Welcome to Cam’s Reflective Bible Study Journal

Cam’s Reflective Bible Study Journal is a blog/podcast where Cam, one of Reflective Bible Study's founders, shares things he has discovered from his time studying the Bible (usually from one or more of the four gospels).

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Seeking the Kingdom First: Luke 12:13-34

Published February 26, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 12:13-34 (NASB)

For this journal entry, let’s look at a misconception that many people have about what God promises to give us when we follow Him. The headline for this passage is often something like the “Parable of the Rich Fool” for the first part, and then “Teaching about Money and Possessions” for the second part. With that frame of mind, many people latch on to the following two verses as a promise from God:

“For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” (Verses 30-31)

Looking out into society, we see nations and individuals seeking fame, power, prominence, glory, wealth, security, as well as a number of other things. Since we just read the headline and have a frame of mind that this must be talking about wealth and stuff, then these verses must then be promising us both if we seek His kingdom.

However, while the passage does open with the parable of the blessed, stingy fool (he would have not needed to build bigger barns had God not blessed him with an abundant crop), Jesus then begins to frame how we should view our money and our stuff, and what really matters. Jesus tells the disciples:

“For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. . . And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? . . . And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” (Verses 22-23, 25-26, 29-31)

The context of this promise is that God promises us food, clothing, and peace, and He will give these things to us when we seek His Kingdom as our number one priority. Money, status, fame, or luxuries are not included in this list. While God may bless some people with one or more of these things, there is no promise that He will do so for everyone.

Instead, we should be grateful for what God has blessed us with; we should seek Him and His kingdom into our lives; and we should seek to use what He has blessed us with in ways that would please Him. Gratitude is where we should begin, because one big truth I see between the lines in this passage is that when we are grateful for what God has done for us, we won’t be as inclined to worry about what will happen next.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Knowing the Father: John 8:12-20

Published February 25, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 8:12-20 (NCV)

12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.”

13 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “When you talk about yourself, you are the only one to say these things are true. We cannot accept what you say.”

14 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am saying these things about myself, but they are true. I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards. I am not judging anyone. 16 But when I do judge, I judge truthfully, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. 17 Your own law says that when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say. 18 I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.”

19 They asked, “Where is your father?”

   Jesus answered, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.” 20 Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the Temple, near where the money is kept. But no one arrested him, because the right time for him had not yet come.

Read John 8:12-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through His ministry, Jesus gets into a debate with some Pharisees over the validity of His ministry and the claims He was making. In this debate, which was one of the more strategic attempts of discrediting Jesus, the Pharisees challenge Jesus because He is only a single person making the claim, and in their court system, a case needed to be proven by at least two witnesses.

When facing this challenge, Jesus had plenty of options to choose from, but He decides to use His Father (i.e. God the Father) as His choice. Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I am one of the witnesses who speaks about myself, and the Father who sent me is the other witness.” (v. 18)

Perhaps the Pharisees were not expecting a clear answer like this, but not wanting to miss the chance to find someone else who may have been easier to discredit, they simply ask, “Where is your father?” (v. 19a)

While on the surface, their question sounds sincere, it is most likely a second level trap because if Jesus stated clearly that the Father who sent Him was God the Father, then the leaders would have had more reason to stone Him. If Jesus shared that His father was someone they could meet on earth, chances are high in my mind that these Pharisees would have used this information to find, discredit, and probably kill the “father” in question.

The response Jesus gives these religious debaters is simple while also incredibly profound. Jesus tells them, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father, too.” (v. 19b)

In Jesus’ response, we are introduced or reminded that Jesus and God the Father share the same character, the same love, and the same focus. This means that both God the Father and Jesus love humanity equally and they are both overwhelmingly merciful when it comes to dealing with people who have sinned.

The response Jesus shares tells us that when we truly know Jesus, then we will also truly know God the Father and we will understand what He is like. It is easy to miss out on knowing Jesus and God. Every religious leader who held to their preconceived ideas about God, and specifically about the Messiah He would send, missed truly knowing Jesus. Those living during Jesus’ ministry on earth who let go of their preconceived ideas were able to know and experience who Jesus was – and accordingly, these people then knew who God the Father is and what He is like and were blessed as a result.

Those of us living today cannot travel to see Jesus like those living in the first century, but we do have four accurate records that describe in detail Jesus’ love, His character, and His sacrifice. If we let go of our preconceived ideas about Jesus and God the Father, and simply pray and read what the gospel writers share, we will begin to understand who God the Father truly is. Many in culture believe Jesus is nice while God is mean, but that belief runs completely opposite of Jesus’ message in this passage. If we know Jesus is loving, merciful, and kind, according to Jesus, we also know God the Father is loving, merciful, and kind as well!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Flashback Episode — The Word of Jesus: Luke 4:31-41

Published February 24, 2025 in Audio Journal Entries

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Continuing in Luke’s gospel, after Jesus is rejected in Nazareth, He travels back to Capernaum and on what may have been the following Sabbath, we see something significant happen. I wonder if Jesus ever actually had a normal Sabbath day at a synagogue in His entire three-year ministry. While the gospel writers include many exceptions, like the one we read in our last episode and the one we will read about in this episode, it is unlikely they would give much space to a normal trip to a synagogue.

This means we are left picturing Jesus’ trips to synagogues being very abnormal or hostile encounters, but it is possible that many were simply normal and uneventful. Calculating an approximate number of synagogue visits, 52 weeks in a year times 3.5 years equals 182. However, I would imagine that there were many Sabbaths Jesus did not visit a synagogue, so for the purposes of this calculating, let’s subtract our total number by 22 down to 160. I would venture a guess that many of these 160 probable synagogue Sabbaths were normal.

