Father of the Inklings

It may seem to some as if we have been talking about gracious speech all along. Now we come to a series of ten commands all focused on Christian speech. What more is there to be said? Is the manner in which we talk and use our tongue really of such importance? Yes. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

Some of the commands are more difficult to write about, and personally for me to feel that I have laid hold of in a helpful way, than others. This is one of those. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

Giving comes in many forms. The least important may be financial giving. That is not to say that financial generosity is unimportant, only that it may be far down the list of virtues emphasized in the New Testament. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

Judy and I try to live by a maxim which is simply stated: If you are not part o f the problem, and not potentially part of the solution, stay out of it. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

Foolishness and wisdom are mirror opposite traits about which it is easy to make several wrong assumptions. The most serious of these is the assumption that both are somehow inborn. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

The familiar words of 1 Corinthians 13:5 provide an intriguing example where different translations render a passage of Scripture with distinct shades of meaning. The particular phrase of interest to us here reads, Love..."is not irritable or resentful," in the RSV. The NIV has it, Love..."is not easily angered." Finally, the KJV presents the same passage as, Love..."is not easily provoked." It is clear that all three shed enormous light on this often overlooked attribute of love. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

Guilelessness is one of the most intriguing of all the New Testament virtues, possibly because guile is not a word we use in everyday conversation. We know generally what it means. But its subtleties and nuances mostly escape us. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

This is one of those commands [that is] an "implied" command which we infer from the actual words. What Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:4 is, "If anyone teaches otherwise...he knows nothing; he has a morbid craving for...base suspicions." 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

We all want our own way. We would hardly be human if we didn't. Wanting our own way is in the nature of things. If we would live in the region of love, however, which Paul lays out for us in 1 Corinthians 13, we choose not to insist on it. The word "insist" is this command is the sticking point, the stumbling-block to the flesh. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.

What we call common courtesy represents one of the greatest yet overlooked fruits of spiritual maturity. It is not that courtesy alone implies spiritual maturity. Clearly more is involved in maturity than a single virtue. But the reverse is always true: Spiritual maturity will imply courtesy. 

From The Commands of the Apostles by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands of the Apostles and other books by Michael Phillips.