The story returns to Jesus and his disciples. As they return from their mission Jesus invites them to rest, if only for a short while, before a ministry opportunity presents itself once again. Jesus has another opportunity to teach people the realities of the "true" Kingdom leading to freedom and peace and joy and direction for a lost sheep. We are also given a picture, through this amazing miracle, of the kind of power one can walk in as they walk in faith and obedience towards God. Additional ...
Aug 19, 2012
An opportunity will always come to take sin to the next level. It's why we have to be about bringing the darkness into the light. We must be a people of repentance. Oh how our sin and flesh will betray us at every turn! Not only does our sin bring about bondage, but it leads us into more and more sin leading to disaster in our lives and the lives around us. It is crazy how our "small" sin can turn huge before we know it. How does scripture teach us to battle this? Additional Scripture References...
Aug 12, 2012
In the story of John the Baptist's death, we get a very unique view on the nature and the effects of sin. So often we see people living in sin and from the outside perspective all seems well as though they were "getting away with it". However, what we are able to learn from this story is that no matter what things look like on the outside, there are always consequences to sin. We can also see that there is no such thing as "sin management". You are either seeking to destroy it or it is destroyin...
Aug 05, 2012
There is no middle ground with Jesus. You are either following Him or you are rejecting Him. If you are a follower of Christ then scripture gives great pictures as to what that looks like both for our instruction and for our confidence. The fact is, WE WILL BE CALLED by God for His purposes to bring glory to Him and joy to all men. What we see is that the size or the significance of "the call" is not ultimate. It is the heart that lays itself down for the call no matter what "it" is that authent...
Jul 29, 2012
After performing many miracles in the region of Galilee, Jesus returned to Nazareth with his disciples to continue his ministry. As he taught in the synagogue, the crowd turned from being amazed to being offended in a matter of minutes. What was it that Jesus said that offended them? Would we have been offended had we been there that day? As followers of Christ, our acceptance of Him and the things He taught often times means laying to rest things we have always believed. We must always be askin...
Jul 22, 2012
Are your relationships, your opportunities, your fulfillments, your ministries, your job, your physical location, etc...(and the list could go on and on) due to your pursuit of Christ? OR, is your pursuit of Christ dependent upon your relationships, your opportunities, your fulfillments, your ministries, your job, your physical location, etc...? This makes all the difference in the world as to the way you view your approach to ALL OF LIFE. Do you view “it” as a means to an end or do you view “it...
Jul 15, 2012
So what could possibly cause Jesus to stop on the way to heal a dying little girl? The answer: A woman who had a sad misunderstanding of the point of Jesus. This woman who had suffered for so many years was understandably content with sneaking up on Jesus, touching Him, and slipping off into the crowd. The greatness of the reality of Jesus is that He would do far more than just heal her body, but He would require much more from her than she originally intended. Additional Scripture References: J...
Jul 08, 2012
So what happens when a man who is confined by time, consumed by time, or the lack of it, who is very aware that it is NOT his ally comes in contact with a man who has existed outside of time for eternity? Jesus transcends time. For Jesus, time is only relevant in that it gives a marker for when He decides to sovereignly carry out His purpose, desire, and will. Jesus is about to give Jairus a taste of eternity, a perspective that gives great hope in the face of death and a great new vision for th...
Jul 01, 2012
James tells us that even the demons believe in God...and shudder! So what is the difference between them and us? For a lot of professing followers of Christ in America there isn't much difference at all. In this story in Mark 5 we have a huge wake up call to those more concerned with posing as a disciple of Christ and actually being a disciple or follower of Christ. There IS a difference. Additional Scripture References: James 2:14-19; Matthew 8:29; Revelation 20:10; James 1:12-15; John 4:21-24...
Jun 24, 2012
What do you do when faced with a God more terrifying than anything we could possibly be confronted by on this earth? What do we do when we realize we are in the presence of the God who owns it all and needs absolutely nothing from us? We worship and adore him because the God who does whatever He pleases is please to love us with an everlasting love that brings salvation and joy and hope and peace. Additional Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 10:31; John 10:18; Romans 8:28; Romans...
