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Reflecting on Psalm 37: Hope In Troubled Times

20 September, 202525 October, 2025Marissa

I had a different post topic in mind for this week, but I keep thinking about Charlie Kirk’s murder on September 10. I didn’t follow any of his work, and wasn’t even sure if his name sounded familiar when I saw the news of his assassination. But I immediately thought of how much other political violence I’ve been hearing about lately, and how much more prevalent it seems than ever before in my lifetime (“Charlie Kirk killing deepens America’s violent spiral,” Zachary Basu, Axios.com).

“With Charlie Kirk’s slaying, we’ve witnessed more high-profile assassinations or assassination attempts in the past 14 months — including two assassination attempts on President Trump, the killing of a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and an arson attack on the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) — than at any point since 1968, when the nation lost the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., then Robert F. Kennedy just two months later.”
“Behind the Curtain: Four ominous trends,” Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, Axios.com

It’s sobering to realize that my feeling that political violence (in my country at least) is the highest it’s ever been in my life is based on facts (King and Kennedy were killed more than 20 years before I was born). And while I do see people struggling to encourage unity and condemn political violence as a bi-partisan issue, it seems like many are becoming even more extremely polarized. It’s a frightening and uncertain time.

In the midst of all this, I happened to read Psalm 37 this past week. It’s one of David’s longer psalms, but I found it helpful to read through it slowly this week, and I want to quite it in it’s entirety for today’s post. This is a different format than we’ve done before, so quick word of explanation. If you’re on a computer, you’ll see Psalm 37 (WEB translation) in the column on the left and my commentary is in the column on the right. If you’re on mobile, you’ll see all of Psalm 37 first, then my comments underneath the psalm with numbers next to the comments to indicate which verse I’m reflecting on.

Psalm 37

¹Don’t fret because of evildoers,
    neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
    and wither like the green herb.
³Trust in Yahweh, and do good.
    Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴Also delight yourself in Yahweh,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
⁵Commit your way to Yahweh.
    Trust also in him, and he will do this:
⁶he will make your righteousness shine out like light,
    and your justice as the noon day sun.
⁷Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him.
    Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way,
    because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.
    Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹For evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
¹⁰For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more.
    Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there.
¹¹But the humble shall inherit the land,
    and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
¹²The wicked plots against the just,
    and gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³The Lord will laugh at him,
    for he sees that his day is coming.
¹⁴The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow,
    to cast down the poor and needy,
    to kill those who are upright on the path.
¹⁵Their sword shall enter into their own heart.
    Their bows shall be broken.
¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous has,
    than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
    but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
¹⁸Yahweh knows the days of the perfect.
    Their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil.
    In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked shall perish.
    The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields.
    They will vanish—
    vanish like smoke.
²¹The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back,
    but the righteous give generously.
²²For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land.
    Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
²³A man’s steps are established by Yahweh.
    He delights in his way.
²⁴Though he stumble, he shall not fall,
    for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
²⁵I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
    nor his children begging for bread.
²⁶All day long he deals graciously, and lends.
    His offspring is blessed.
²⁷Depart from evil, and do good.
    Live securely forever.
²⁸For Yahweh loves justice,
    and doesn’t forsake his saints.
    They are preserved forever,
    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land,
    and live in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom.
    His tongue speaks justice.
³¹The law of his God is in his heart.
    None of his steps shall slide.
³²The wicked watch the righteous,
    and seek to kill him.
³³Yahweh will not leave him in his hand,
    nor condemn him when he is judged.
³⁴Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
    When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,
    spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
³⁶But he passed away, and behold, he was not.
    Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
³⁷Mark the perfect man, and see the upright,
    for there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together.
    The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh.
    He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰Yahweh helps them and rescues them.
    He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they have taken refuge in him.

Commentary

1. Much easier to say “don’t fret” than to do it. I often find myself battling anxiety about things that might happen, which is the type of fretting I though of first. Here, though, David seems more focused on the temptation to envy those who seem like they’re “getting away with” unrighteousness.

4. This is one of my favorite verses. I prayed it for years before God granted my desire for a family of my own, and I always smile now when I read it, thinking of my husband and daughter.

5-6. There are so many verses in the Bible reminding us that our focus should be on trusting God and following Him. It’s so much simpler than we often make it.

