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Something new to me this time, is the relationship between Paul and the Thessalonians. Previously, the focus of 1 Th is mostly the part on thanksgiving. But reading the book from beginning to end helped me better experience the deep love Paul has for the Thessalonians and the joy he experiences knowing they have been keeping their faith amidst persecution (2:14-16;3:6-8). This reminds me of how our relationship with one another is a source of encouragement amidst life, and also a source of exhortation (5:13).

-Char

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Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3:2

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 3:12-14

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. 4:6

Studying abroad has its ups and downs. :) Living in a dorm where drinking and partying seem to be quite of a social norm, I annoyed very easily by people’s behavior and choices, especially when it is disrupting my routine. Instead of meeting them with coldness or annoyance, I want to be loving but not affirming nor joining in, remaining firm in my Christian principles.

The verses above point towards some concrete commitments I want to have, being filled up by God through His word and prayers daily, I want to have the strength and patience to love and be a living testimony to the people here. Being loving in my speech and reflect daily on how I can better love and remain “rooted and built up in him… and overflowing with thankfulness” and put it to action!

-Char

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Galatians is filled with practical and important lessons Paul called the Galatians to. I think one lesson that struck me in Galatians is how salvation is by God’s grace, not human origin, achieved by no works of our own. And that God has given us the Spirit, not to surveil us but to help us fight our fleshly desires are live out God’s vision for us.
- Char
——
And here are my by chapter reflections! :)

Galatians 2-3
We are one unified body in christ, saved by God’s grace. what God looks for is our genuine trust in him, a relationship in which we are free from anxieties, one that we do not have to worry about our salvation.

Galatians 4-5
We as believers have the Holy Spirit in us and to fight our fleshy desires, we are to “walk by the Spirit”. I want to train up my muscle of pausing and listening to the Spirit and I believe through reading God’s word and prayer and journaling, my sensitivity to the Spirit in me will be more acute.

Galatians 6
Sowing a life to the spirit is not a life lived in vain but one where we can live out God’s true design of us, living out the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5), and one which will be rewarded eternally.

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One thing I got to reflect a lot through 2 Corinthians is the heart of Paul behind all his letters, and how he is not fixated on the validation of men but of God. His heart for the Corinthians are one to micmic as he focuses on building up the people and church in Corinth and to please God, laboring for His kingdom.

“For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.” - 2 Corinthians‬ ‭2:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul, out of love for the corinthians, explained and reasoned with them which reminds me to appreciate the heart behind all feedback and criticisms too.

"For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause." 2 Corinthians 5:13

Chapter 5, especially v.11-13, is pushing me to consider our utmost important goal is to please God, which includes exhorting one another. We might look like fools in the process of doing so, but it is for God and not men, and we are in no need of upholding an image for ourselves.

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." 2 Corinthians 7:10

It is encouraging to see how the corinthians responded to Paul’s appeal - and godly grief is difficult but it is needed and strengthening as we grow from our mistakes and better honor God. And “we are the temple of the living God”, set apart and called to be holy. :)

“15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?” … 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.“  - 2 Corinthians 12

This is one of my favorite chapters in this book. Paul is pouring out for the Corinthians not to be validated by them but to build them up for their own good and for God’s kingdom.

- Char

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I found this chapter really challenging as it deals a lot with what the practical implications the gospel has on how we live our lives, specifically how we should try to walk in a manner worthy of our calling and put off our old self and put on the new self. As Apostle Paul talks about specific things that Christians should do in this chapter, I realized how far I fall short of them, and here are just a few things that I really want to remember and try to live out from this chapter:
- Living in humility, gentleness, patience, love, and unity
- Speaking the truth in love
- Building up the church and using unique gifts out of love and desire for unity
- Not holding onto anger or acting rashly because of it
- Not speaking "corrupting talk" but only what is "good for building up"
- "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
One thing that I find really powerful is how everything that we're called to do as Christians is so intimately connected with what we've experienced through the cross. Thankful that God doesn't ask us to do the really challenging work of loving and forgiving based on our strength, but it's always connected to how we've experienced that from Christ and are filled with His power.
- Joy

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I'm really thankful for the reminder in this chapter to think about our past selves and "remember that you were at that time separated from Christ" (v.12) because it makes me more in awe of the gospel when I think about what my life would look like without it. Really thankful that everything is solely from God: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us..." and that He took the first step to intimate mending our broken relationship with God. I hope that as I've been Christian longer I won't lose sight of how amazing the simple gospel is and will always remember: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (v.8-9). Really thankful that my relationship with God isn't dependent on how much I do but only because of His grace and I hope that as we enter the business of fall quarter I'll be able to serve God out of a humble and glad heart rather than feeling like I'm somehow better if I serve more or feeling the burden/pressure to serve to prove my faith. Also thankful that even though a lot of things feel uncertain with the future/career, verse 10 talks about how God has created us for good works that He's already prepared and that I don't need to find meaning/security through career but have a higher calling to share God's love and the gospel with others. Pray that this would be the good works that I try to spend my time doing rather than what the world tells me I should prioritize.
- Joy