Jun 16, 2012
What we learn from these last two parables of Jesus about the Kingdom of God brings a great sense of reality to what is going on in most of our lives right here and now. We get the sense that the kingdom is going to grow from something very small and insignificant to something huge and very influential. The part that we don't want to miss is the part where Jesus says that he will accomplish it through NORMAL people living NORMAL lives of faithful obedience to Him. Additional Scripture References...
Jun 10, 2012
"What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight, what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs." We were created to proclaim. We are a people dying to say something and we just want someone, anyone to listen. We were wired this way and now Jesus is telling us that hearing and proclaiming is of eternal importance in the Kingdom of God. To have a relationship with Christ is to have something to proclaim to the nations! Additional Scripture References: Matthew 5:14-16; Luke 8:16; Luke ...
Jun 03, 2012
"The sower sows." In the parable of the soils we certainly get a bleak picture of those who are not a part of the Kingdom of God, but at the end we see Jesus speaking of what is in store for those who are a part of the Kingdom. If you are a child of God, then there is much to look forward to, much to strive for, much to glory in! Additional Scripture References: Colossians 1:5-6; Colossians 1:13; Jeremiah 2:11
May 27, 2012
In Jesus' life we would often see him in the midst of bread or wine, sometimes even using them to convey a message. But what Jesus tells his disciples to remember when they take bread and wine is one thing: his sacrifice on the cross. Additional Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Luke 22:17-19
May 20, 2012
There have been and always will be consequences to our sin. These are never pleasant experiences to say the least. What if these consequences weren't God's wrath, but rather, His grace and mercy in bringing us back to Himself? What if His wrath was allowing our consequences to be the inability to recognize the sin in our own lives? We would be ever hearing, but never understanding; ever seeing, but never perceiving. What a dark place to be! Additional Scripture References: 1 John 2:12; Isaiah 5 ...
May 13, 2012
One more time Jesus is inviting us to delve into His heart (the heart of His will) which usually means much conviction and change on our part...typically nothing to be proud of comes from this. However, great joy and communion with God typically does result. Do you trust Him? His "family" would. Additional Scripture References: Romans 3:10-18; John 8:42-44; Ephesians 1;6; Hebrews 12:1 Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 13:16; Ephesians 5:2
May 06, 2012
The ironic thing about this passage is that the greater message here is about the FORGIVENESS of God. What we see in Christ's discourse on the "eternal sin" is a severe warning (gracious in nature) about the consequences of "un-forgiveness". The scary part of this is that Jesus (the evangelist) was preaching this message to those who would confidently assert their right-standing with God. Additional Scripture References: Matthew 12:27-30, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 18:23, Psalm 103:12, ...
Apr 29, 2012
We begin to see Jesus draw the line between admirers and actual followers/disciples. What we see in this passage is a look to the "languages of salvation" that scripture uses. What we find when we take an honest look at what scripture defines as "salvation" is far more than just fire insurance. We must be willing to see if our assurances line up with what scripture says. Additional Scripture References: John 17:6, Romans 8:29, Eph. 1:4-5, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 139:16, Job 14:5, Isaiah 40:13, Acts 7...