7. Here is where the psalm starts to feel particularly relevant today. It feels almost impossible not to fret over those “who make wicked plots happen.”

8-11. A key set of verses for times like this, when it’s so easy to react with anger to things we see around us. We must remember that wrath leads to evildoing and evildoers, no matter how well-intentioned they think they are, will be stopped by God. We must wait humbly for God to act. See also Romans 12:14-21.

12-15. Further assurance from the Psalmist that no matter how much wickedness seems to run rampant, even to the point of killing upright people, we can be assured that the Lord will act to put an end to the evil that they do and repay their deeds.

17-19. “Yahweh upholds the righteous” is a recurring motif in the psalms and Isaiah. Here, we also start to get hints that David understand the cosmic timescale where God’s justice plays out: “their inheritance shall be forever.” Not all of God’s promised blessings on the righteous are fully realized in this life, but they will certainly come to pass.

20. Likewise, God’s justice on the wicked doesn’t always happen as quickly as we might like, but it will happen. He is victorious in the end, and what seems like delay to us is actually mercy (2 Pet. 3:9-10; 1 Tim. 2:1-4).

25. Here’s one of the spots that pops up frequently in the psalms where we see the writer’s personal experience rather than a general rule that applies to all time. This is what David has seen; it is not a promise that righteous people will never go hungry. Even earlier in this same psalm, David acknowledges that sometimes the wicked kill the righteous (v. 14). It is possible to hold both truths in our minds: that God is always faithful to His people, and that sometimes He allows bad things to happen.

28. The fact that “Yahweh loves justice” is very reassuring to me. The Hebrew word is mishpâṭ (H4941), and I’ve written about it before. The word encompasses all the functions of a proper government and reflects God’s desire and ability to set things right.

33-34. These are hard verses to reconcile when it does seem as if the wicked might be triumphing over the righteous. Once again, we must remember the timescale that God operates on. In the last days when the righteous are resurrected and stand before God in judgement, He will not condemn them. Those who wait on God and keep His way will be there to see Him bring justice to earth.

Image of people holding hands to pray, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "God's word offers hope even during times of violence, unrest, and political polarization" — Image by Claudine Chaussé from Lightstock

Often during times of great stress, we feel like we ought to do something. That is true, but it’s not always the sort of thing we think. Two of the most powerful, and the most counterintuitive, things we can do is lament and pray. Lament is something I don’t think we talk about nearly enough in society today. It’s a Biblical model for talking to God about anguish, pain, grief, and confusion. All too often, we get angry or afraid when we ought to be sighing and crying (see Ezk. 9:4). We want to lash out or take action externally when the Biblical answer is to start with lament and prayer. That doesn’t mean we won’t say anything to take any action, but what we do and say must spring from godly motives rather than human impulses if we want to walk uprightly. I want to close with two more verses that I think are important to keep in mind right now, no matter which side of the intellectual/political divide you lean towards.

First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people,even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 2:1-4, NET

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48, NET

Song Recommendation: “Fear Is Easy, Love Is Hard” by Jason Gray

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Revising My Gut Reaction to Incorrect Statements

6 September, 20255 September, 2025Marissa

I’ve noticed that I have a tendency toward a corrective bent in my teachings and studies, even in articles that don’t come across as correcting the reader. If I hear something that I think is Biblically wrong, particularly in a church setting, I want to then pick it apart, present a counter argument, and fix the mistake. A lot of my blog posts grew out of this tendency. My extensively researched post on agape started as irritation at someone in a sermon quoting an (inaccurate) AI-generated historical definition rather than doing actual research. My most recent post on women’s roles in the church was sparked by a social media post. And those are just two examples.

While this desire to correct mistakes has prompted some good studies, I’m starting to think that it’s not always a good tendency. I catch myself looking for mistakes, then getting upset about them and wanting to correct them. Did you notice that speaker only quoted half the verse, presumably because the second half would have undermined his point? Or that this speaker doesn’t understand the nuances of Greek or Hebrew grammar? Or that the person over there didn’t take the culture in 1st century Rome into account with his interpretation? I need to tell everyone that they’re wrong!

But do I really? And, perhaps a more important question, what makes me think I know everything or that I’m always the one who’s right in these situations? My knowledge is actually very limited. I don’t know why he quoted half the verse, I’m not fluent in ancient Greek or Hebrew either (though I do know how to use research materials to make up for part of that deficiency), and just because I’m obsessed with historical New Testament context doesn’t mean everyone has the time to read books about it.