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One thing that I really want to take away from this chapter is how I have so much to praise and thank God for. So often it is really easy to me to focus on everything that I don't have or everything that's going wrong in my life, so it's really challenging to hear Apostle Paul who endured more hardships and sufferings that I could possibly imagine say that God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). Hope that I can remember how blessed and rich my life is not because of my accomplishments or circumstances but because of my relationship with God. Specifically, after reading Apostle Paul's account of the gospel, I want to really give thanks for the cross and my salvation. Because of the cross, I can be fully adopted as God's daughter, receiving redemption and forgiveness all because of God's grace and love for me and enjoying this personal relationship with God and being able to know His will for my life.
- Joy

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- 2 Cor. 5:21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
- 2 Cor. 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."
Really thankful for the reminder of what immense sacrifices Jesus made on the cross for us. I think Paul was able to be so faithful and steadfast in his ministry because he was continuously emphasizing that he wasn't acting on his own strength and didn't have anything to boast of but that it was all because of what Jesus did. Similarly, whenever Paul is exhorting the Corinthian church to do something, the command doesn't just go from Paul to the church, but he emphasizes how Jesus already did this for them on the cross. I think it's really comforting that, whenever we are asked to make any kind of sacrifice for the gospel, we are never being asked to make that first move with no assurance but Jesus has already given everything up for us so we can rest secure in that and do it out of a desire to imitate Him. Additionally, when we keep in mind the tremendous gift of salvation, it also makes it easier to trust God with all minor worries and believe that we will indeed have "all sufficiency in all things at all times" (2 Cor. 9:8). I pray that I can keep these truths in mind daily and be able to become a cheerful giver and live more for God's Kingdom without being bogged down by anxiety or the desire to have worldly security.
- Joy

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"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too."
I think this verse explains how Paul is able to face so many misunderstandings, trials, and persecutions -- it's because his comfort doesn't waver depending on his physical situation but remains constant because of who God is: "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort." From doing DT on Acts, it's really clear that suffering is an essential part of Christian life, and Paul clearly internalized this truth and wasn't surprised by anything he faced. One thing I found really interesting is how normally I'd think of suffering and comfy as polar opposites, but, in the context of Christian life, these two things often coexist: even though Paul is always suffering in some way, he is also always comforted by the assurance that he is doing this for God, that he is doing the good work of saving souls, and that he gets to be a little bit more like Christ through suffering for the gospel. I pray that, like Paul, I would also be able to derive comfort and peace not from my ever-changing situations but from eternal truths about who God is. It's also a good reminder that the reason we can comfort people in any affliction isn't based on our own emotional strength or wisdom but because we receive daily comfort from God. Because we have already received the greatest comfort and love from God, we can be a source of comfort to others without the same thinking in utilitarian terms or worrying that we'll receive the short end of the stick.
- Joy

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"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."
I think it's really helpful how Paul makes a point to distinguish between godly and worldly grief because I tend to just instinctively associate grief with a negative feeling that should be avoided at all costs. However, it's clear that if grief leads us to repent and to new earnestness and eagerness, then it is ultimately for our own good. It's interesting how when we go to someone to apologize and grieve over our wrongs, there's always an aspect of feeling humiliated and a little miserable. But when come before God to repent, it's a refreshing experience that takes a big load off our shoulders (as David talks about in Psalm 32). And I think that's because the cross offers proof that God is not interested in keeping a record of our wrongs and holding it against us but wants to freely forgive us, so we don't have to feel uneasy coming before Him as He knows our true condition but just wants us to be honest about it. Additionally, when we experience godly grief, it's not because we want to make a name for ourselves/appear more awesome, but because of the desire to "no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor. 5:15). Thankful that we don't repent out of fear/need to earn salvation but out of genuine desire to live for God and acknowledge His authority. Because we are banded together by this truth, I also hope that it will make me more willing to receive and give truths, knowing that godly grief is crucial and really beneficial individually and for the church community.
- Joy

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"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

I love how directly Paul writes. There's no second-guessing what he means here. This verse is a good reminder to me that everything I have in my life has ultimately been given me solely by the grace of God, beyond my deserving. When I remember that, not only can I not boast, as if I earned any of this on my own, but it also reframes the idea of lordship. How can I not surrender everything to God if it was never mine to begin with?

Iva

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I think one theme that struck me is the wisdom of God, and how we receive it through the spirit of God, which dwells in us and enables us to understand God’s word(2:12). By the world’s measure of ~wisdom~, we are fools when we try living a life aligned with God’s will.

