In Luke 2, Luke reveals the humanity of Jesus - the Son of Man. He is fully human and fully God. He is with us. He sees us. He knows us. He wants us to see Him, know Him, and remain abided in His presence as well. Jesus came to earth to invite us to His Table. He connects with us where we are, if we will just accept His invitation and come to His Table. It's all possible because a young woman, who was faithful to the Lord in her time, said - "Yes, Lord. I'm all Yours. Your will be done." She was...
Dec 23, 2024•17 min
In Luke 1, Luke takes us through the detailed record of the miraculous birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the hearts of people for the coming of Jesus, our Savior. Prior to both of these miraculous births, an angel was sent to assure the parents to not be afraid. They were willing, humble, faithful, and available servants to the Lord and the Lord honored their faithfulness. We don't have to fear anything of this world if we are abiding in Jesus, heart ...
Dec 19, 2024•15 min
In Mark 16, the women thought Jesus was dead in a tomb and they prepared spices to anoint His body. However, much to their surprise, the stone in front of the tomb was rolled aside and His tomb was empty. Jesus is alive! He has risen! Our Savior is alive and real and true. He defeated all the weight of sin of the world past, present, and future and He wiped it all away with His resurrection. He is victorious and when you repent from sin and selfishness and choose to humbly abide in Him, you are ...
Dec 17, 2024•15 min
(1 John 1:1-4) True belief in Jesus begins when your heart passionately loves what your head knows is true. Jesus wants you to enjoy life with Him. He wants you to experience Him fully everyday and know His love personally. The things we may receive this Christmas may bring temporary joy, but Jesus brings eternal joy that never fades.
Dec 14, 2024•13 min
In Mark 15, Jesus endured physical pain, emotional pain, and immense spiritual pain as He met the cross and took on the judgment of God's wrath against sin for each and every one of us. He could have called an an army of angels at any moment and been released from the cross. But He didn't. He stayed on that cross with you in mind. He stayed on that cross with me in mind. He did it all just hoping we would humbly repent and turn from sin and selfishness and choose to receive His loving forgivenes...
Dec 13, 2024•17 min
In Mark 14, we continue to share in the journey to the cross with Jesus. It was time for Passover and as they prepare for the Passover meal, Mary brings an alabaster jar filled with a year's worth of wages of perfume and pours it over Jesus in worship. In humble worship to the Lord, she serves Jesus by preparing His human body for its temporary burial. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, but Jesus still served Judas. He still washed his feet and broke bread with him. He still hoped his heart woul...
Dec 12, 2024•17 min
In Mark 13, Jesus prepares His disciples, and us, for the coming end of the end times. He encourages us to stay alert, stay aware and in prayer continually, stay in the Word so as not to be deceived by the false teachers and false prophets, and stay radically on fire for Jesus. Keep falling more and more in love with Jesus every day because He is returning sooner today than yesterday and He is returning for a Bride head over heels in love with Him. Don't be deceived by false prophets and teacher...
Dec 11, 2024•14 min
In Mark 12, Jesus teaches on stewarding His resources well for His glory out of passionate love for Him, not obligation. Jesus shares a parable about a vineyard leased out to some farmers to tend. The owner of the vineyard sends servants to check in on the vineyard and the tenants rejected, tortured, and even killed God's servants. The servants sent represent the prophets God sent to point people to Jesus, our Messiah and the Word of God was repeatedly rejected. The Messiah Himself was standing ...
Dec 10, 2024•15 min
In Mark 11, Jesus sees a fig tree and is hungry. He went to the fig tree expecting to find edible buds that would typically appear prior to the fruiting season. There were no buds on this tree. It was fruitless and useless. He then goes to the Temple which is meant to be a place for people to gather and worship the Lord. Instead, He found market tables filled with merchants were were price gouging and stealing from people who came from a long way to worship the Lord together. The markets filled ...
Dec 09, 2024•16 min
In Mark 10, Jesus teaches a lesson on power and the struggle of desiring a place of honor. He pointed out that people in high positions often like to exercise power over others. However, a follower of Jesus is considered great by humbly serving rather than being served. Jesus came to serve and gave His life so we could have the option to live forever through Him. We are not called to be famous, rich, powerful, or have a prestigious title. We are called to serve and extend the glory, light, and l...