The last time I heard something from a church speaker that seemed wrong to me, I reminded myself of Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” That might have helped me remember that he could be wrong because he didn’t check the context rather than because he was trying to undermine Biblical truth, but it’s still not a truly charitable assumption. A far better option is to approach people–either in-person or in our minds–with an assumption of positive intent. I wrote about this a couple of years ago in my post “The Necessity of Godly Conflict Resolution and Forgiveness.”

Image of two women with a Bible open on a table overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "I often catch myself looking for errors to correct, but a far better option is to approach people with an assumption of positive intent." — Image by Ryan Klintworth from Lightstock

I know from my English studies, particularly learning how to peer review other people’s writings, that approaching someone else with the attitude “I can fix you/your writing” is completely unhelpful. To be helpful, criticism must be constructive and you should spend just as much time (if not more) pointing out what works as you do correcting what doesn’t work. Maybe the same thing is true when interacting with other Christians, including the people who we think “should know better” already.

Christians are explicitly called to love one another the same way that Christ has loved us and to maintain peace within the body of believers. That doesn’t mean there’s never a time and place for setting things right (Jesus corrected plenty of people), but it does mean that our first impulse should be to extend grace rather than express irritation. And maybe when we ask, “What did they get right?” before asking “What did they get wrong?” we might even find that our initial impulse that they’re wrong was (at least partly) in error. At the very least, we can revise our knee-jerk reaction to be one of grace that assumes positive intent rather than one of criticism that seeks errors.

For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins.Show hospitality to one another without complaining. Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:7-11, NET (bold italics mark a quote from Prov 10:12).

Featured image by Inbetween from Lightstock

We’re In God’s Hands, and That’s a Good Place To Be

23 August, 202522 August, 2025Marissa

One of the phrases that I’ve been praying a lot over the past year since my baby was born is, “We’re in your hands, Lord, and that’s a good place to be.” It’s not a phrase that’s found in scripture, but the idea is Biblical. I’ve found that it serves as a good reminder to help me find calm amid anxieties and refocus on God’s goodness, faithfulness, and promises.

Today’s post is going to be quite a bit different than usual. As I was praying about this topic earlier in the week and planning how to write about it, I started writing song lyrics instead of an article. I haven’t tried songwriting since high school, and I rarely write poetry, so it caught me off-guard. A while ago, I’d prayed that God would help me write songs (the reason why is a long story we don’t need to get into now), but I’d assumed the answer was “no.” Apparently, though, it was, “not yet” and suddenly I have one completed hymn and two others drafted.

I’m not a musician (though I do have some musical training, I focused mainly on voice), and I didn’t write the tunes for these pieces. The one I’m sharing today is set to the traditional Irish tune “Slane,” which you might know as “Be Thou My Vision.” I love these old traditional melodies, and since they’re in the public domain I can freely use them and add my own lyrics.

Hold Me In Your Hands

Hold me in your hands as long as I live;
Nothing else matches the comfort you give.
With you, Lord, beside me my eyes finally see
Dwelling with you is the best place to be.

When I am sinking in life’s stormy waves,
You stretch your hand out and surely do save.
You say “Have no fear” and slowly I learn
We can rest easy where you are concerned.

God of all comfort you still hold us all.
When we’re in your hands then we’ll never fall.
Uphold your people with your righteous hand,
In your great power we surely will stand.
Lyrics by Marissa Martin. Set to the traditional Irish tune “Slane” (“Be Thou My Vision”)

Here’s a really good piano version of “Be Thou My Vision.” The pianist plays four verses and I only have three, but you can see what the music sounds like and maybe sing along with my lyrics. I’m releasing my lyrics under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA) and the music is already public domain, so if you want to use them for something you don’t have to worry about copyright restrictions. The sheet music is at the end of this post.

Scripture References

I reference quite a few scriptural phrases in my song, but there were three verses in particular that I was thinking about as I wrote these lyrics:

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10, NET

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:30-31, NET

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NET

One of the many reasons that I love music is because it makes things easier to remember. I want my daughter to learn phonics, so we listen to “Sing the Alphabet.” I want to strengthen my French speaking and listening skills, so I listen to French music. And when I want to memorize scripture and/or scriptural truths, it’s a whole lot easier for me to do that when it’s set to music.