“For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’” (3:19)

However,

“The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.” (2:15)

This verse baffled me at first but it struck me (after reading a commentary) how it highlights the fact that we are judged by God, not men who do not have the spirit of God in them.

-Char

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- 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"...Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
After going through Acts for DT, it's all the more admirable that Paul can continue to be so assured in the power of the gospel and trust that his labor is not in vain after experiencing so many trials, persecutions, and disappointments on his missionary journeys. Really thankful for Paul's powerful reminder that Jesus has already won the decisive victory over death and sin, the most important and consequential battle of our lives. I hope that this reminder can lead me to be less anxious about pursuing after worldly things and instead focus on labouring for God, which is not dependent on how successful, personable, or awesome we look to others because God values our hearts and not the results.
- Joy

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- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."
Really love this verse because it offers such a beautiful picture of what love is and how important love is. I found it really awesome how Paul values love so greatly -- that it's greater than all other really epic-seeming spiritual gifts that are actually incomplete and imperfect. Reading the different qualities also made me realize how much I fall short of loving people each day and how I want to be better at trying to live out these different aspects of being a loving person. So thankful that God is love and all of these adjectives can be used to describe who God is. Also thankful that because God first loved us, in my journey to be more loving I don't have to be fuelled by my own strength and good will for people but from the knowledge and ability to abide in God's love.
- Joy

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- 1 Corinthians 8:1 "This "'knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up."
- 1 Corinthians 8:11-13 "And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble."
- 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour."
Reading through these chapters, something that really stuck with me was the idea of building up others in the church out of love for them and recognition of Christ's immense sacrifice for us. I think it can be really easy for me to want to definitively say whether something is right or wrong and then to always act on that (which is important in some cases), so I think I learned a lot from Paul's advice about food offered to idols. In the context of the church family, the most important thing isn't being in the right and having the knowledge and justification, but thinking about how our actions could affect others. This is something I really want to grow in, as my first thought is often do I have the right to do something. But through Paul's personal example of giving up his rights to getting paid and his exhortation to prioritize the good of our neighbour over our personal preferences, it's really clear that I need to be more considerate about how my actions might affect others and not just whether I can justify them or whether they're stumbling to me personally.
- Joy

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- 1 Corinthians 1:17 "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."
- 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to world standards...And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Similar to Iva, I can sometimes feel the pressure to be really eloquent and to have a lot of biblical knowledge when I'm thinking about sharing the gospel with people, so I really appreciated this reminder from Paul that all we need to do is to preach the gospel, and God will take care of the rest (in ch. 3, Paul talks about how God is the grower). I hope that I can cling onto this in different potentially stressful situations where I feel inadequate and insecure and that I'll be able to grow in trust in the power of the gospel, trusting that because it is true and powerful people will respond to it without the need for me to be perfectly eloquent and persuasive. Also thankful for the reminder that our only boast should be in God. It can be tempting to grow proud of different accomplishments and milestones in Christian journey, but I think Paul makes it really clear throughout the book that no matter how many people we convert or what spiritual gifts we have, we are all God's servants equally and have no reason to be proud of anything we do. Thankful for the reminder from 1 Corinthians 12 that even when it seems like there's a hierarchy / different levels of importance because of what we've learned from how the way the world operates and rewards people, all gifts and activities are equally empowered by God and equally important to the function of the church.
- Joy

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"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Romans 1:18
"so that no human being might boastin the presence of God."
Romans 1:29

This chapter reminded me of the power of the gospel and how God saves and transforms lives by it. It is the word of God, the power of God that saves and not any quality of ours. It humbles me to know that no matter how many years down the line, when I try share the gospel, it is by no means me, but all God that is working. Studying the Bible allows me to better tap into this wealth of power and mercy.
-Char

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"No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20-21

As I was reading this I was thinking about how easy it is to get discouraged by this world. It's easy to be influenced by its noises and its false prophecies, but this verse is a reminder of how strong God's promise to us is. As we pour into our faith, God pours back into us and what an empowering thing that is. :)

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"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power"

This is a good reminder that while yes, we should be prepared to share the gospel to the best of our ability, and we should seek to become equipped to better answer questions about Jesus, but that ultimately the one who does the saving is God himself. It is better for us to go rather than to wait to be good enough or equipped enough. As long as Christ is preached, to the greatest extent that we can, God will take care of the rest.

Iva

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17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. - Romans 11:17-20

A core message I reflected on as I read Romans 10-11 was how it is God’s mercy that led to our salvation and sustained our faith and not by any means of our own; it should lead us to reverence towards God and not pride. (11:17-20; 10:3-4)  And not to abandon nor look down upon our brothers and sisters who may have fallen off faith, or have not heard of the gospel, “for God has the power to graft them in again” (11:23). Instead, dedicate ourselves to growing our faith, knowing that righteousness comes from faith not works, growing our hearts for these brothers and sisters, and spreading the gospel to them (10:14). - Char

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"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance."

