What is Needed
Last week we saw that the Disciples ‘little faith’ was unable to carry out an exorcism, something Jesus gave them authority to do. (Mark 6:12). While we generally equate little faith with the faith of the mustard seed, we saw that was incorrect. The disciples had little faith, what they needed was faith the size […]
Mustard Seed Faith
“Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20-21 We all know that faith in Jesus is at the core of the Christian life. We […]
THE BENEFIT OF TOUCH
Numerous times Jesus touched people even when it would make him ceremonially unclean. He touched a man with leprosy and was healed Mt. 8:3. Jesus touched Peter’s mother-in-law and her fever left, Mt. 8:15. A woman subject to bleeding touched Jesus and the bleeding stopped, Mt. 9:20-21. He touched blind eyes and were opened, Mt. […]
Responding to Change
Last week I mentioned that life involves change, and with that come events we didn’t ask for, that makes life difficult. While change is a given, how we respond to the unpleasant change isn’t. We can focus on the negative and waste time and energy fighting what we cannot change or we can accept the […]
CHANGE
We have no idea what tomorrow will bring. We can only manage what comes today. We may plan for tomorrow only to have our plans interrupted by the unforeseen and unexpected. For example: in the Mid-West a tornado can rip through a town in minutes leaving rubble behind, on the East coast hurricanes will cause […]
Victory
We view the state of the true, universal church and we see it neither giving in to darkness nor shrinking from it. In places of great persecution, the church is growing. Reports are that the church in China is strong as well as many converts among Muslims. The Christians around the world are also persecuted […]
Fishing
At the start of Jesus’ ministry, He came to the Sea of Galilee and called Peter to become a “fisher of men.” It’s believed Jesus stood at the location where seven underground streams of fresh water flow into the sea attracting fish to this area as well as fishermen. After Jesus resurrection the disciples went […]
A Promise
When a child comes into this strange new world, he or she is completely dependent on the care of its parents. When a baby shows signs of distress or discomfort the parent brings comfort and assurance through touch, soothing words, hugs and so on. Thousands of these verbal and nonverbal interactions take place during the […]
A New Home
You don’t need to be a home owner very long to realize that keeping it looking new requires routine maintenance and repairs. Many are small and as time wears on it requires major repairs. If those repairs are ignored over the years the house will begin to look old and unkept. Soon the wind blows […]
A Good Shepherd
A shepherd is in change, and has the responsibility of caring for the sheep that are entrusted to him. He must lead them to areas of green grass in terrain that is mostly dry and rocky. He must provide water to drink that is fresh and not filled with minerals or bacteria that would lead […]