THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 12 “Who is lord over us?” (Psalm 12:4) With the so-called ‘death of God’ announced by Nietzsche, our world has lost its anchor. The western world no longer has moral authority, each one can do as they feel is right. If you are familiar with the Book of Judges, you’ll know it…
Category: daily meditations
God’s ‘just enough’ buffet!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 15-18 “Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” (Exodus 16:18) Jesus taught us to pray “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) He urges us not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), but to trust Him for today. The Israelites learned through 40 years in the desert that God would provide…
Try being still
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 12-14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) How do you respond when things go crazy, or fall apart, or become stressful? For me, I jump into ‘panic’ mode, and try to manage and fix things. On the one hand, this is good; God wired…
Good news of the kingdom!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:35-38 “Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.” (Matthew 9:35) When is the last time you thought about the kingdom of God? How would you respond if someone asked you about the kingdom? Or if asked about the gospel, would your answer include the kingdom? Jesus’ good news boils down to this…
Small faith, great mercy!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:27-34 “According to your faith let it be done to you.” (Matthew 9:29) This is a scary verse. If the quality of my faith determines the results, I am in trouble. This idea has also been used to explain why some people don’t get healed. But notice that Jesus does not say…
The sound of laughter!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:18-26 “The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.” (Matthew 9:24) The synagogue leader and the woman believed Jesus to reach out to Him for help. The crowds were so focused on death, they could not see the hope of life. They laughed at the prospect of hope,…
Just give me Jesus!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:14-17 “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins.” (Matthew 9:17) Einstein said insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Religion and religious practices have been tried over and over again through the centuries. But religion has not made us better, and maybe it…
Do the right thing!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 11 “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) To be righteous or upright means to be committed to doing the right thing. This assumes a belief in right and wrong, but what about when society rejects this? We are living in a time when absolute morality…
No future without God!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 9:13-11:10 “Every firstborn son in Egypt will die…” (Exodus 11:5) In Moses’ Law, the firstborn – human and animal – belonged to God. The Levites were dedicated to God in place of the firstborn (Numbers 3:40ff). Every firstborn was to be redeemed (payed for) with a sacrifice (Exodus 34:20). In ancient times, the firstborn…
How to soften hardened hearts
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 7:8-9:12 “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.” (Exodus 9:12) God is not making Pharoah do something against his will… he is stubborn by nature (7:14,22, 8:15,19,22, 9:7). But God is hardening Pharoah’s heart in order…