith, and others meander away for a time. But to stick with the Lord, to maintain a life-long walk, creates a haven for our families. No timeline appears—this place of refuge exists to the end of our days.

And then, by the grace of God, it’s repeated in the next generation.

I hope when I’m gone, years from now, I leave my children at least a little bit of wealth. I certainly don’t want to burden them. But more importantly, the scriptures underscore the value of leaving a life of faith for those under our care.

Proverbs 14:26 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Anne Nygård