Dec 07, 2024•15 min
In Mark 9, Jesus again teaches us what it looks like to deny yourself, your will, take up your cross, and follow Him, heart and soul, with all your guts. Suffering may last a season, but the glory of eternity is forever. Jesus knows our hearts, motives, and intentions and He knows a sincere heart that pursues Him desperately. He calls us to walk in humility and serve others, pointing them to Jesus - not yourself. The whole point is to glorify Jesus and His power, His strength, and His glory thro...
Dec 05, 2024•13 min
In Mark 8, Jesus continues to interact, teach, heal, feed and serve the people who continually gather around Him. Jesus always answers people who are desperate for Him. He takes His disciples aside and asks them a question, "Who do people say I AM?" They give Him the various answers from what they've heard people saying about Jesus. Jesus then asks them an even more important question that He asks each and every one of us as well, "Who do you say I AM?" Peter answers Jesus confessing that Jesus ...
Dec 05, 2024•17 min
In Mark 7, we see the active compassion of Jesus. Compassion always leads to action. A simple touch from Jesus can radically change a person's life. A mere glimpse of His great glory changes our hearts for eternity. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow - always and forever. We need to be in His Word continually, listening to each Word He's speaking with open hearts in surrender to Him, and be in tune with His Spirit by continually praying and communing with Him. When the compassionate ...
Dec 04, 2024•14 min
(Isaiah 9:1-7) Jesus gives us hope by drawing us to Himself. He dusts us off, cleans us up from the inside out, and says, "come and be a part of My family." The light of the Gospel transforms gloomy places to glorious places. Jesus transforms gloomy people to glorious people. Jesus steps into the chaos of life and rescues us, if we are willing to let Him. Hope in Jesus never fails.
Nov 30, 2024•15 min
In Mark 6, Jesus and the disciples were setting out to get some rest and refreshment, but once again, the crowds followed. Jesus served with compassion and He continued to give them healing and taught about the Kingdom of God. Compassion leads to action. Evening came and with it came physical hunger. Rather than send them away to try to find food, Jesus asked the disciples, "How much bread do you have?" Jesus multiplied what they had available and fed everyone there, likely almost 20,000 people ...
Nov 29, 2024•15 min
In Mark 5, A woman who suffered from bleeding for 12 years had radical faith believing if she could even just touch the fringe of Jesus' robe, she'd be healed. As soon as she reached up and touched His robe, in radical fringe faith, she was healed. Jesus stops and makes sure she knows she is not only healed because of her unfiltered faith in Him, she is adopted into His eternal family. She lived untouched, unhugged, and unloved by society for 12 years, but because of her faith, she is now a Daug...
Nov 26, 2024•16 min
(Acts 8:26-40) In a world full of division and hatred, we can trust God and spread His love and His Word. The Word of God has the power to overcome divisions. You are God's plan. It all begins with the Word of God. Open His Word and let the Word do the work in your live and the lives around you.
Nov 23, 2024•15 min
In Mark 4, Jesus and the disciples left the crowds and went into a boat on the Sea of Galilee. A fierce windstorm came up and their boat was filling with water. The disciples reacted in fear and accused Jesus of not caring for them. Jesus simply stood up, rebuked the wind, and told the sea, "Silence! Be still!" The storm immediately stopped. Storms are going to come this side of heaven, but when Jesus is in our boat with us, we have nothing to fear. He has all control and all authority. We can r...
Nov 23, 2024•19 min
In Mark 3, after seeing Jesus preach, heal, and cast out demons, the crowds continued to follow Him and continued to grow. He chose 12 apostles to partner with Him in ministry as the mission of spreading the Good News that Jesus had arrived continued to grow. The opposition against Jesus continued to grow as well. Even Jesus' family approached Him trying to stop Him from continuing. They claimed He was "out of His mind". Jesus knew they were coming to Him out of love, but they were also ignorant...
Nov 21, 2024•11 min
In Mark 2, four friends are frantically determined to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They will do anything it takes to get him to Jesus. The house Jesus is teaching and healing in is crowded with standing room only so they climb to the roof and literally - unroof the roof! They are displaying active, no matter what, faith in action. Jesus didn't just heal the man, He also cleansed him of his sins. He healed him inside and out. The faithful men joyfully ran off celebrating and praising Jesu...
