Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Five on October 31, 2007 | 1 Comment »
This is a morbid story (kind of fits Halloween): John the Baptist’s severed head on a platter! It just doesn’t seem right that this great man of God should die this way.
Again, I’m caught short by my fixation on the physical. I have to look past the gore to the unseen glory.
No, [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Five on October 30, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Here we go again. As Jesus is preparing to send his disciples out into ministry, He repeatedly tells them not to be afraid. In verse 28, He tells them not to be afraid of antagonistic men. In verse 31, he simply tells them not to be afraid, period.
The problem with our fears, Jesus says, is [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Five on October 29, 2007 | 3 Comments »
“Don’t be afraid. Just trust me,” Jesus said to Jairus, after Jairus received the crushing news that his daughter had died.
My eyes wander back to the previous chapter, where, in the middle of a killer storm, Jesus asks his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?”
I sneak a [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The majority of today’s passage (Mark 4:35-5:20) tells the story of Jesus calling the demons out of a demon-infested man, allowing the demons (at their request) to go into 2,000 pigs who promptly committed suicide, and the restoration of the man who ended up “dressed and in his right mind” (vs. 18).
What are we to [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Digging in the Mines of Parable-ville
Today’s assigned passage – Matthew 13:1-52—is a long string of parables coming from the mouth of Jesus as He taught His disciples and the crowds around Galilee. In these few verses He expounds on:
- The parable of the sower
- The parable of the weeds
- The parables of the mustard seed [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
from Liz Gates
Earlier this year, I began the discipline of reading through the Bible. It is something I had never done, although I’ve probably read most of it at one time or another. I just knew it was something I needed to be doing.
So I dove in – starting at the middle with Proverbs. It [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 23, 2007 | 2 Comments »
(One way to get more out of reading the Bible is to ask questions of the text as you go through it. Jesse had provided us with some excellent questions for today’s reading.)
Five individuals or groups interact with Jesus in this chapter. What can we learn from each of these interactions? Perhaps the following questions [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 23, 2007 | 1 Comment »
For you early risers, here’s something to think about. George Herbert, a poet pastor, wrote about Jesus:
“That all things were more ours by being His.”
He explains this with the following couplet:
What Adam had, and forfeited for all,
Christ keepeth now, who cannot fail or fall.”
What is George referring to in these last two lines? Think about [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 22, 2007 | 1 Comment »
From the pen of Jesse Deloe. Thank you, Jesse!
At times, the Sermon on the Mount resembles Proverbs in the Old Testament. Chapter 7 includes a series of proverb-like statements that may seem disjointed and unrelated. Keep in mind, however, that the Sermon is describing citizens of the kingdom and their conduct.
Two phrases [...]
Posted in Unexpected Jesus Week Four on October 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Thanks to Tim Wright and some of the teens for their great contributions to last week’s blog! Here we go into week four already! I hope you are learning new things about Jesus.
This coming week will feature entries written by the BMH (Brethren Missionary Herald) team of Terry White, Liz Gates, and Jesse Deloe. I [...]
