trying to find His way
Some people see winning a debate as a sign of strength.Sometimes wisdom does have a way of making its point hit home.But other times wisdom is seen more in its silence.One of the proverbs captures this tension well: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.Answer…
There are times when I feel the need to pull out a sword.Not an actual sword, but the sword of my tongue.Though sometimes even a more physical weapon, to defend.I’ve never wanted to kill anyone myself with a weapon.But some people are so cruel and mean, someone needs to stop them.My usual go to, when…
It all happened in the garden.The serpent comes to the garden to tempt us (Genesis 3).The first Adam failed, and we’ve been falling into temptation ever since.Jesus alone endures through Satan’s worse, and stands firm.He is the Son of God (Adam) that fully refuses the serpent’s lies.He stays true to God’s purpose, remaining an obedient Adam.He…
Jesus knows that His followers are weak, and will fall away.He also knows what will happen to Him, that He will be struck down.This is a quote from Zechariah, which is a complicated book of prophecies.(Watch The Bible Project: Zechariah to get a sense of it).Zechariah offers both promises and warnings to the people of…
The phrase “blood of the covenant” is from Exodus 24.God brings the people to the base of Mount Sinai.He enters into a marriage-like relationship with the people. There were two kinds of sacrifices offered at that time.There was the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.The sacrificed animals represented God and the people.The burnt offering pointed to…
If the poor are always with us, should we be as concerned about them?Some people use this line to justify the existence of poor people.Jesus isn’t affirming the rightness of poverty, but our problem.The poor are always with us because collectively humans don’t care.Ever since we doubted God’s goodness in Eden, we’ve become self-serving.“You can…
This is really the point of this whole section of teaching.‘Tough times are coming, but don’t forget your job while I’m gone’.Jesus has left the house and put His servants in charge.Not to do whatever they want, not to laze around doing nothing. So what is our job as servants of Jesus? “Whatever happens, conduct…
What does Jesus want us to learn from the fig tree? Some people see it as a secret clue. The nation of Israel was sometimes described as a fig tree (Hosea 9:10). These people think it refers to May 14, 1948, when Israel became a nation again. Within a generation of this date (40-80 years), Jesus…
Jesus is quoting from the prophecy of Daniel here.Daniel has a vision of a series of four horrible beasts (empires).The probably empires are Assyria, Babylon, Greek and then Roman.These beasts are deviant forms of God’s good creation – monsters.The last one is the worse: “Terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth;…
These are disturbing words to hear, not inspiring.Jesus is using apocalyptic language to describe what is about to happen.If He said these things around AD 30, they came true in AD 70. After a 4 year rebellion in Judea, Rome hit the city hard.It began with a seige, leading many to die of starvation.Then the…