Plainfield Ponderings - Scripture Meditations
Hello! I'm Allen Greeley and I love thinking and meditating on Scripture. Another word for it, which we don't use very often, is pondering. When the mother of Jesus heard the shepherds retell the vision of the angels celebratory singing; the Scripture says, "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). That alone is my goal with this podcast. I want us to treasure in our hearts what we hear from God and ponder it. It would be an honor to have you listen in and ponder with me. To God be the glory!
Episodes
Ponder another aspect of heavenly wisdom - being open to reason. This Greek term in James 3:17 is a super deep word! It's translated differently in almost every English translation. How does this wisdom show up in our everyday lives? We'll go to two examples in the O.T. to see it in action and then we'll apply it lastly in its original context - peace among believers. To God be the glory!
Please e...
Ponder what wisdom from above is all about. Heavenly wisdom shows itself in many ways, but one vital one that James brings to our attention is in peaceable relationships. What do our relationships in the church have to do with wisdom? Ponder it with me. To God be the glory!
Please email me any comments or questions at grrreeley@gmail.com
Let's ponder the raging debate within our society about free speech and hate speech. One of the results from Charlie Kirk's assassination has been this ongoing debate. Both sides of the political isle are saying that the rhetoric needs to calm down. We need to stop the hate-speech. But how? Is it just a matter of reigning in words or does the issue of speech involve something deeper? Please listen in a...
Ponder with me about how James can say that we are justified by works and not by faith alone (2:24). Ironically, that is the only time in the original language of the N.T. where the phrase "faith alone" is found. This sounds very contradictory to what many are teaching today. Also, it sounds like a contradiction to what Paul says in Romans 3:28. How do these all go together? And more importantly - what...
This episode is a branch off of the last one. James 1 spoke about the prep work we need to do with our hearts, to help us listen to God better. In a context about listening to God, James said, "be slow to speak". This is the topic of a part of Habakkuk's prophecy. He'll speak about being silent before God, but why is that? Join me in this short devotional to find out...to God be the glory!
Pl...
Ponder with me about one of the key themes to religion in general - listening. It all begins with listening to God! It's how faith comes. James speaks about how to prep the heart to listen faithfully though. Listening to God with humility and openness does not happen naturally. We have to train ourselves to do this, which we call "prep work" in this episode. What is that prepping all about? Join u...
Let's ponder much of the book of Jude together. Jude has much to say about false teachers, and it is very harsh. How can we keep our congregations pure from false teachers? Furthermore, how can we best deal with Christians who may have suffered harm from these messes in the church? Discernment is key here. To God be the glory!
Please email me any comments or questions at grrreeley@gmail.com
Ponder with me some of the things Paul reminds the church about when encouraging them to stay faithful. Much of the New Testament letters are designed to help Christians stay true to Christ, and such is the case in Colossians 2. The things Paul reminds them of might come as a surprise, but let's think about them as the reason they were originally written - a reason to stay true to Christ. To God be the glor...
Ponder with me about what James means when he says that God does not tempt anyone (1:13). This is a statement about God's intentions, so we're going to dive into the mind of God a bit to think about HIs purposes. Also - what happens if my trials are not creating their desired effect? What if they are hurting more than helping? James will step on our toes a bit here. To God be the glory!
Please email me...
Let's ponder the rest of the story in Daniel 1. Last week we talked about resisting temptation and used Daniel as a case-study about what it means to be resolved against temptation. This week let's look at the results of his uncompromising faith while also thinking about the attitude he did it with. This balance between a strong stand and lovingly respecting others is so vital. To God be the glory!
Ple...
Ponder James as a whole with me. We're in a series about Blue-collar Christianity, which is a study of James. I want to throw this into the series to help us not lose sight of the entire book as a whole. It's a reading from James, start to finish, no interruptions. Without a doubt, it's how the early church listened to these letters...and with James, it might even be more helpful than other books....
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 questions at grrreeley@gmail.com
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 glory!
Please email me any comment...
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 opportunity to bully us. To God be the gl...
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 this world. Let's get started......
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 way we can do that, then let's...
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 series about taking time to be holy and ...
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
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 Hebrew Scriptures? To God be the glory!
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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 implications of that are. To God be the glory!...
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