Featured image by Ben White from Lightstock

Hold Me In Your Hands Download

Confidence in Salvation

9 August, 20258 August, 2025Marissa

Are you saved?

It’s a question associated with overly enthusiastic or exceptionally earnest evangelists, knocking on doors and chatting you up in coffee shops. But it’s also a question that haunts many Christians. Like many things, we often fall into two extremes related to this question. On the one hand, we have people who say, “Once saved, always saved, so it doesn’t matter what I do now.” On the other hand, we have people who are terrified that they’re not actually saved and spend their lives struggling to measure up to God’s perfect standard with no assurance that they’ll make it in the end.

A few weeks ago, our pastor gave a message about the three ways that the Bible talks about salvation: we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. He also mentioned an analogy that I’ve been mulling over for a couple weeks now. Like all analogies, it breaks down if you carry it too far, but I think it gives us a good starting point.

People who say they are already saved by Jesus are correct. But so are people who say that you can “lose” that salvation (though “reject” would be a much more accurate term). It’s like if a firefighter pulls you out of a burning building. Once you’re out of the fire, you’ve been saved. The salvation has already happened and it’s not going to be undone by the person who rescued you. But you can still run back into the burning building. It would be phenomenally stupid, but you have the free will to reject salvation. Knowing that can lead to anxiety for many people, but how worried should you actually be about this knowledge?

Image of a man walking in the woods while reading a Bible overlaid with text from 1 Thes. 5:8-9, NET version: "But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Image by HarveyMade from Lightstock

Be Confident

In my church, we spend quite a bit of time refuting the “once saved, always saved” heresy. No, you didn’t do anything to earn salvation–it’s a gift of God–but once you’re saved by grace, you owe God loyalty, faithfulness, and obedience. You can even choose to reject salvation, either verbally or by actions that deny your relationship with God (see, for example, 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Heb. 10:26-31). We are currently saved, but it is also an ongoing process of walking with God that He will finally accomplish at Jesus’s return.

It’s an important point to understand, but I think perhaps we should spend just as much time countering the mistake that is more pervasive in our church, namely, the fear that we’re not good enough for God and might not really be saved. I’ve known people paralyzed by anxiety and fear that they don’t measure up to God, that He won’t give them salvation, and that they won’t be good enough to be in the kingdom. While we should have a great deal of respect for God, He does not want the people He welcomed into a relationship with Him to cower in fear!

You’re not supposed to feel guilty that you needed God’s grace. You should realize that you’re guilty of sin and can only be saved by His grace, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up because you couldn’t earn salvation. You were never meant to earn it! Reading through all of Paul’s letter to the Romans (preferably in one setting) is a beautiful exploration of these facts. None of us can earn salvation, but God knows that and in His great mercy, He worked things out so we don’t need to; we just need to believe in Jesus and commit to following Him. None of our works earn God’s favor or pay Him back for His grace, but good works (and refusing to go back to living in sin) are the correct response to His work in us. Confidence that we’ve received salvation is a topic Paul kept coming back to again and again in his letters.

And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.
Titus 3:7-8, NET

This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access to God by way of Christ’s faithfulness.
Ephesians 3:11-12, NET

God wants us to be bold and confident in relation to our salvation. He accomplished it, and He wants us to realize that it’s something He will not revoke and no one else can revoke. Jesus pulled us out of the fire when we accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. He’s not going to throw us back in. At the same time, that moment of salvation starts a participatory process. We’re meant to be fully involved in the transformation that salvation starts in our lives.

Balancing Humility and Certainty

We can have great confidence and boldness in the fact that “God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:9, NET). He doesn’t set us up for failure. In fact, He wants us to succeed! He’s already proved how invested He is in saving us by Jesus literally dying in our place. We don’t need to worry that God thinks we’re not good enough (Jesus cared enough to die for us while we were yet sinners [Rom. 5:8]) or that He’ll give up on us partway through the salvation process (Phil. 1:6).

