“He has a demon,” one said, and several others nodded, apprehensive. They could not account for his strange charisma and his powerful healings in any other way. He had a demon. It was the only explanation. Continue reading Gospel of John: I Know My Own
There might have been a slight sense of unease, wondering if Jesus really meant to imply their religious rulers were thieves and robbers. How could that be true? Were they not seeking to purify Israel, to return Israel to the theocracy it once had been? Continue reading Gospel of John: The Good Shepherd
it is actually safer to follow close to the Shepherd, even though it means the open field, new experiences, new events, new demands, rather than remain in the seeming safety of the fold.
You and I can trust he not only knows us, but he knows what it is like to go through what you and I are going through. He will not leave us in this place, he will guide us through it. Continue reading Gospel of John: The True Shepherd
Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Continue reading Abigail
Anger was eating Jonah up just like the worm had eaten up the vine. You and I might start out being angry at the big things, but unresolved anger just sits there waiting to be triggered until it comes screaming out over every little thing. Continue reading Minor Prophets: The Last Word On Jonah
Yesterday was about grace, but the results of grace returned in unexpected, and seemingly disastrous ways. Grace restores what is good, but the process can be so disruptive it may feel more like a tearing down than a building up, more like a taking away than a restoring. Continue reading Gospel of John: Grace, Grace, God’s Grace
You would think we would embrace grace wholeheartedly, we would be mad in love with grace. But, we are not.
We have made a life that works in the world we know. Grace disrupts all that, and we can be just as prone to resist and reject as to revel and receive.
Continue reading Gospel of John: Ejected | Embraced
This is a classic case of denial, insisting something is not so, because to accept that it is so would mean admitting personal responsibility, admitting that maybe something is wrong, maybe I need to change. Continue reading Gospel of John: The Ban
Through the dark of night, unseen and unheard, as Jonah slept peacefully, the balance shifted, and the plant began to die. By morning, there was nothing left but the shriveled remains of what once was. Continue reading Minor Prophets: Jonah 4, A Scholarly Approach
God requires some response of faith through a definite action of obedience before going to the next step. So often, being able to see, spiritually, is a process of insight, obedience, and understanding. Continue reading Gospel of John: What Do You See?
