One time Jesus said “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matt 13:45-46 NAS) Juan Carlos Ortiz shared a parable to illustrate Jesus’ teaching. It’s a […]
God with us
“There is no God like YHWH, and He declares that with definitive finality when He descends into the deepest trenches of our suffering through the cross of Christ. In the freedom of His sovereign love, our Lord and our God penetrates to the heart of hopelessness and bears the full horror of His Bride’s godforsakenness […]
Prayer: massive love
A mother was having trouble with her young son and daughter at the supper table. They just would not behave. She looked up and said, “Oh, God, please help me with these children.” Immediately the 4-year-old girl bowed her head in prayer. Mama was happy, thinking her daughter was asking for help to be good, […]
Prayer: steel in your soul
Sometimes kids can pinpoint obvious needs better than anyone else. A mom was putting her daughter to bed one night and reminded her to pray that God would bless grandma and let her live to be very old. The girl replied, “Oh, she’s old enough. I’d rather ask God to make her younger.” Well, yeah. […]
THE CASE OF THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST
A short story based on Ephesians 3:2-12 It was the strangest and most thrilling case he had ever had. He was a detective, a private investigator. Clients hired him to find out things for them, to solve mysteries. This case, however was a mystery that he could not solve. Even though there were […]
The secret plan that everyone can know
An African woman named Naomi started a dressmaking business. She had skillful hands and a good eye for color and pattern so she put those to good use to make clothes for her family and to earn an income. Naomi hired two women to help make the dresses and a young man to go into […]
What about Israel?
My last post (The New Culture) is a message on Ephesians 2:11-22. That section of Scripture tells us that there were two primary cultures – Gentile and Israel – and Jesus made “the two into one new man” (verse 15) by his death and resurrection. This one new man is a new culture, aka the […]
The new culture
Colin Woodward, a reporter for the Portland Press Herald, says that North America can be divided into 11 separate regions. Here’s his map of North America. Each region has its own culture that is different from the other regions. It’s not that everyone thinks the same as everyone else, he says, “rather that they are […]
God’s masterpiece
Cessna Aircraft Company placed an ad in Popular Mechanics magazine (many years ago): “Cessna will make you a pilot for $2990. Guaranteed.” A group of seven Kansas women responded with a letter to Cessna: “We would like to order a pilot.” They asked for these specifications: “male – quick learner; height 6’2” to 6’5″; […]
I don’t like change
A WHACK-A-MOLE ARTICLE (subjects that just pop up in my head – this one took several pops!) Recently, Thomas McDaniels, pastor of LifeBridge Christian Center in Longview, Texas, wrote an article he called “Churches should learn from Blockbuster – change with the times, or die.” He described some of the cultural shifts that have occurred […]