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. …

Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath.For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?
Romans 5:1-2, 9-10, NET

Image of three women holding hands, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "When we are confidently devoted to God, we have no reason to fear that He won't accomplish our salvation." — Image by Anggie from Lightstock

Here, Paul uses the term “reconciliation” for the salvation already accomplished–the restoration of relationship between us and God when Jesus’s sacrifice covered our sins–and “we will be saved” for the final salvation that we look forward to when Jesus returns and we become fully part of God’s family. We are assured without a doubt that Jesus accomplished salvation in our lives when we entered a covenant relationship with Him, and that God will finish the work that He started in us unless we choose to stop working with Him (Phil. 2:12-13; Heb. 2:1-3).

There is a delicate balance we must maintain between humility and confidence. We must confidently expect that God will deliver on His promises of eternal life while at the same time recognize that we could be disqualified from receiving those promises if we reject and abandon God. Even the apostle Paul didn’t dare say he’d already attained the resurrection during most of his life (1 Cor. 9:27; Phil 3:10-14); it was only right at the end of his life that he could say, “I have kept the faith” and will inherit the crown (2 Tim. 4:6-8). Self-righteous confidence is a danger we must be careful to avoid; our confidence should rest in God, not ourselves (Luke 18:9-14; Rom. 2:17-29). And when our confidence is placed firmly in God, then we have nothing to fear.

Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid? …
Though war should rise against me,
even then I will be confident. …

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage.
Yes, wait for Yahweh.
Psalm 27:1, 3, 13-14, WEB

Featured image by PhotoGranary from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Whom Shall I Fear [The God of Angel Armies]” by Chris Tomlin

The Depth and the Simplicity of Christ

26 July, 202525 July, 2025Marissa

One of the interesting, seemingly contradictory, things about Christianity is that it is both very simple and deeply complex. The basics of following God are easily grasped once He opens your mind to understand, and at the same time there’s so much depth to His truth that you’ll never exhaust the possibility for learning more.

At its most basic, God’s way is simple and it’s all contained in the Bible. We can read the scriptures and see that God created all things, He wants a relationship with people, and that under the Law governing the universe people deserve a death-penalty for sins, but that Jesus Christ died in our place so that we could live forever as part of God’s family. All we have to do is repent (turn away from) our sins (which we can recognize as sin by comparing our actions to God’s law), believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, and commit to following Him the rest of our lives.

Then, we have the rest of our lives to study the Bible, learn about the culture and languages it was written in, pray to and talk with God, and figure out just what’s involved in following Him for the rest of our lives. We get to experience the same feeling Paul did when He wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33, NET). As we dive deeper into those riches, though, we need to be careful we don’t get distracted from the foundations of our faith.

Remember The Foundations

I did a study 10 years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long!) on the concepts the author of Hebrews calls foundational: “repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:2-3, WEB). Those are core doctrines of Christianity. Repentance is what you’re supposed to do when you first enter a relationship with God, and involves turning away from your sins. Faith is key to the next step: actively believing (or faith-ing) in Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice. Baptism is when we commit to God in covenant, and there’s an ongoing aspect as well. Laying on of hands is linked with setting us apart for God (along with a few other things). Understanding the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement aligns our perspective for the future with God’s plan.

We need to be careful not to forget the simple foundations as we continue our Christian walk. Sure we want to learn more about what God expects of us when we’re in a relationship with Him and how to follow Him whole-heartedly, but that doesn’t mean we should forget that repentance, belief, and commitment are the core things (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 16:31; 19:4; Romans 10:9). Following God isn’t hard (Matt. 11:30). It can be challenging to stick with it, but figuring out what God wants or how to follow Him isn’t complicated.

Image of five Bibles open on a table overlaid with text from 2 Cor. 11:2-3, NET version: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” — Image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Appreciate The Depth

I am very thankful that God both keeps things simple and invites us to keep learning and growing. I would get so discouraged if God kept changing the requirements, expected perfection with no slips, or hid something that’s key to pleasing Him and earning the rewards He promised. At the same time, I’d get so bored if there wasn’t more to learn and discover in the Bible.

Ironically, the most famous verse talking about “simplicity in Christ” is one of the places that we can dig deeper and learn something that isn’t immediately apparent (at last in English translations). Let’s start by looking at the verse in two different translations.

