THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 2 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” (Psalm 2:6) As a Jesus follower, I believe that Jesus is Lord over all creation. He has been put in charge, after beating sin, Satan, death and hell. And yet many people would laugh at this. People continue to live as…
Category: daily meditations
The wickedness of the world!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Genesis 4:1-6:8 “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6:6) What a sad sentence. God’s regret has to do with the position and power He entrusted to us. All authority over creation was given to us, and we have turned into…
Very good till we got our hands on it!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Genesis 1:1-3:24 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) These chapters outline the God-source and the God-design behind all that is. There is much in creation that is ‘very good’, and yet… God gave us the job of naming what we saw (Genesis 2:19-20), the task of…
Tears are not enough!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 2:13-18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18 quoting Jeremiah 31:15) Imagine the trauma and grief, all the young sons in a region slaughtered. ‘Weeping and great mourning’ hardly seems enough to convey…
God works through other religions!?!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 2:1-12 “We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) I am curious how pagan astrology pointed them to a Jewish messiah? Apparently God works through non-christian religions to draw people to Jesus. Is this story really about the Magi seeking Jesus, or God seeking the…
The real Christmas miracle!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 1:18-25 “Mary was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18) The big miracle here is NOT that Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God created all things out of nothing, this is no big deal for God. The real big deal is WHO that child…
Welcome to the family!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 1:1-17 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1) Matthew’s genealogy differs from Luke’s (Luke 3:23-28). It has been suggested that Matthew uses Mary’s line, while Luke uses Joseph’s line. Matthew traces Jesus line to David to highlight His Messianic kingship. Luke traces…
The blessed life!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 1:1-6 “Blessed is the one… who meditates on his law day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2) Why would meditating on God’s law make a person blessed? It is not the act itself that is the blessing, but the result of it. This person isn’t just reading their bible endlessly, they’re following it’s guidance….
Overcome evil with good!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Romans 12:17-21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) Paul began this section reminding us of God’s mercy. Jesus is the living embodiment of God’s mercy. He did not overcome our evil with anger, judgment, or harshness… but with good. We make the mistake of responding to…
My part in the harmony
THE STORY OF JESUS: Romans 12:9-16 “Live in harmony with one another.” (Romans 12:16) As a band director, I can appreciate good harmony. As an elementary school band director, I get bad harmony. When the instruments are in tune, and play what the music says… beautiful. All that Paul says here fits in this line, “live in harmony…