The Parable of the Yeast. “What else is the Kingdom of God Like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” (Luke 13:20-21; also Matthew 13:33). CONTEXT (a.) Luke’s chapter 13 has …
Thoughts on the Parable of the Seed Growing Secretly. “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf …
A New Creature. “Oh, but I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now.” (Bob Dylan, My Back Pages). Are we truly new creatures in Christ, or merely improved versions of the old creatures? After we become new, do we just gradually become old again? If we are born again, does that mean …
The Waters of Christ. “On the last day, the great day of the Festival, Jesus stood and cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me! Let anyone who believes in me come and drink!’” (John 7:37-38, NJB) This is biblical theater at its best, so the scene deserves to be set. There are …
Footwork – Introduction. By Steve and Sheri Larson. “It’s all in the footwork! You won’t be successful without good footwork! said every coach I’ve ever had. “Move your feet, lift them high, move them laterally, quickly! Keep your balance!” This isn’t exactly headline news to the dancer, the quarterback, the goalie and the power forward. …
The Fruit of the Spirit in the Garden of the Heart (Introduction). “You must think of yourself as of one setting out to make a garden in which the Lord is to take his delight.” (Teresa of Avila). “The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. …
Peace in the Hebrew Bible. Shalom = The ancient Hebrew word translated as peace and means much more than absence of war: completeness or wholeness, as in the joining together of opposites; integrity, as in the effective holding together of separate pieces; to give/restore harmony; fulfillment; health; security; abundant well-being; tranquility; freedom from disquiet and …
The Fruit of Peace. “The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23). The Fruit is Love. The “fruit” of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is stated in the singular, not the plural “fruits.” This implies that the first and primary virtue noted, Love, is the …
Joyful Thoughts from Jesus. 1. “If you keep my commands, you will live in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands, for I continually live nourished and empowered by his love. My purpose for telling you these things is so that the joy that I experience will fill your hearts with overflowing …
The Fruit of Joy. “From frowning saints, good Lord, deliver us! (Theresa of Avila). “The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). The Fruit is Love. The “fruit” of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is stated in the singular, not the plural “fruits.” This implies …
Rolled Away – Joshua 5 Sometimes an old children’s Sunday School chorus says it best. Here’s one from back in the day: “Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away. Every burden in my heart rolled away.” (2x). Please keep this thought in mind as I move onward here. Every burden in your heart. Every weight that …
Jesus the Healer. “News about Jesus spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed – he healed them all.” (Matthew 4:24). We know that Jesus healed people, all the time, but …