But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Cor. 11:3, WEB (bold added)

But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3, NET (bold added)

Already, just looking at this verse in two different translations shows us there’s something more to learn. One says “simplicity that is in Christ” and one says “sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The NET has a footnote on their translation pointing out that most manuscripts don’t have “and pure,” but several early ones do and that provides strong evidence that the original letter included both haplotētos (“sincerity”) and hagnotētos (“purity”) (NET translation comment on 2 Cor. 11:3). It doesn’t change the meaning much, but it does give us something to think about.

Then we have the difference between “simplicity” and “sincerity.” We often look at the Greek and Hebrew behind the English translation when trying to puzzle out a meaning, but I think we often forget that English words can also change meanings over time or have multiple meanings. In the Oxford English Dictionary, “There are 13 meanings … for the noun simplicity, three of which are labelled obsolete” (it’s behind a paywall, though, so we can’t access those definitions). Perhaps the meaning of “simplicity” has changed since 1611 when translators used it in the King James Version. Even today, though, there are four common meanings: 1) “the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded,” 2) “ lack of subtlety or penetration,” 3) “freedom from pretense or guile,” and 4) “directness of expression.” In this case, it’s the English word “simple” that has multiple meanings and leads to confusion, not the Greek or Hebrew words.

Following With Sincerity

Image of a man studying the Bible, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "As we progress in our Christian walks, we must be careful neither to stray from the rudimentary principles of truth nor forget there is always more to learn from the Lord." — Image by Anggie from Lightstock

Most people I’ve heard talk about this verse assume that “simple” means “uncomplicated.” But the fact that another translation used “sincerity” indicates that perhaps we should read “simple” as meaning “freedom from pretense.” A Greek dictionary confirms that we’re on the right track with this interpretation. Thayer defines haplotes (G572) as ” singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty,” including “the virtue of one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy.” So this verse isn’t actually talking about how easy it is to follow Christ. It’s about following Him with integrity and devotion, which also fits the context better.

I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me!For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough!
2 Corinthians 11:1-4, NET

Here, Paul’s focus isn’t on how uncomplicated or easy Christianity is. He’s concerned about his readers being lured away by people who spread false teachings. He doesn’t want us to become like those who “will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.And they will turn away from hearing the truth” (2 Tim. 4:3-4, NET). There is plenty of depth within God’s truth to satisfy our desire to learn without us running off after some counterfeit teaching that adds to or takes away from God’s word (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:5-6; Ecc. 3:14; Rev. 22:18-19).

As we progress in our Christian walks, we need to be on guard against several dangers in relation to the knowledge that we’re given. We might become haughty, thinking we understand everything and that there’s nothing new for us to learn, when in reality we’re someone who “does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know” (1 Cor. 8:2, NET). On the other hand, we might become discontent with the basics of God’s way and start adding things on, having “itching ears” that seek out whatever new thing or controversy catches our attention (1 Tim. 6:3-4; 2 Tim. 4:2-4). We must guard ourselves, neither straying from the foundations of God nor forgetting there is always more to learn from Him.

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Song Recommendation: “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” by Reawaken Hymns

Laid Hold Of By Christ

28 June, 202527 June, 2025Marissa

There is great depth to the entire Bible, but for me, Paul’s writings in particular are something I can come back to over and over again and keep discovering deeper meaning. I wrote about Philippians 3 nine years ago, and I want to go there again today to dig deeper into one particular phrase.

I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.
Philippians 3:12, NET

This is such an evocative phrase. Other possible translations include “I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (KJV), “the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me” (CJB), “I have been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]” (DARBY), “Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose” (CEB), and “Christ Jesus has made me his own” (ESV). There’s a forward-focus and intentionality here that makes me want to learn more about how and why Jesus laid hold of Paul and, likely, us as well.

Setting the Stage

Let’s start by putting this phrase in context. It’s in the letter that “Paul and Timothy” wrote “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi” (Phil. 1:1, NET). Paul was imprisoned at the time of the writing (Phil. 1:12-14), but it’s a very encouraging letter. It’s full of confidence, hope, and an exhortation to keep living faithful lives. Unlike some letters, Paul wasn’t focused on correcting a problem in this church. Rather, he urged them on to Godly living and unity in the church.

In the section we call chapter 3, Paul talked about his own walk in more detail than we often find. He summarized the earthly credentials that he could have been proud of (Phil. 3:3-6), then said he now regards them as “liabilities” and “dung” compared to the far higher value of knowing Jesus (Phil. 3:7-9).

