“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” verse 4. Picture a large table, perhaps at a family reunion, you find the place with your name and take your seat. The food is on the table in abundance, it is passed around family style and you dine on the bounty with […]
Last week we saw Jesus as the life, the restorer of the life of God to mankind because there had been a spiritual death in which we became separated from God and we needed restoration. Today we hear Jesus words “I am the resurrection and the life”, spoken in the face of the death of […]
In introducing Jesus John 1:4 says “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This shows us that in the original creation of Genesis 1 and 2 life came from God through Jesus. The life of the new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 also comes from God through Him; as the […]
Jesus Himself speaking in John 10:1, using a metaphor from the agriculture of His day, said, “Most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold (the kingdom of God) by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” A sheepfold was an enclosure […]
In Isaiah 55:1-3 God gives a special invitation: Water in the Bible speaks of life, wine represents gladness and joy, milk symbolizes nourishment, and bread that which strengthens, (cf. Psalm 104:15; 1 Peter 2:2; Revelation 21:6.) These verses in Isaiah give a clear invitation to separate from the past; to Israel at that time from […]
The Bible says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1. Yes, this includes the time to seek the Lord. Isaiah 55:6 says “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” The season to seek Him will not always be available […]
We know that Jesus bore a heavy cross for you and me, a cross that should have been ours, see John 19:17; apparently because of His physically weakened condition He could not continue to bear it alone, so they compelled Simon of Cyrene “to bear it after” him Luke 23:26. While He paid the full […]
In the light of Scripture, Perhaps taking root in rabbinic literature, leaven is often viewed as being symbolic of corruption and evil. There are Scriptures that appear to support this such as Matthew 16:6, 12 where it refers to erroneous teaching and legalism, and 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 where it represents fleshly corruption, and Galatians 5:9 […]
In Luke 19:11-27 we understand the people “thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately”, a false assumption that looked for an earthly kingdom overlooking the fact that a spiritual kingdom had to be established first. Jesus being in the vicinity of Jerusalem, Israel’s capitol, was apparently fueling the false expectation among the people that […]
The necessity of forgiveness (Parables of Jesus part thirty five) The parable of an unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35 comes to us on the heels of Jesus teaching about Christian relationships when one has wronged another. Peter probably thinking that he was being very generous asks if he should forgive the offender as many as seven […]