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Jesus Calls His First Witness
John 5:36-38 & Galatians 5:1, 13 5:36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never…
Jesus Takes the Stand (John 5.17-30)
John 5:17-20 5:17Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own…
A Deliberate Provocation (John 5:1-18)
John 5:15-30 5:15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was…
The Journey, Part 6: Life in the Waterless Wilderness
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 8:1-5 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For…
Mortality by Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage
1. Although in most of you, beloved brethren, there is a resolute mind and a firm faith and a devout spirit, which is not disturbed at the numbers in the present mortality, but like a strong and unmoving rock breaks rather the turbulent attacks of the world and the violent waves of the age and is itself not broken, and is not vanquished but tried by temptations, yet…
Conversation with Nicodemus I: ‘You Must Be Born All Over Again from Above!’
John chapter 3 is one of the most beloved portions of the New Testament, and for good reason. It treats matters of life and death. How can I enter the kingdom of God? What does it mean to be born again? What’s that even look like? With such grave questions to be answered, we must approach this…
Are You A Thanks-Giver? Then Give Thanks HERE!
Remember the ten lepers Jesus healed in Luke 17:11-19? Leprosy was a devastating and separating disease. It separated one from his or her loved ones and community. It rendered them an outcast. Well, the ten lepers showed themselves to the priest and were indeed declared healed! Then we read this:…
It’s Not About You. Really, It’s Not.
In consideration of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, which we observed yesterday, I’d like us to consider the story of Mojtaba Hosseini, an Iranian Christian man who learned two precious lessons from the Lord through his persecution. First, he learned that God can use us for His glory anywhere. Second, He learned that Christianity is never about…
A Rest for Every Season
As God leads us through the various seasons of life, He wants us to know that there’s always a rest available. Some of life’s seasons are clearly more difficult than others, but God’s rest – and internal Garden of Eden, a place where we can retreat in the calm of His presence – is never far away. The Children of Israel never quite got this! When the seasons changed,…
God Shepherds Us Through the Seasons
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 may be one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible, familiar to believers and non-believers alike. It talks about the times and season of life. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a…
God Gives, but Not to Everyone
“For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29). Near the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus told a story, a parable. It was about a Master who was about to go on a journey and three servants He left behind. Before He left, He entrusted each of the servants…
The Season Has Changed. (And So Have I.)
I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it” (1 Corinthians 3:2). Mary and I love art! So, recently we took in an exhibition in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum called, Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth. Fra Angelico was a truly breath-taking painter of the early renaissance. He was a very devout man. It’s said that whenever he attempted…
John’s Two Longings
Of the four Gospels, John’s stands alone in many ways. His focus is more upon what Jesus said than what He did. We almost get the sense that the aged apostle is ‘filling in the gaps’ left by the earlier three Gospels. After all, he’s writing some sixty years after Jesus’ resurrection. He’s had a lot of time to consider all that he witnessed and what it meant. He’d lived…
A Memorable Meal
There are certain things we just never forget. When I was a very young boy, my brother Mike and I were playing with a garden hose that had been coiled aside my grandfather’s – my Pépère Giguere’s – house on Hope St. in Woonsocket. He saw us playing with the water and yelled at us. I was, well, startled and terrified. I remember it vividly. He wore a plaid shirt and…
Another Fire
“When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast” (John…
Breakfast with Jesus
“Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That…
Sojourns in Solitude: Leaving the Desert, Trembling
In Matthew 14, Jesus performed one of His most astonishing miracles: He fed a multitude of 5,000+ bewildered people with a few fish and few loaves of bread. God had moved and moved powerfully. He’d manifested His omnipotent control over the natural in a supernatural display of divine capability. It…
Sojourns in Solitude: Prayer and the Festal Shout
A wonderful passage in Peter’s second epistle reminds us that God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” – life to the full (John 10:10b). Peter’s words are a beautiful…
Sojourns in Solitude: The Sound of a Gentle Blowing
Jesus often retreated to a quiet place alone to talk with His Father. As His disciples, we need to do the same. The desert is the best place to evaluate our walk with Him – and to consider our wins and losses. It’s a place for reflection. When the disciples returned from their brief missionary…
Sojourns in Solitude: The Disciples’ Schoolhouse
We need the desert. A quiet place, a retreat. We need a place where we can meet our heavenly Father without distraction. A place to practice silence in the Lord’s presence. A place to listen, as well as to talk. Job said, “Teach me, and I will be silent; and show me how I have erred” (Job 6:24).…
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