Serving Christ in México
Jesus loves the little children. His love and concern for even the littlest ones of society is demonstrated in the fact that people were eager to bring their children to him. It’s obvious that they saw Jesus, powerful a figure as he was, as someone who would receive babies and toddlers into his arms. And Jesus encouraged them to come.
Continue reading “Do Not Hinder Them”
Immediately after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus began to teach the disciples about his coming death. This would have been a shock for the disciples whose understanding of the Messiah was one-sided – they focused on his kingship and the defeat of his enemies. After Jesus explained that he must be killed and then rise again after three days, Peter once again stood up and speaks first. Peter had the audacity, and foolishness, to rebuke Jesus for talking of his death. Jesus in turn rebuked Peter and revealed the Satanic forces vying for control over those closest to Jesus.
Continue reading “A Glimpse of Glory”
At a recent bible study I was about to introduce the passage we were studying when the lady next to me asked a question I don’t think I’ve been asked before: How do you open your bible? At first I wasn’t sure I had understood her question and I asked her to clarify. What she wanted to know was: Is there a correct way to open your bible? Do you turn the pages in a certain way? Can you place your bible on the floor or is that not allowed? Basically, how do you handle the bible?
Continue reading “How To Open Your Bible”
Mark begins his gospel by telling us exactly who Jesus is: Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. As Mark unfolds the story, the identity of Jesus remains a central focus. The pressing question throughout the book is: who will recognize Jesus for who he truly is?
John the Baptist appears first on the scene and announces that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who brings salvation for the people of God. John was given a special insight into who Jesus is, yet he did not see the whole picture and at one point even starts to have doubts that Jesus really is the Messiah.
Continue reading “Who Do You Say I Am?”
It’s hard to avoid talking about Covid in an update when you recently had the virus.
I recently sick and after three or four days of being sick with fevers and chills and lying in bed most of the day, I suspected it might be Covid. I went to a local hospital to get a test, which was a little uncomfortable, but quick. I got results the next day and was surprised it came back negative. However, I had begun to experience some pain in my chest and had shortness of breath, which made me doubt the accuracy of the test. I also had headaches, fatigue, and strangely, sensitive teeth. So for now I’m assuming it really was Covid.
Continue reading “Covid”
The religions of the world have at least one thing in common – rules. Rules, laws, and regulations all provide a neat system of things we ought to do and things we ought to avoid. They help keep everybody on the same page and moving towards a shared goal. A common rule fosters unity. And when we speak of improving our lives and becoming better people, it is easiest to follow a set of rules. So often we want to boil it down to identifying exactly where the line is that we must not cross. When it comes to religion, rules are king.
Continue reading “Rules and Religion”
John the Baptist was a herald. He was designated to run ahead and proclaim the One who was coming. Most obviously, John accomplished his task by preaching about repentance and baptizing people. And when Jesus stepped onto the stage, John stepped up to the crowd, pointed to Jesus, and announced his presence. Yet, even in his death, John was a herald of the kind of death that Jesus would die.
Continue reading “The Testimony of John the Baptist”
I feel like I’m writing a lot about thankfulness in these updates. Maybe it’s because if I don’t count the blessings, all the Covid-related negativity will take over. Whatever the reason, I’m looking back at the last month and feeling grateful.
At the turn of the new year, a lot of us were quite happy to be done with 2020, and with good reason. But so far 2021 is not shaping up to be much better. The future remains quite uncertain and it is not a feeling we particularly enjoy. We are used to the freedom of being able to hop on a plane and travel anywhere in the world. Now, we are being told not to cross the street to visit our own family. And when will it end? Who knows.
Continue reading “Forget Not His Benefits”
When I was in my mid-teens I heard a sermon on the story of Jesus healing the demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. I think I remember two or three sermons from that time in my life, so it is striking that this sermon stuck with me. I do not know exactly what it was about the sermon that made it so memorable, but I think it had something to do with the way it captured my imagination. If I am correct, the sermon was titled “D-Day at the Decapolis” and the preacher drew parallels between the Allied forces invading the beaches of Normandy and Jesus invading the beaches of the Decapolis.
Continue reading “Death in the Face of Life”
We are familiar with the parable of the sower, which is in fact about the soil, but Jesus also told a parable about the seed. In Mark’s gospel we read:
Continue reading “The Parable of the Seed”“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Mark 4:26-29