Nov 21, 2024•15 min
The Gospel of Mark reveals the servanthood of Jesus. Jesus is God in human form and He came to earth fully human. He knew His mission and calling. In Mark 1, Jesus is baptizes, He calls His 1st disciples, He heals people and casts out demons, and He preaches and teaches to multitudes with authority. He is the Word, teaching the Word. The teachings they experienced came straight from the source. People were amazed by Jesus and we should live in awe and amazement of Him every single day of our liv...
Nov 20, 2024•15 min
(Acts 6:8-7:60) Jesus is our Advocate and Encourager. More than anything else, we should all desire to pursue Jesus so passionately that Jesus stands in the heavens in response to our steadfast faith. We are to worship Him out of God-centered passion, not self-centered production. It's a matter of the heart and repenting from "me" mindedness.
Nov 16, 2024•17 min
In Matthew 28, Jesus reveals that death cannot hold Him down because He is Life and death cannot hold Life down. The angel invited the women to come and see the empty tomb and personally experience the resurrection of Jesus. The stone wasn't rolled away to let Jesus out. He was already out of that tomb. The stone was rolled away to invite us in. To invite is in to experience Jesus and the Life He offers each of us for all eternity. Jesus commissioned us to go and tell, share the truth of Jesus a...
Nov 15, 2024•16 min
In Matthew 27, Jesus fulfilled 7 separate prophesies found in the Scriptures regarding His coming, His death, and His resurrection. Seven is the number of God's totality and completion. Barabbas was set free and Jesus was crucified. Barabbas means "son of the Father." We are Barabbas. This is us. We are given the opportunity to repent and submit to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for each of us and receive His life, His redemption, His cleansing from any and all sin now and for all eternit...
Nov 14, 2024•18 min
In Matthew 26, Jesus prepares His disciples for His coming crucifixion. He assures them He will return and they will be a part of His Father's Kingdom. Mary pours out an expensive jar of perfumed oil in worship to Jesus and in preparation for His coming death. Mary was found at Jesus' feet listing to Him teach, in grief over the loss of her brother, and now she worshiped at His feet in her brokenness. Jesus prepares Himself for the coming crucifixion as well. He prayed. He was 100% human as well...
Nov 13, 2024•19 min
In Matthew 25, Jesus teaches parables regarding staying ready, alert, and faithfully living life intentionally for the Lord. In the 1st parable, He teaches us to stay in the Word, pray continually, and therefore keep your oil lamp filled and your heart aflame for the Lord. You can't join Jesus at the banquet table on someone else's faith. It has to be your own and we are to keep the oil for Jesus full. He then teaches us to live faithfully with what we've been given, stewarding all the gifts, ta...
Nov 12, 2024•15 min
In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus what the sign would be for His return. Jesus gives a brief overview of the revelation He gives John later on. He says to watch, beware, and be ready because Jesus will return at any time. He said the persecution, lawlessness, division, hatred, betrayal, false messiahs, false prophets, wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, nations rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and love growing cold among people are only the beginning birth pains of ...
Nov 11, 2024•15 min
In Matthew 23, Jesus gives His last public message. He spoke to the crowds and His disciples about outward appearance and how "looking" religious is hypocritical and worthless. It's what is in the heart that matters. What's in our hearts is revealed in our actions and how we live our lives. Designer outfits and name brand junk is not important. Official titles and corner offices with big windows are not important. What matters is the devotion of our hearts. All this "stuff" in this world will di...
Nov 08, 2024•13 min
In Matthew 22, Jesus explains the Kingdom of God by telling as story of a king who gave his son a wedding banquet. Those invited didn't come. They paid no attention to the invitation and instead went away doing their own thing. The king extended the invitation to everyone. All who answered the invitation to join the King and His Kingdom were welcomed to the wedding feast. Everyone is invited to choose Jesus and humbly repent submitting to Him as Lord of all. Our response to His invitation reveal...
Nov 07, 2024•13 min
In Matthew 21, Jesus fulfills the prophesy of Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9. Because two of His disciples were obedient, listened to His voice and obeyed His Word, prophesy was fulfilled. They trusted His voice and obediently walked out His instruction. They gave everything up proclaiming the Name of Jesus and the city was shaken for Jesus. The act of faithful obedience to the Lord prepared the way for King Jesus. King Jesus came riding on a donkey in humility and will be returning on a white h...
Nov 07, 2024•14 min
