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Each post is rooted in Scripture and shared from the heart, with the hope that these words will draw you closer to Christ and strengthen your walk with Him.
When Jesus returned to the Temple on Tuesday, the Religious Leaders began to question His authority. He answered by asking them about John the Baptist. It was a question they couldn’t answer without incriminating themselves, so they said they didn’t know. Jesus then refused to answer their question as well (Matthew 21:23 – 27). Then,…
As Jesus approached the last few days of His life on earth, He had been teaching and performing miracles for approximately three years. Still, there was much division about who He was. According to John’s Gospel, one of the first to recognize Jesus as the Son of God was Nathaniel (John 1:49), but it is…
The day after the triumphal entry, Jesus returned to the city, going straight to the Temple. There, He found money changers and men buying and selling animals. Not only were these practices contrary to the purpose of the Temple, but they were often sanctioned theft. Those who examined the animals brought for sacrifices would frequently…
Most people know the basics surrounding Jesus’ birth, including the manger where he lay and the visits by the shepherds and the Wise Men. What some may not know, and what we sometimes ignore, is what happened after the Wise Men left. When the Wise Men inquired of Herod about the birth of the Jewish…
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 NIV84). “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,” (I John 4:2 NIV84). The Apostle John makes it very…
Passover Week was always a busy time for the Jewish people as they made detailed preparations for the festival. However, the events of the prior years most likely added uncertainty and, perhaps, even anxiety to the preparations. The crowds in Jerusalem would have been large as people traveled from surrounding places to celebrate Passover and…
Palm Sunday is celebrated one week before the most Holy day of the year for Christians, Easter. It is a celebration of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. Still, it is also the first day of a week of uncertainty, turmoil, and shock for those who followed Jesus and for those who were unsure of who Jesus…
“I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (Revelation 2:13 NIV84 emphasis added). Antipas, my faithful witness! As Jesus dictated…
How should we respond to persecution? “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him” (I John…
“…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13b, 14 NIV84). In my last blog, I wrote about Lot’s wife’s costly look back at the life that…
How should we respond to persecution? “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, men may know there is none besides me. I…
“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26 NIV84). Every time I read that verse, I wonder, “Why did she look back?” and “Why was ‘looking back’ worthy of a death sentence?” The Scripture never answers either of those questions directly, but I think it gives us some clues. …
How should we respond to persecution? “They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand” (Isaiah 44:18 NIV84). Spiritual warfare is very real. Paul makes that clear in Ephesians 6. The lies of Satan have blinded those who persecute Christians. Pray…
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 2:41 NIV84). When I think of John the Baptist, I usually envision him as a “Grizzly Adams” kind of guy, with a scraggly beard, dressed in clothing made from wild animal skins. I expect to…
How should we respond to persecution? “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2 NIV84). Have you ever noticed how someone’s face lights up when you smile and ask, “How are you doing?” Even the hardest soul can be touched when someone takes…
Musings from My Sun Porch 