However, our passage for this episode describes a more abnormal visit to a synagogue, and this event is recorded as happening soon after Jesus was run out of Nazareth’s synagogue. This episode’s passage comes from Luke’s gospel, chapter 4, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31, Luke tells us:

31 Then he [Jesus] went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to draw our attention onto something significant. If casting a demon out of someone isn’t significant enough, I am amazed that Jesus commands the demon to be quiet after the demon begins to reveal who Jesus really is.

In my mind, Jesus does this for two big reasons.

First, demons can either lie or tell the truth. They usually lie, making any truth they say suspect. If Jesus let the demon truthfully say who He was, it would potentially taint His ministry and witness because it is never wise to trust a demon. Even a 100% truthful demon is untrustworthy because demons are not always 100% truthful. It is even unwise to listen to a demon to try to discern the truth from the error. Demons have had thousands of years of practice lying in convincing ways and they might lie in more ways that we can catch.

It is safest for us to follow Jesus’ example and simply not listen to any demon. If God wants us to learn or know something important or significant, there is an almost zero chance He would use a demon. While God could use a demon, it would not benefit the bigger picture in any positive-for-God way.

Second, there was too much cultural weight surrounding the role of the Messiah as a military leader who would come and overthrow the Romans. Jesus’ arrival to walk a path different from culture’s expectations would benefit from more ambiguity or uncertainty on whether He truly was the Messiah or simply someone else who was significant.

Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies related to a Messiah coming and suffering, and He left the prophecies related to His coming as a King largely untouched and waiting for His second coming.

If the people early on in Jesus’ ministry latched on too quickly to Jesus being the Messiah they knew God promised, they would likely slip into believing Jesus came as King and would try to force Him into this role. In other cases, such as the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus sidesteps this very issue because the crowds wanted Him to become their King.

However, this Sabbath day is not over yet. Continuing in verse 38, Luke tells us:

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

It appears in this passage that Satan wanted to derail Jesus’ ministry by proclaiming who He was as much as possible. If the demon that Sabbath morning in the synagogue wasn’t enough, many more demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus and they try to make the same proclamation that evening.

When reading this event, it is difficult to escape one huge truth: The words Jesus spoke contained power. We can see this truth in the simple detail that Jesus’ command was powerful enough to cast a demon out of an individual.

However, Jesus’ word is even stronger than this. Jesus’ command isn’t just strong enough to cast demons out of people, but it is also strong enough to silence demons from speaking! That is amazingly significant in the big picture.

Jesus’ command is also powerful enough to reverse and eliminate sickness. Verse 39 describes how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, “So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.” Rebuking something involves speaking, and this tells us Jesus’ word is powerful enough to heal.

On this Sabbath day, we discover a Jesus that is more powerful than we might first imagine. Jesus’ word is strong enough to cast out demons, it is strong enough to silence them and keep them from speaking, and it is strong enough to heal sickness and disease. When facing struggles, challenges, disease, or discouragement in our own life, we should look to the words of Jesus for the power to overcome!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue to seek God first and place your hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus. When challenges come into our lives, choose to recognize them as opportunities to look to Jesus’ words for power to overcome. Jesus is more powerful than what we often give Him credit for, and I believe He is ready, waiting to help us the moment we decide to ask. While some challenges are given to strengthen our character, I believe other challenges are given to remind us it is best to turn to God for help!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. A strong personal relationship with God is best developed through personal prayer and Bible study. While praying and studying in small or large groups is beneficial on one level, never give up your own personal study time because through our personal study we are able to grow a personal relationship with God and we are able to strengthen our personal faith. Personal Bible study is the best foundation to grow our faith in Jesus on.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or be tricked or deceived out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Luke – Episode 8: On one Sabbath, a demon speaks up with a powerful statement while Jesus was speaking in a synagogue. Discover why Jesus would decide to silence this demon and what this event can teach us about Jesus and about who we should listen to in our own lives.

Strategic Caution: John 7:1-9

Published February 21, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 7:1-9 (NASB)

Part way into Jesus’ ministry, John’s gospel records an unusual occasion where Jesus is alone with His brothers, and it appears as though the disciples are not there with Him. While it is possible that the disciples were there, my mind has always assumed that they were not, simply because of a phrase that Jesus’ brothers say.

John tells us that one reason Jesus’ brothers pressured Jesus to go up to Judea for the upcoming festival is so that Jesus’ disciples may see His works. Jesus’ brothers say, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.” (v. 3)

It wouldn’t make much sense to say this if Jesus’ disciples were walking alongside Jesus and His brothers.

However, John opens this passage by giving us a reason Jesus did not want to travel to Judea. John tells us that, “Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” (v. 1)

Seeing these two details so close together makes me wonder if Jesus’ brothers were trying to set Jesus up to turn Him in to the Jewish leaders. When we place these two details next to each other, we can easily see how someone could draw the conclusion that Jesus’ brothers had aligned themselves with the Jewish leaders.

However, Jesus’ brothers simply could have missed the point of Jesus’ ministry and the Messiah He came to be. The common view of the Messiah at that time was that God would send someone who would rally the Jews together and successfully kick the Romans out of their land. If Jesus’ brothers held to this view, their suggestions make sense because Judea would have the greatest number of Jews to rally together for this cause.

But in John’s opening verse, we see an interesting side of Jesus. Jesus has chosen to “retreat” to Galilee, where His ministry began and where His brothers likely lived because it was a safe distance from the Jewish leaders who were looking to kill Him.

So while Jesus’ brothers may have been trying to set Jesus up to turn Him in, or whether they simply misunderstood why Jesus came to planet Earth, Jesus demonstrates strategic caution in this passage, and He ultimately chooses to not travel to Judea with His brothers for the festival. This tells me that sometimes, we focus on making wise, strategic choices rather than overly depending on God to protect us while we blaze forward for Him.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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