What Made Jesus the Greatest Disciple Maker Who Ever Lived?
You have probably seen the question – would you rather have $1 million or double a penny every day for 30 days and get paid the result? Doubling the penny results in over $5 million! Jesus was a penny doubler. He made just a few disciples but they knew how to do for others what […]
Good Friday, Cross Bearing, and Following Jesus
Jesus said if we want to be his disciples we must take up our cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23). Jesus said this while he was on his way to Jerusalem to suffer and die on a cross. Good Friday reminds us that Jesus is our leader and the leader always goes first. Hebrews […]
Jesus and Compound Miter Saws
One of my favorite blog posts of all time was one I did in 2017 on how to put a spring back in a Ryobi 10 inch compound miter saw. I was changing the blade one day when a little spring fell out. It was the spring that pushes the guard out of the way […]
Finding the Thread – Listening in John 9-11
In John 9 Jesus heals a man who was born blind…on the Sabbath (9:14). This got the attention of the local authorities who began to question the healed man. After verbally assaulting him the man defends Jesus saying, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does […]
The Profound Presence of Christ
There are moments in life when Jesus feels extra present. We might consider those “holy moments” and the space those moments occupy “holy ground” or “sacred space.” The reality is Jesus is always with us, it is just more obvious some moments than others. When Jesus was on the earth he was always divine. There […]
Naming Jesus
We call Jesus many things. We call him Lord, which means master. We call him Christ, which means anointed one (Messiah in Hebrew). We call him savior because he brings salvation from sins. Before Jesus was born the angel told both Mary (Lk 1:31) and Joseph (Mt 1:20-21) that they were to name him Jesus, […]
Jesus Didn’t Wait Until Sunday
Sometimes we get so caught up in our own traditions that we miss the bigger point entirely. The Jewish religious authorities in Jesus’ day had done this. In their effort to be holy…to cross the t’s and dot the i’s they had wrapped various commands in so many traditions that it was hard to tell […]
Jesus Inaugurates the New Creation Via the Holy Spirit
I have been thinking a lot about the Holy Spirit lately. One of the connection points that I have been looking into is the Spirit’s role in Creation and His corresponding role in New Creation. First is the Spirit’s work in God’s original creation. In Genesis 1:2 we see the Spirit of God hovering over […]
Jesus as an Illustration to Understand the Holy Spirit
Imagine yourself in a crowded street in Galilee. Jesus is there and you have found yourself swept up in a crowd of onlookers who have heard Jesus is on his way into town and a rush of people have gone out to see him. Through the bobbing heads and undulating crowd you spot him. Jesus […]
The Sermon on the Mount and the Power of Self-Deception
The sermon on the mount is one of the most powerful sermons ever preached. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned that one of Jesus’ longest sermons was only a few minutes long if we have the whole thing recorded. Sometimes less is more. But in these three chapters of Matthew (5-7) Jesus gives […]