[NOTE: I wrote this family survey in November of 2018, sent it to our adult children, and received very interesting comments from all of them.] Hello to you wonderful adult children, I’d like to take a family survey. Please think about this and respond after you’ve had some time to reflect on these matters. My hope …
Beware: Expect Persecution. “As for yourselves, beware! For they will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. When they bring you to trial …
Beware: Watch Out For Greed. “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own; it does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15-21). THE CONTEXT. a. There was a crowd of people surrounding Jesus, and a man in the crowd tried to recruit Jesus to issue …
Beware: Listen Or Else! Jesus warned His audience about many things… False teachers; the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees; our lifestyle; our motives; treatment of children. Jesus often said Watch out! Beware! Take heed to yourselves! Be on your guard! Be careful! And here is another fair warning from Jesus that was too important …
Beware: Examine Your Motives. “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, …
Beware: Watch Your Lifestyle. “Be careful! Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that Day catch you unawares, like a trap. For that Day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times.” (Luke 21:34-35). Jesus gave His …
Beware: False Prophets. “Watch out for false prophets! They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15). Here is Jesus once again announcing …
Beware: The Yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees’… Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6, 12). Jesus wasn’t afraid to give fair warning. …
Scripture Meditations at Noonday. “God uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). “Work willingly and heartily at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23). “What joy for those …
Prayers for Midday. Here at the middle of the work day, Lord, renew within us the vision of work as redemptive, as done for the sake of your glory. Give us energy and motivation to complete today’s work with excellence and hopefulness. Help us to continue working heartily, as something done for the Lord and …
Isaac and the Midday Prayer. The Jewish sages based each of the their weekday prayers on the character and actions of the patriarchs. Thus, the recommended daily prayers of Jewish believers were inspired by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham represents the morning prayer, since he often “rose early in the morning to the place where …
In Our Midst: A Nightly Prayer. “Lord, you are in the midst of us, and we are called by your Name; Do not abandon us, O Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 14:9; prayed in the middle of the Compline, a nightly service of prayers). The Hebrew word for “in the midst” means in the very center of, …