Plainfield Ponderings - Scripture Meditations

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder the battle against temptation. We all are battling it, although some of us may not be engaging the fight like we ought. Daniel, on the other hand, was full of resolve in his fight against it...even though he was in a position of such easy compromise! What was he thinking and how can we think like him? To God be the glory? Please email me any comments or questi...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder our wealth and comfortability seriously. Are these legitimately helping us spiritually? The way we pursue them, you would think so. James makes a startling comparison - the exaltation of poor Christians vs the humiliation of the worldly rich. Given their historical situation, why this comparison? How can this help prioritize our wealth correctly? To God be the...

Send Allen a text - Ponder with me the spiritual benefit that can come from trials. James 1 says they can create steadfastness, but Jesus mentioned people falling away in the midst of their faith being tested (Luke 8:14). So, which is it? It's up to us, and whether we have the wisdom to think through this correctly. And if we lack this wisdom, we need prayer...otherwise trials have the opport...

Send Allen a text - Please ponder a new series about Blue Collar Christianity with me. It's all about the book of James. In this lesson we introduce the book by emphasizing how it is different from most other N.T. Scripture. It is tremendously applicable and down to earth...or is it? I tease with that question because this 'down to earth' book has nothing to do with the wisdom of th...

Send Allen a text - Ponder with me about how we can investigate to excel in building the church up. Paul says to do this in I Corinthians 14:12. Most translations say "seek" or "strive", but the original Greek term can mean "investigate". In other words, Paul wants us to really give careful, thoughtful consideration about how to build up the church. If singing is one...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder how we can show the world what God is like. It's not easy but it is powerful - forgiving others. We all know how serious God is about forgiving others. There were few things Jesus spoke so seriously about. Perhaps God knew just how much spiritual influence we could wield through it. This is a sermon I did in a church in Fort Wayne, IN as a part of a serie...

Send Allen a text - I start off this pondering with this question - what character of the O.T. believe in resurrection before there were any resurrections? And what was going through his mind to cause him to trust such a thing? This lesson has more application to our lives than you might think. To God be the glory! Please email me any comments or questions at grrreeley@gmail.com

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder Christ's resurrection in the Old Testament. This will be our last lesson in our series on seeing Christ in the Old Testament. There's no better place to land than on the most important event in human history. Christ's resurrection did not just show Jesus for who He truly is...it shows us what our hope looks like! Where is this found in the Hebre...

Send Allen a text - Ponder the healing of the hemorrhaging woman with me. This episode is a bit of a follow up from the last. We saw in the previous episode that under the Old Law, uncleanness could spread but cleanness/holiness could NOT (Haggai 2). However, Christ reverses that. Let's think through some of the miracles where He heals people unclean under the Old Law and what the implication...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder a weird sermon in Haggai. The prophet asks two hypothetical questions to the Jews about how holiness and cleanliness get passed on. The returned exiles had stopped work on the Temple partly because they thought just being around the animal sacrifices of the altar would make them holy. Haggai challenges that and even goes one step further...think through this w...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder how the Scripture never hides the flaws of its most faithful characters. Their sins are staring us in the face...and not just their sins but the darker emotional side too that sometimes doesn't involve sin. In short, the Scripture wants us to see their humanity for what it is. Such is the case in James when he humanizes Elijah and turns it into an encoura...

Send Allen a text - Ponder the crucifixion with me, from the poetry of the Old Testament. There are some prophecies that are a little hidden and obscure...while others are so obvious they work more like a portrait. They paint a vivid scene of Jesus' life. Such is the case in Psalm 22. Let's ponder and be amazed at what He did for us! To God be the glory! Please email me any comments or q...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder how to help one another thrive, through prayer and living a productive life! Paul touches on both of these in II Thessalonians 3. Paul asks Christians to pray for him in other letters but there is a little more background to this request, one that we can find in Acts. What does this teach us about how we should see the solutions to our problems? Then, he trans...

Send Allen a text - Ponder the fallout of Mt. Carmel with me. It was a tremendous outward, visible victory for God! How could discouragement be the fallout? What was Elijah thinking that caused him to want to quit? Discouragement is so dangerous, and more people are dealing with it than we can appreciate. Perhaps you are? I know I fight it regularly. To God be the glory! Please email me any commen...

Send Allen a text - Happy Father's Day! Let's ponder fatherhood together. The generational impact of fatherhood is frightening. We can make a difference! When God wanted to make a difference, he selected Dad's. Let's think through a couple of passages together that we normally don't associate with fatherhood, but the powerful message is right in front of us. To God be the...

Send Allen a text - Let's hear the word of God together as it was written in the first century, as a letter to the church. When the church read these, they were reading it in one sitting, and that's how the author intended it to be read. This is a reading of II Thessalonians, with a short note at the beginning about why I do this. To God be the glory! Please email me any comments or ques...

Send Allen a text - Ponder two cases of anger with me - Cain and Jonah. As similar as the wording is in the stories, there are some differences. Let's think about what God is wanting them to consider in their anger, while contrasting it with mankind's approach. To God be the glory! Please email me any comments or questions at grrreeley@gmail.com

Send Allen a text - Ponder Judas' betrayal of Christ with me. He was a dear friend of Jesus. The Scripture calls him that on multiple occasions. There are Old Testament Psalms that speak to this betrayal. Let's look at those, through the lens of Jesus' life and let ourselves sit in the tragedy of it all. Hopefully it will build your faith in Jesus to see the details come alive in th...

Send Allen a text - This pondering comes from my nephew, Josiah Greeley. I have a short introduction about him and his lesson at the very beginning of this episode. He taught this lesson back in Phoenix, AZ and it makes you think! And since thinking is what this podcast is all about, I thought it would be great to share with you. When was the first time God revealed His name to humanity and what s...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder another aspect of the Lord's Supper. We don't often think about the covenant aspect of it. However, it is not a mistake that every time Scripture mentions the institution of the Lord's Supper, it mentions "covenant". What story in the Old Testament does this bring our minds back to, and what is the significance of it? To God be the glo...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder impartiality together and just how important it has been in God's mind for so long. The Lord has been stressing the importance of equity and impartiality since the beginnings of Scripture, and how it would help their society thrive. It will do the same for our churches! James connects this issue to faith in Jesus and loving our neighbor - heavy stuff! To...

Send Allen a text - Let's ponder the Lord's Supper again, but let's do it through the lens of the Passover. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit wants us to do exactly that. In the lead up to the institution of the Lord's Supper, Luke mentions "Passover" 6 times in 15 verses. The Scripture is begging us to view this memorial through the Israelite memorial. There's...

Send Allen a text - Happy Memorial day! No, not tomorrow, the U.S. holiday...Sunday! The Lord's Day is the greatest of memorial days, on which the greatest memorial is celebrated - the Lord's Supper. Let's think through the mechanics of the Lord's Supper - what, why and when. This may be basic information to some, but I don't want to take anything for granted to some of ou...

Send Allen a text - Ponder with me about servant leadership. The teachings of Jesus about leadership and greatness are quite clear, but if we look to the O.T. prophecies - we see this conundrum is much older. How can the Leader of the universe be considered humble, gentle, tender and willing to suffer for others? The ancient Rabbi's battled with this question...as did the apostles. We do too....

Send Allen a text - Ponder with me about what it means for the Messiah to have God's Spirit put on Him. It is a point of prophecy and certainly the Spirit descending on Him after His baptism is when it happened...but what effect would this have on Christ's life? How would this be evidenced in the life of Jesus? Might surprise you! Let's look at the Old Testament to find out. To God...