When we serve God through ministry and obeying his word, it shouldn't come from a place of fear or pressure. I really like how JD Grear writes about this in Gospel, but this is a really good point about the heart of obeying God. It's like a warning light-- when I get to a point where I feel like I'm just going through the motions of reading my Bible or trying to obey God because I should, I need to go back to the gospel and recall all that He's done for me in my life. That way, I'm not obeying from a heart of "should" but from a heart of worship.

Iva

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“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:5-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Chapter 8 reminded me the importance of being careful with what I feed my mind with and mindful of the thoughts/voices I entertain. Instead of living or setting my mind according to the flesh, I am encouraged to redirect my thoughts to align with God’s truth. And it is not something I do just because, but as verse 6 puts it, it will lead me to "life and peace". I think this is one of the many practical aspects to Christian life where we live out to the message of "dead to sin, alive in God" that Paul discussed in Romans 6. -Char :)

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“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:12-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We are called to holiness, as our sins died on the cross with Jesus, and we are born again, alive just as Jesus resurrected and prevailed over death. The motivation and strength to live a God-honoring life do not come from a list of expectations and laws, but from knowing that we cannot live up to God’s holiness in our own strength but that we have been set free from the power and hold sin has over us by God’s grace. And we are meant for a life better than one that is controlled by sin and fleshly desires. - Char :)

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- Romans 8:31-32 "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
- Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us..."
I was especially blessed by the second half of Romans 8 which offered a really powerful reminder of God's everlasting love for us. Even though at a theoretical level I know that God is good and for me, it can oftentimes be really hard to feel that on a daily basis as I feel anxious, fearful, and insecure about different parts of myself and also the future. Thankful for the reminder that we can look toward the cross as the ultimate reminder that God will abundantly bless us according to His will. Also, I find it really incredible how, out of God's mercy and love, we can become conquerors through Jesus and have everything He did counted toward us. I pray that I'll never forget that I'm only able to be born again as God's child because of what He did and never based on my works.
- Joy

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2:1-15 "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them."

It's pretty incredible that God has given us a conscience that seeks objective truth and  morality. That even those who have never read scripture or heard a sermon have some innate sense that there must be some sort of a Creator is really cool, and something to draw from when doing ministry with people who have little spiritual background.

Iva

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- Romans 3:23-26 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..." -- I really appreciated the fresh reminder of how amazing and awesome the gospel is. Really thankful that, even though we were dead in our sins, we become justified as a result of Jesus's blood and have our sins passed over. I think it can be easy for me to lose sight of how amazing the gospel is by trying to become more righteous on my own or focus on trying to do more for God, but Paul makes it really clear that we it's only possible through God's grace and faith in Him.
- Romans 4:3 "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." -- Even though Abraham is represented as such an awesome figure in the Bible, it's really incredible that none of it is because of his works but all because of his belief and faith in God. My first reaction was this is a lot easier than having to do a lot of works, but on a second thought I realized how hard it is to believe against hope and not waver in faith when one's situations seem so despairing. But Abraham trusted in God's promises every step of the way (Hebrews 11); hoping that I can become more like Abraham by not letting my faith in God's promises be affected  by circumstances and instead acknowledging that He is in control at all times.
- Joy

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- Romans 1:1 "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God" -- I was really challenged by how Paul defines himself first and foremost as a servant and an apostle and identifies his life mission as being set apart to share the good news. Oftentimes, I tend to focus on all the other things that the world says define our worth and lose sight of this greater mission. Paul also offers an example of someone who is set apart in his desire to serve God and follow biblical values but nonetheless deeply engaged with all kinds of people so that he can be a minister to all.
- Romans 1:18-32 In the latter part of the first chapter, Paul makes it really clear that humanity's debauchery and unrighteousness is the natural consequence of the failure to acknowledge God and serving creature rather than Creator. I think this offers a really good response to the presence of different forms of evil if God is good -- it's ultimately because of the result of human's free choice. Also the reminder that we all naturally want to worship smth. bigger than ourselves and the importance of not abandoning God for different idols.
- Joy

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"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God" with Acts 13:2, "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'".

Paul remembers the exact mission that God gave him + makes it part of his identity, not just something he does. SO too with us!

Iva

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"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"

I'd love to delve deeper into the idea in the latter half of the verse.

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1:18 -- God isn't innately wrathful; this wrath exhibits itself as a response to human sinfulness
1:32 -- I feel like this verse implies that we either consciously or subconsciously are aware of whenever we sin. Also, giving approval/encouraging others to sin is also a sin. Commentary put it in an interesting way: ppl encourage sin "probably because having others join in their sin makes them feel better about the evil course they have chosen."
-Grace