My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already attained this—that is, I have not already been perfected—but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view.
Philippians 3:10-15, NET

Here, Paul was talking about himself but then he expands it to others. All those who are “perfect” should embrace the same point of view he has about striving toward the goal and laying hold of the thing “for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of” us. Paul then continued with exhortation to imitate him and others who are faithfully living this way (Phil. 3:17). He concluded with more appeals to unity and more encouragement, urging his readers not to give up and to embrace the peace that God offers (Phil. 4:1-9). Even his appeal for support emphasizes contentment and mutual aid rather than his own pressing needs (Phil. 4:10-20).

Image of a hand reaching up to the sky, palm up, overlaid with text from Psalm 139:5-6, WEB version: "You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it." — Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

Seize the Prize

The Greek word translated “lay hold of” is katalambano (G2638). Spiros Zodhiates lists three primary meanings: 1) “To lay hold of seize, with eagerness, suddenness,” 2) “In allusion to the public games, to obtain the prize with the idea of eager and strenuous exertion, to grasp, seize upon,” and 3) “Figuratively, to seize with the mind, to comprehend.” He links Phil. 3:12 with the second meaning. The word is used 15 times in the New Testament, and looking at some of the other uses can help us get some additional context for the meaning here in Philippians.

One thing we learn from looking at the other uses of katalambano is that it’s not an extremely specific word. Like the English words “take hold of,” the meaning depends a lot on context. Sometimes it’s a bad thing, as when a demon seizes a child (Mark 9:18), being caught in the act of adultery (John 8:3-4), or being overtaken by darkness (John 12:35, see also John 1:5 and 1 Thes. 5:4). Several times, it’s used in the sense of that third, figurative meaning that Zodhiates highlights (Acts 4:13; 10:34; 25:25; Eph. 3:18). The second meaning, the one we’re focusing on today, appears in three of Paul’s letters: Romans 9:30, 1 Corinthians 9:24, and Philippians 3:12-13. The one in 1 Corinthians is particularly relevant to our study today.

Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win (katalambano). Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.

So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27, NET

This is katalambano in the sense of obtaining or attaining (two words used in other English translations) a prize. When we’re looking at verses where Paul uses the word in this sense, there is an emphasis on continuing on toward a future goal. Jesus called us with purpose and set us on a path toward a prize that everyone can win if we continue striving for our imperishable crown. It’s not a prize that we’re competing against others to win, but one where we all compete together, striving to get ourselves and our brethren to fully grasp that prize.

Grasped For A Purpose

Image of a hand gripping a hand-hold on a climbing wall, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Jesus grabs us for the purpose of getting us to eternal life just as eagerly as we strive to grasp onto that prize." — Image from Pixabay

Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have “arrived”, spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward the honour of being called by God in Christ.
Philippians 3:12-14, PHILLIPS

This version translates katalambano as “grasped” three times here in verses 12 and 13. The image of us grasping for eternal life (Phil. 3:11) like a runner racing toward a prize is a familiar one, but I think this is the only time that we have it paired with Jesus grasping on to us. That’s a really amazing thing to think about. He grabs us for the purpose of getting us to eternal life just as eagerly as we strive to grasp onto that prize.

“There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you.And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too. …

“Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. …No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. …You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit”
John 14:2-3; 15:9,13-14, 16, NET

We can see Jesus’s focus on bringing more children into His Father’s family throughout His life, but perhaps it’s illustrated most clearly in the dialog during this final Passover with His disciples and the prayer that follows. Jesus doesn’t use the phrase “take hold of” here, but it’s a similar idea. He loves us so much He laid down His life for us, and He wants us to walk with Him in this life and finally join Him and His father in their kingdom. He wasn’t just talking about His disciples at the time, either; He makes clear in His prayer that we’re included as well.

“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony,that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. …The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one—I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
John 17:20-24, NET

Jesus’s desire that those who belong to him will “be with me where I am” will be fully realized when we finally “lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of” us. He wants us to become part of His family and “attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:11, NET). God has grasped onto our lives for an eternal, life-giving reason. They want us to firmly take hold of that same vision for the future and keep moving forward with focus, hope, and commitment. “With this goal in mind,” we should imitate Paul and “strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14, NET).

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