THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 1:21-28 “‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’” (Mark 1:25) When is the last time you dealt with an ‘impure spirit’? Depending on what you think it is, you may not think you have. Let me assure you, you have… and so have I… and all people! Most of our…
Am I looking in the right places?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 121 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?” (Psalm 121:1) The challenge for me today is to answer this question honestly. Where, or to whom, do I look for help when I am struggling? When things get hard, who (or what) do I naturally turn…
The pursuit of wisdom!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Proverbs 2 “If you cry aloud for understanding… you will find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3,5) According to this passage, wisdom needs to be actively and aggressively pursued. It doesn’t just fall in our lap, we need to struggle and ‘cry out’ to find it. God wants us to want it first;…
Wisdom starts with God!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Proverbs 1 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7) My assumption is that fear here means healthy respect, not cowering fear. Like the healthy respect that is due fire, or nuclear energy. To be aware that God is real, that God is greater than all of us and…
Jesus is sending me too!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 1:16-20 “‘Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.’” (Mark 1:17) It seems to me that people matter more than things. My family needs things (food, clothing, place to sleep, education, etc.). These things matter, but they are not the most important. They do not live by…
That’s really good news!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 1:14-15 “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) Jesus is proclaiming the ‘good news’ (or gospel) of God. Often the word gospel makes us think of Jesus dying for our sins. The good news that I am forgiven, and will go to heaven one…
Into today’s wilderness with Jesus!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 1:9-12 “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness.” (Mark 1:12) As a Jesus follower, we share in God’s promise that we are His child, whom He loves. The Spirit of God and Jesus is in/with us, and we belong to Him. But this does not mean that life is…
Meeting Jesus where???
THE STORY OF JESUS: Mark 1:1-8 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘prepare the way for the Lord.’” (Mark 1:3) Mark starts his biography of Jesus when His ministry begins, as an adult. John the Baptist is the unusual fanfare that announces the coming Messiah. To prepare for God’s coming, people need to repent. This…
Keep looking up!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 120 “Woe to me that I live among the tents of Kedar!” (Psalm 120:5) A ‘song of ascents’ was sung by pilgrims on the upward roads to Jerusalem. As they ascended, they lifted their hearts and voices to the Lord. In this song they lament that where they live people do not…
The end… and the beginning!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Revelation 21-22 “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 21:6) This is not just the end of one story, but the beginning of another one. God was there at the beginning (Genesis 1:1), and will be there at the end. And at that point we…