Posted: March 23, 2023
Matthew was a tax collector. He “stole” from the Jews by overtaxing their income and property. Tax collectors in general were notorious at padding their own pockets with any excess they charged, and to make matters worse, they were cheating their own people. Matthew was a hated man but was protected by the Romans. He
Continue Reading “Radically Changed Lives”
Category: Blog
Posted: March 16, 2023
Jesus implored the disciples to follow him. And they did. But then one day he said this to them: “Where I am going you cannot come.” (1) So . . . they were not to follow? It confused Peter, and he asked, “Lord, where are you going?” (2) Jesus repeated, “Where I am going you
Continue Reading “Following Jesus”
Category: Blog
Posted: March 9, 2023
Jesus told Peter and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (1) Then he found James and John, “and he called them.” (2) Later Jesus “found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’” (3) And then he saw Matthew “sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”
Continue Reading “Not Now, Jesus”
Category: Blog
Posted: March 2, 2023
“The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” (1) The Israelites were angry that things were difficult for them as they began their journey to the Promised Land. But hey! 🤨 They were worried about their future—where they would find food and water, how they would provide
Continue Reading “Grumbling Hearts”
Category: Blog
Posted: February 23, 2023
John the Baptist told his followers that repentance (not goodness) was the way to be forgiven but then demanded this: “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” (1) Hmm. 🤔 This seems a bit hypocritical. First, John renounces the Pharisaical idea that we need to be good to receive God’s forgiveness. Then he says we must
Continue Reading “What Then Shall We Do?”
Category: Blog
Posted: February 16, 2023
John, the son of Zechariah “went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (1) And so the crowds came—“priests and Levites from Jerusalem” (2) and “tax collectors who came to be baptized” (3) and “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (4) as well as “soldiers”
Continue Reading “The Good and Bad of It All”
Category: Blog
Posted: February 9, 2023
By nature, we look for comfort. We want the elite place with the optimal view next to our favorite people. The disciples James and John wanted that, too. They asked Jesus this favor: “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” (1) They wanted to be
Category: Blog
Posted: February 2, 2023
TRUE STORY: Of Mice and Men It’s a great story—Of Mice and Men, published in 1937 by John Steinbeck. The story follows two migrant workers, George and Lennie, as they travel around searching for work during the Great Depression era. The title of the book is taken from the poem “To a Mouse,” published in
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Category: Blog
Posted: January 26, 2023
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (1) What are we sowing exactly? Is it something physical like money, food, labor? Or is it something intangible like love, support, time? The answer? It doesn’t matter. Because the point is this: you get back
Continue Reading “Give a Little, Get a Little”
Category: Blog
Posted: January 19, 2023
Here’s what I know about prayers: God always answers them. Always. Some of you might disagree with me but here’s what I know about God: He is faithful. What some people call an unanswered prayer, I call a prayer answered in a way people do not want the prayer answered—in other words, God said No.
Continue Reading “Safe Prayers”
Category: Blog
