Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | May 7, 2021
A Praying Commentary – 1 Thessalonians 3:1,5 – Better to Be Left Behind than to Leave Behind PRAYER: Dear God, let us examine ourselves to see if we care enough about others to check on them before it is too late and the tempter has won them over. May they know our concerns are about […]
PHall | March 5, 2021
PRAYER: God, it is Your kingdom not mine. You are the king and the inviter. Let us all go to the sideroads and backroads to find the unwanted, who are by You and now me, wanted and loved. Amen. DEVOTIONAL: Read the text tomorrow and you might emphasize how Paul acted as a father to […]
PHall | January 25, 2021
PHall | December 4, 2020
TEXT: “For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives — God is our witness — and we didn’t seek glory from people, either from you or from others.” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6) DEVOTIONAL: “Did you check my last post? I did, wow! No doubt, you are right there with […]
PHall | November 20, 2020
TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (CSB) Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel…who examines our hearts. DEVOTIONAL: Ever try to hide in your prayers from God? Have you shamefully uncovered your motives while praying, as your heart became laid bare before God? Did you hide from yourself in […]
PHall | November 13, 2020
Prayer Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 2:3 How Not to Build Unity TEXT: 1 Thessalonians 2:3 – For our exhortation didn’t come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive. DEVOTIONAL: If there is a positive, there is a negative. Just as there is good, evil is there by definition. Paul knew these parasitic preachers […]
PHall | August 21, 2020
“because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance….” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 1:5). God’s good news came in: words (but more than human words), power, the Holy Spirit, and assurance. God’s speakers repeat God’s words, with God providing divine power, the […]
PHall | July 31, 2020
Around us are things and people we have become so accustomed to, that we stop noticing – and others have stopped paying attention to us. I’ve learned I also do that with the opening lines of biblical letters: “Let’s ignore that and get to the good stuff”. What’s so important about the introductions? People! People […]
PHall | July 31, 2020
“Yo. Sup. What up. Hey. Hello. How are you. Grace. Peace.”Our society is so divided that “cultural appropriation” is considered a cardinal sin, theft even, and racist. A different approach to cultural appropriation is seen in the many introductions of Paul in his epistles. This includes 1 Thessalonians 1:1. Greeting someone by saying “Grace” was […]
PHall | November 18, 2019
Many funerals have I attended within the last couple of years, including my mother’s. There is a part of me that experiences guilt because of the felt grief. For those who have lost ones, you know the hope of the resurrection. But let me share a thought that is hopefully comforting.Notice what Paul does not […]