In response to a question regarding religious observances in Matthew 9:16-17 Jesus speaks two parallel parables portraying the old covenant with the new, the old life with the new. The old forms of religion, which in this case was ritual fasting suggesting to us somberness and mourning over the brokenness caused by sin, but now […]
In Luke 15:8-10 Jesus uses the scenario of a woman that has lost a valuable silver coin. The message in this parable is exactly the same as that of the preceding one about the lost sheep, but using a different picture, the “or” in verse 8 clearly indicating this. Such coins were “often worn in […]
In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells a story of a father with two sons. Since we do not have space in this meditation to talk about both sons we are focusing on the younger, who approached the father asking to receive his inheritance early. According to Jewish law at the father’s death the younger son would […]
It is almost beyond our human comprehension that the Co-Creator of the entire universe would become an implanted seed, leaving the riches of heaven and be born of a woman into the poverty of fallen humanity; but “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” 2 Corinthians 8:9. He was born in […]
The story of Zacchaeus recorded in Luke 19:1-10 is a true picture of one truly seeking to know God; Jesus was passing by and Zacchaeus had a real desire to see Him, an inner urge that in Matthew 5:6 Jesus called “hunger and thirst” saying, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for […]
The story of Christ’s Crucifixion is brought to us by all four gospel writers, but would be incomplete without the accompanying account of His Resurrection. Atonement for sin was made through His Crucifixion and the shedding of His blood, but New Life is obtained through His Resurrection! On that Resurrection morning more than two thousand […]
You may ask, Does God really hear my prayer, and if so does He answer the prayer of mere men? The Bible says “whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved’ Joel 2:32, a fact restated in Acts 2:21. That means even if you are not yet a Christian all you need […]
In Acts 10 we are introduced to Cornelius a Roman Centurion, which means he was a noncommissioned Roman officer with a hundred men under him. There is no indication that he was even a Jewish proselyte, but he believed in the Jewish moral teachings and apparently was a monotheist, believing in their God. However this […]
Recently we thought about our wonderful Lord, and then about His wonderful works as He seeks to reveal Himself to us, now today we conclude this short series looking at His wonderful works in us. In Psalm 107 15-24, especially 16-20, “He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in […]
When we think of the wonderfulness of Jesus the first Scripture that likely comes to mind is Isaiah 9:6 where we are given some descriptive insight into His coming and mission. One of the unique things about this verse is the four or five descriptive names given to Him. Names in the Bible often had […]