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…
Listening is defined as the way the brain actively processes what the ear hears. But I’ll admit, that when I was teaching a class of kindergartners or talking to my children, anytime I said, “would you please LISTEN to me!” I was looking for more than simply filtering sounds into words. I wanted them to…
What do you think it means to be a good disciple? I was taught that to be a good disciple you needed to be a good student. Although, learning what Jesus taught and studying God’s Word are an important part of discipleship, I believe there’s another simple definition that better explains what it means to…
You can feel the electric anticipation in the overflowing room. Jesus is speaking God’s Word in ways that you’ve never heard it spoken before. You’re fully focused on the teacher when bits of debris begin falling on you and those around you. In this account in Mark 2, four men carried their paralyzed friend to…
Mark was probably the first Gospel written. It was penned by John Mark, who was not one of the 12 Disciples but was a follower of Jesus and a companion of Paul and Barnabas on their mission journeys to “go and make disciples.” The 1st Chapter skips over everything prior to the start of Jesus’…
He is risen! It’s a statement of faith we proclaim on Easter but can you imagine the difference it could make in our lives if it is the first things we declared every morning and our last thought every night. You and I trust the Son of God, the Alpha and Omega . . ….
Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Have you experienced times when you’ve taken your needs to God and it feels like He’s not listening? You’re still sick. Your heart is still broken. You still don’t have a job and your need is still unmet. Yesterday, we looked at Jesus prayer… “My Father! If it…
The hardest words and the ones for which I am most thankful are found in Matthew 26… My Father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet, I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39 Your will be done, not mine! They are so hard…
Yesterday we looked at what Jesus said about being prepared for His return. Today, in Matthew 25, Jesus went on to tell His followers about the importance of having faith and the importance of showing others their faith by demonstrating His love. The first parable today, tells the story of 10 bridesmaids who were waiting…
So much has been written about the end times . . . even people who deny Jesus talk about the world coming to an end. I love that Jesus didn’t want His followers to be uninformed; so this week leading up to His suffering, death, and resurrection, He paused to talk about near future and…
Matthew 23 is another chapter that makes me squirm . . . and I’d like to tell you why. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with…
