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…
Mercy me!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:9-13 “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” (Matthew 9:13) For the Jews, obeying God’s laws was of topmost importance. God commanded the sacrifices as part of Moses’ Law, therefore they must obey. God commanded separation from sin and sinners also, therefore they must obey. The problem is…
Authority on earth to forgive!?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 9:1-8 “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:2) Is Jesus doing the forgiving, or is He announcing God’s forgiveness? I believe that Jesus is acting as God’s representative. As the Son of Man (Adam), He has been entrusted with God’s authority. But remember, we were also…
Positive witnesses!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 8:28-34 “They pleaded with him to leave.” (Matthew 8:34) The deceiver does whatever he can to keep us from knowing the truth. We will be surprised to discover how weak the deceiver actually is. He specializes in fear and deception, but those are his only powers. If he can get us to…
We shall be like Him!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 8:23-27 “What kind of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27) This was the million dollar question everyone was asking. He defied all categories and definitions. Personally I do not think Jesus was a ‘superman’. Many Christians assume He had His powers because He was God. But the God-ness of Jesus was fully hidden…
Forgetting the helpless?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 10 “Do not forget the helpless.” (Psalm 10:12) I just read Viktor Frankl’s account of life in Nazi concentration camps. What the guards did to their prisoners… it’s pure evil! They acted exactly like the ‘wicked’ described in this psalm. All of us have sin in our hearts, but not all of…
Holding back on God?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 4:18-7:7 “The Lord met Moses and was about to kill him.” (Exodus 4:24) This section (4:24-26) is a difficult part to read. Why is the Lord about to kill Moses, and how does circumcising his son help? If circumcision symbolized their bond with God, was Moses holding back his son? Was Moses…
I AM everything you need me to be!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Exodus 1:1-4:17 “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) A name is not just a label, it soon becomes an identity. Everything we know about that something is associated with that name. One way the Nazis depersonalized their prisoners was by giving them numbers. Our names come to characterize…