SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 6-10 All of them were trying to frighten us. They thought, “Their hands will get too weak to do the work. So it won’t be completed. But I prayed to God. I said, “Make my hands stronger.” (Nehemiah 6:9) Discouragement, distraction, deception, despair… tactics of the enemy to keep us from doing God’s work. Whenever…
Nowhere for Jesus to lay His head
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) Sculpture of Jesus the Homeless Rejected by Two Prominent Churches By Leslie Scrivener, The Star Jesus has been depicted in art as triumphant, gentle or suffering. Now, in a controversial new sculpture…
Impacted by Jesus through their dad!
SCRIPTURE: Mark 15:21-26 Who are Alexander and Rufus, why does Mark mention them in his gospel? Apparently they are known to the Christian community, likely they were followers of Jesus themselves. Maybe they were with their dad Simon that day for the Passover Feast, maybe they followed their dad as he carried Jesus’ cross. Maybe the…
God feels our pain
SCRIPTURE: Mark 15:16-20 I cannot stomach violence, any kind of bullying bothers me. How can people become so cruel, so careless? God enters the cursed world, and embraces our brokenness. God in Jesus feels our pain, endures our misery. God can relate to injustice, oppression, abuse, torture, horrific pain… God stands with victims all over the…
While we were sinners
SCRIPTURE: Mark 15:6-15 What is the right thing for you to do… what is the best thing for you to do – the answer ought to be the same. People often mistake the best for the easiest, the safest, the most pleasurable… The right thing for Pilate to do was to release Jesus, but he wanted…
Quiet strength under pressure
SCRIPTURE: Mark 15:1-5 You are standing before your superior (teacher, boss, leader), accused of wrongdoing. Everyone is speaking against you, no one stands up for you. The accusations are ridiculous, unfair, unbelievable, yet everyone seems to believe them. How do you respond? Anger, vehement denial, your own accusations against your accusers? Pilate is amazed, he knows…
God’s love better than life!
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 63 Why is David in the desert, is he running from enemies or on a personal retreat (like Jesus)? Either way, his focus is on God. He longs for God, he thinks about God, he clings to God, he praises God, he prays to God. One line jumps out at me, that I want…
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)
Ora et labora
SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 1-5 “The king said to me, “What do you want?” I prayed to the God of heaven. Then I answered the king…” (Nehemiah 2:4-5) I like how Nehemiah prays right in the middle of his discussion with the king. This is not just a technique for ‘prayer that works’ (I hate that phrase, it’s God…
Wreckers or builders?
I watched them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town. With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell, They swung a beam and a sidewall fell. I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled, As the men you’d hire if you had to build?” He gave me a laugh and said, “No…