The Old Testament is rich with themes, which have now become types of New Testament realities.  One such theme is that of owning a special land.

When Abram was separated from his nephew, Lot chose to pitch his tent towards the good, fertile lands of Sodom.  In Gen. 13:14-15, "The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, 'Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.'"  Again, God told Abram in Gen. 15:7, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur ... Read More »

Somehow my thinking has been warped.  I don't know how I got it into my head that I could just teach someone a series of five or ten lessons and they would be a strong NT Christian.  If there was a series of lessons, a ready formula for making a NT Christian, don't you think Peter or Paul or Jesus would have loaned us the material?  Instead, we have the Bible.  Yes, the entire Bible.  Here's a person we want to teach - where do we start?  Do we always start in the same place with every person?  If we do, it sounds like we think we have a formula.  We may have missed something integral in the teaching process.

1) Get to know the person.  Often we don't do this because it's just so hard.  It takes time to learn what a person needs.  It takes effort to wade through their issues and problems.  It takes (ulp!) love to discover what their likes ... Read More »

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain, so says Mark 9:2-8.  There Jesus was transfigured before them, His clothing becoming so radiant and white that no earthly launderer could match.  As the three apostles watched, Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus and the three were talking together.  Peter, bless his heart, didn't know what to say (and of course he had to say SOMETHING), so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah" (Mark 9:5).  All of a sudden, they heard a voice from heaven, This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" (Mark 9:7).  When they looked around, Moses and Elijah had vanished and only Jesus stood before them.

Moses was the grea ... Read More »

Peter tells us how to initially obtain a good conscience in 1 Peter 3:21: "Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."  What a wonderful day it was to be raised from the waters of baptism knowing God had washed our sins away completely!  We truly did stand before God with a good conscience.  We understood we no longer had guilt weighing us down.  God pronounced us clean!

But as we moved forward in our lives, we continued to find it impossible to stay clean.  We kept running into temptations we were too weak to overcome.  Our faith just wasn't what it should be.  Did we have to jump back into the water for another baptism?  No, Jesus was sacrificed once for all time, and His blood is so powerful it continues to ... Read More »

I was impressed today as I read through Stephen's sermon in Acts 7.  We understand we must be like Christ.  Stephen is a great example of this Christ-likeness.

1.  Stephen's accusers brought the same issues against him as they had against Jesus. (Acts 6:11 - "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God."  Acts 6:13-14 - "They put forward false witnesses who said, 'This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.'")

2.  Stephen preached the truth to them in the face of death (Acts 7).

3.  As they stoned Stephen to death, he &a ... Read More »

Lazarus died.  Lazarus was a friend of Jesus', brother of Mary and Martha.  After his death, Jesus went to Bethany (just outside of Jerusalem) to see the family.  Martha choked out, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21).  Jesus said, "Your brother will rise again" (11:23), knowing full well He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Martha expressed faith in Lazarus rising on the last day, but Jesus wanted her to understand and believe HE was the resurrection and the life. 

Then came Mary.  Mary said exactly the same thing as Martha, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (11:32).  She must have been grieving harder than Martha, because it is ... Read More »

It's just not fair that we don't have miracles today.  If I could just see a miracle, THEN I would have strong faith!  All those people during the time of Jesus had it easy, didn't they?  They got to SEE the power of God with their own two eyes.  I mean, who WOULDN'T believe after seeing Jesus raise someone from the dead?

Well...

In John 11:43-46 we read of the resurrection of Lazarus.

 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."
 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
 45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, bel ... Read More »

Have you ever wondered at the time Jesus healed the blind man in two stages? 

Mark 8:22-25
 22 And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to touch him.
 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"
 24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around."
 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

I have often wondered about this.  Where else did it take Jesus TWO TRIES to fix someone?  I know of no other place.  Questions might arise, such as, "Was Jesus not ... Read More »

These words were written of Judas Iscariot in Matthew 26:16, "From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus."  I wonder what a "good opportunity" looked like to Judas? 

It must have been a time when he thought he could get away with it.  I am convinced Judas never meant for things to go as far as they did.  I think he was a small-time crook looking for a little money.  So a "good opportunity" would have been one in which he saw little risk of repercussion.

Do we ever look for "good opportunities" to betray Jesus?  How shocking to even suggest such a thing, Nathan!  It is shocking to think about.  Judas might have been shocked about his own conduct had he taken time to really ponder on it.  Have we ever b ... Read More »