“Let us remember: What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander… Let us not forget, after all, there is always a moment when a moral choice is made….” (Elie Wiesel, survivor of Auschwitz, author, and Nobel peace laureate)
Jesus’s missionary family!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 3:31-35 “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35) Jesus loves all people, but he loves in a special way those who obey God’s will. But who actually does this… we all fail to fulfill God’s will for our lives. But Jesus is announcing good news, that…
Open or closed to the Spirit?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 3:20-30 “He is out of His mind!”… “He is controlled by Beelzebub!” (Mark 3:21-22) Jesus is warning those who reject what the Spirit is saying through Him. Their critical, closed-minded response to Jesus is closing them to God’s Spirit. What they see as crazy and wrong, what they reject as demonic… is…
Jesus picks me too!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 3:13-19 “Jesus called to him those He wanted.” (Mark 3:13) Do you remember picking teams as a kid? I never got to be the one picking, and was usually one of the last picked. As captain, Jesus makes some odd picks, at least from a human viewpoint. Peter the big mouth, James…
When the church needs to be silenced!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 3:7-12 “But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.” (Mark 3:12) Jesus silences the impure spirits, even though what they say is true. He knows that they are not good press, that they cause more harm than good. They want to whip up the crowds into rebellious frenzy,…
Saved to do good!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 3:1-6 “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil….” (Mark 3:4) Do any of God’s laws prohibit doing good for others? Goodness is God’s original plan, the ‘very good’ of creation restored. (Genesis 1:31) Jesus saves us SO THAT we can live good lives again; with Him, like…
An insight into… me!?
A master we can love!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 123 “As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master…” (Psalm 123:2) In one sense, we are like slaves to God… and yet not. Slaves to humans are usually treated with contempt. But in this psalm, God is not the one who abuses humans. Humans, not God, are the…
At the risk of burnt feet?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Proverbs 6 “Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?” (Proverbs 6:28) In our sad messed up world, even this needs to be stated. I recall speaking to a woman who had married someone else’s husband. She was in tears because he had subsequently cheated on her. She was…
Listen for the voice of our Discipler!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Proverbs 5 “You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!” (Proverbs 5:12) Wisdom is constantly calling us to stop and think, and to stay away from trouble. Since the words here are written to a young man, the ‘trouble’ is sexual temptation. But the tempting trouble can be anything;…