Apr 22, 2012
The struggle for the human flesh is to accept the fact that our righteousness before God is based solely on His grace and nothing else. We see that there is a connection among true grace, servanthood, and true rest. Sabbath was meant for man. God's design was to give us a "rest" leading to a life pleasing to Him. Additional Scripture References: Exodus 31:12-18, 1 Samuel 21:1-9, Matthew 11:28
Apr 15, 2012
Today we celebrate the life and hope that we have because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have a loving, intimate relationship with the God of the universe because Christ made peace for us by the blood of His cross. Why would a king do such a thing? Additional Scripture References: Hebrews 1:3; Romans 8:7; Ephesians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 15:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:33; Philippians 2:13; Philippians 1:11; John 3:16; Romans 6:8
Apr 08, 2012
The struggle for the human flesh is to accept the fact that our righteousness before God is based solely on His grace and nothing else. What Jesus was teaching the people was that because of such grace we now have the freedom to obey His commands that were meant for our joy and enjoyment of Him. Additional Scripture References: Exodus 31:12-18
Apr 01, 2012
The "reality of true compassion" is that we see the depth of our need...of our destitute...that it goes so much deeper than our physical issues. Praise God that Jesus loved us enough and had enough compassion to see much deeper than our physical need. Now we have an eternity, not just a lifetime! Additional Scripture References: Hebrews 1:3, Romans 10:14-15, Romans 8:18-25, Matthew 24:13
Mar 25, 2012
Jesus taught about life with original rather than derived authority. He didn't just clarify something that they already knew, or simply interpret the scriptures in the way the teachers of the law did. His listeners sensed somehow that he was explaining the story of their lives as the "author". Additional Scripture References: Acts 2:37, 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Galatians 3:10, Galatians 3:13-14, 1 Timothy 6:12
Mar 18, 2012
Follow me. Those words sum up the true life of a Christian. To be "saved" is to follow Christ whole-heartedly, to obey Him, and to desire to become just like Him. The good news of the gospel of God is that forgiveness of sins, redemption, and eternal life are a gracious gift from God with a call to turn and follow Him. Additional Scripture References: Isaiah 53:6, Luke 17:20-21, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 10:25, John 14:12, Romans 8:17, 1 Timothy 6:12, Matthew 11:12...
Mar 11, 2012
Even the Son of God was fair game to the prince of this world. We have our righteousness from Jesus because He proved to be the perfect righteous lamb. He couldn’t just die. He had to “be” the spotless lamb. Because Jesus conquered we can conquer also!! Additional Scripture References: 1 John 2:16; Matthew 4:1-11; John 4:32; Titus 2:1; 1 Tim. 4:1-2; Matthew 12:38-39; James 4:7; 1 Cor. 10:13; Hebrews 1:6; Hebrews 12:1-2
Mar 04, 2012
Jesus comes onto the scene in a less than impressive fashion. Mark introduces us to Jesus, the servant king. We begin to see that Jesus was not concerned about His reputation with man as much as He was concerned about inviting us into and showing us the reality of what life was supposed to be like. Additional Scripture References: John 1:46; Matthew 3:14-15; 2 Kings 5:10-12; John 6:38; Isaiah 52:13-53:3; John 17:1, 4-5, 24; John 16:13-14; 1 John 3:1; Matthew 3:15; 2 Cor. 5:21; Isaiah 53:11; 1 Pe...
Feb 26, 2012
One of the great dividers in the church today is the role and ministry of the Holy Spirit. John was clearly trying to make a point in distinguishing his baptism from the baptism of Christ with the Holy Spirit. To know what that means is to know that we should greatly desire it! Additional Scripture References: Romans 8:6-14; 1 Cor. 12:13; Titus 3:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:3; Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 12:8-10; Luke 24:46-49; Acts 1:6-8; Rom. 5:5; Rom. 8:26; Rom. 15:13; Rom. 15:16; 2 Thes. 2:13; 1...
Feb 19, 2012
John the Baptist confronts the Jewish people about their dependence upon their outward ethnic “calling” for forgiveness of sins and right standing before God. What a radical notion that an individual inward repentance was necessary for forgiveness of sins! Additional Scripture References: Acts 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:24-25, Jeremiah 13:23, 2 Corinthians 7:11, 1 John 1:7-9, 2 Kings 1:8, Luke 1:15, John 3:28-30
Feb 12, 2012
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus is John the Baptist. His sole purpose was to make the world ready for the king. What was he crying from the wilderness? Additional Scripture References: Mark 2:17, Mark 10:45, Psalm 5:4-5, Psalm 11:5, Psalm 45:7, Habakkuk 1:13, Luke 3:7-8, Malachi 2:17-3:4
Feb 05, 2012
The Good Shepherd has given us His under-shepherds and we are blessed... Additional Scripture References: Ezekiel 34:23-24, Psalm 78:70-72, Psalm 23:4
Jan 22, 2012
