I’ve stumbled over these words of Jesus more times than I’d like to admit… If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23 I didn’t struggle with the “follow me” part. The “give up your own way” part…
I like to think I’m in control. Even as I type the words I know how ridiculous that is because it doesn’t matter how organized I try to keep my home and planned and prepared I try to keep my days . . . more often than I’d like, my life is out of my…
Compassion has been defined as “your pain in my heart.” In Luke 6, we have a record of Jesus saying… You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:36 And now, in Luke 7, we see several more accounts of Jesus demonstrating the Father’s compassion as He reached across cultural and racial…
Buildings need a strong foundation to protect them from the stormy forces of nature and therefore protect those within. If you and I want to personally withstand the storms of life we need a strong spiritual foundation. Knowing both those things to be true, why would anyone neglect foundation building either structurally or personally? I…
There’s a story about a pastor who came to town and decided to give his new congregation a living parable. As the story goes… He dressed up as a homeless man and walked around the church for 30 minutes while people were arriving for the service. Hardly anyone looked at him and fewer spoke to…
I read a verse in Luke 4 this morning that I’d barely noticed before but today it practically jumped off the page at me. As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. …
Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote in the BE Series the following quote from Napoleon Bonaparte… ‘If Socrates would enter the room, we should rise and do him honor. But if Jesus Christ came into the room, we should fall down on our knees and worship Him.” Truthfully, I don’t think there will be any “should” about…
We can laugh about it now but it definitely wasn’t funny at the moment. We were moving from Columbus, Ohio to St. Louis, Missouri to accept a call Rev had received to serve in ministry . The moving van didn’t finish loading until almost 10 p.m. and we didn’t have a plan for the night…
Luke was a doctor, a Greek, and a Gentile believer in Christ. He was a SEEKer who wanted to know as much as he could about the person in whom he placed his faith. He wrote: Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most…
Grief is the powerful emotional response to overwhelming loss. Grief feels a lot like fear and the question that always comes with it is… “What does this mean for my life?” I remember a period of grief when all I could do was curl up on my bed and say through tears, “I don’t know…
It’s hard for me to think about Jesus suffering and death. In fact, it’s impossible for me to find a word to adequately describe my feelings when I truly pause to think about Jesus willingly allowing Himself to be tortured in every way for my sins. I can’t imagine the physical pain He endured. And…
I hardly know where to begin . . . where to focus our attention. Mark 14 is packed with moments and lessons from the hours that preceded Jesus’ crucifixion. Religious Leaders plotted to kill Jesus but not during Passover. Mary anointed Jesus’ head with precious oil. Judas agreed to betray Jesus to the Religious Leaders….
Have you ever noticed all the euphemisms we use instead of actually calling something a lie? We… stretch the truth. manipulate the truth. mislead. are inaccurate. misrepresent the facts. tell half-truths. My family will tell you there is nothing that upsets me more than lying it doesn’t matter what you call it. And that may…
I’m guilty! I didn’t want to be guilty. I wanted to be all-in fully surrendered to God. I wanted to give Him my all but… I was afraid. Verses like: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” (John 16:33) and “Take up your cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) terrified me! My faith has…
It’s easy to imagine Jesus talking and teaching but in Mark 11, He taught His disciples by acting out a parable . . . and I’m guessing it’s one they remembered. It was the Monday morning of Holy Week and Jesus was walking toward Jerusalem. He was hungry… He noticed a fig tree in full…
Who decides what is right and what is wrong? Is it the law? Does making something “legal” make it right? The Pharisees came to Jesus to trap Him with a question . “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?” Mark 10:2 And Jesus uses the question to talk about a bigger and deeper…
It’s easy to doubt the outcome when we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances, isn’t it? Have you ever cried through tears, “will I ever…” Will I ever get well, get married, have a child, get a job, have peace, be happy? The list can be endless. I imagine we all have felt our faith falter…
Are you ever surprised how often “I can’t” is your first thought about something? I know that too often my first thought is “I can’t do this,” whenever I’m facing a challenge. Oh, I want to consistently enjoy God’s strength and peace but I’m ashamed to say that I can let doubt dictate my thinking….
Do you ever worry about being a hypocrite? I think it’s healthy to question our own hypocrisy. Recently my morning devotion challenged me to remember that temptation often comes after spiritual victory. You see the enemy of our souls knows that its easy for a spiritual victory to turn into pride; and well, to quote…
I’m sitting here staring at an idle keyboard and blank screen. I want to pour out encouragement and inspiration but I’m carrying around this heaviness and it’s hard to pour from a cup that needs to be filled. Life can be like that sometimes, can’t it? In Mark 6, Jesus and His disciples had just…
Do you feel hopeless? Maybe you’re disappointed and discouraged by the state of the world. Maybe your hopelessness is much more personal. I want you to know you can trust Jesus when you feel hopeless. He is able to heal you. No, I can’t promise that He will heal you physically although I know He…
