Gospel of John: Circumcision

Makeshift lean-tos and vendorsโ€™ kiosks thickly encrusted every possible open space, including the streets. Street preachers, entertainers, and peddlers hawking their wares competed for the peopleโ€™s attention.

Feast at Shiloh: Hannah’s Story

Has there ever been a time when you found yourself in a group of people enjoying themselves and you felt utterly alone? Maybe unseen, certainly not noticed, no one knew what you were feeling, there was no one to relate to. You go to a party, but for you itโ€™s a test of endurance, not the fun itโ€™s billed to be.

Minor Prophets: Jonah’s Psalm

The fundamental movement of the Lord was to move Godโ€™s people from bondage to freedom, from objectification as enslaved persons to beloved people in relationship with the Almighty Sovereign and God of the Cosmos.

Gospel of John: Moses’ Law

The aching irony in all this was the evident sincerity of the Judeans in their defense of the Sabbath as they understood it, by their own interpretation, and their genuine passion to finally get it right after centuries of failure and loss.

Gospel of John: Personal Pressure

I have heard speaking the truth in love described this way: You make a sandwich with two big slices of love, and you slip the meat of truth right in between them.

Psalm 73

God met Asaph where he was, and opened his inner vision to a revelation he hadnโ€™t quite grasped yet. On the outside, these rich and conceited courtiers seemed to have it all. But on the inside they were headed for ruin.

Minor Prophets: Jonah in the Storm

The truth is, it seemed Jonah would rather have died than turn back and sail for Joppa to begin his journey to Nineveh. But, God was not asking Jonah to give his life to the sea in death. God was asking him to give his compassion to the enemies of his people.

Gospel of John: Life-Giving Feast

Jesus had delivered possibly the most offensive sermon ever given in his time, a message so viscerally horrifying, so unspeakably grotesque, that many must have been left actually speechless.

Gospel of John: Flesh and Blood

D.L. Moody once said โ€œOne day youโ€™ll read that D.L. Moody is dead. Donโ€™t you believe it! Iโ€™ll be more alive on that day than I have ever been before!โ€

Gospel of John: Bread of Life

Unbelief is basically a spiritual issue, not an intellectual issue. All the while, as we wrestle with these passages, and seek to live out their truths as best we can, God is conforming our character to be holy and righteous, as God is.