Luke 15 is a chapter about offense. The purpose is to confront a growing criticism by the pastors (Pharisees, Scribes, Torah teachers) concerning the crowd that lovingly and loyally followed Jesus wherever He went. Through a series of three stories, Jesus masterfully distinguished the difference between Himself and the pastors… the Kingdom and the Synagogue… […]
A father has two sons; a dumb one and a smart one. The dumb one approaches Dad and seeks his inheritance early. Dad obliges, and the dumb son does what dumb sons are apt to do – he wastes his inheritance in riotous living. After some time of living in the consequences of this incredibly […]
There are two concerns happening simultaneously as we examine this passage: 1) We are remembering, rehearsing, and recalling just WHO our God is; that Jesus has indeed come to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Kind and compassionate, He will not give up on you. He will seek you out. He will […]
The human condition: we’re SOMETHING, aren’t we? No matter what we do, we can find some way to justify it, right? I think it starts when you’re a child. “Son, did you take a bath?” “No, but sister hasn’t brushed her teeth all week!” As adults we’re not much better. “Officer, I know I was […]
Luke 15 is a chapter about offense. The pastors, priests, deacons, elders, and Torah teachers were offended by the crowd that Jesus was attracting. These religious leaders gathered each week in the Synagogue and taught the Torah (The Books of Moses – the Jewish Bible). None of the people they were observing with Jesus ever […]
Elisha was a threat to the enemy, and, as we all know, when you are a threat there will be an attack dispatched upon you. This passage is about perspective. Of course, perspective can’t truly be understood without examining context. Turn on any news or social media platform you choose, and you will likely hear […]
By all accounts, Noah was an ordinary man. There was nothing outstanding about his pedigree, education, or bank account. Yet, out of the estimated one million people that inhabited the earth at that time, God chose Noah. Imagine it; one in a million! If you were God, what kind of person would you choose? Here’s […]
I have often been surprised at the people God chooses to use, haven’t you? He can choose some of the most unlikely candidates for greatness. How about the time He chose an insecure, fearful, timid farm boy to deliver Israel from the overwhelming occupation of the Midianites? God turned Gideon into a national hero! You […]
As we begin 2017, I can hear you sigh just like me. That sigh comes from a deep place in your heart which, shall we say, has been powerfully opposed in 2016. This past year has been extremely trying in MANY ways. Our heart cry to God is, “Lord, give me the strength to make […]
Jonah’s story starts with a struggling prophet trying to do the will of God. The reality of life is, that not only do unbelievers have challenges in their faith, Believers do too. We are living in a day in which we as Christians have done much to damage the real theology of what it means […]