That Sure Is a Lot of Work

There is a scene in McFarland, USA when Kevin Costner had worked in the fields until all he could do was lay on the ground, moaning in misery. Some people see Christianity like that and ask, “Is it worth it?” In John 15:1-17, Jesus talks to His disciples...

Those Among You Who Fear God

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Without Google, I could not tell you that Shakespeare wrote that in his play, Julius Caesar. I must have read it at some point, probably in high school, and the phrase stuck with me. Why? It uses vocative language to...

Legacy

“The one good thing this man did in his life was to die.” No preacher anywhere would actually say this at a funeral, and even fewer people would want to be remembered that way. So, what will people remember about us when we are dead? Hopefully, we will leave a...

Inconceivable

“You keep using that word…” Some can quote The Princess Bride movie. Having seen it once or twice myself, I only remember bits and pieces of a silly dialogue about the word “inconceivable.” Wallace Shawn’s character kept saying it to describe the...

I’ll Sell You Two Surgical Masks for $200

Price-gouging means that someone offers little in exchange for much. It is not a new concept. Faithful Jews were coming to the temple to offer God worship. Unfaithful Jews were selling over-priced offerings of oxen, sheep, pigeons, and even official money with a...

Look for the Right Things!

“There’s your problem!” He found the problem. The air conditioner stopped, but that was a symptom, not the cause. A short in the outlet literally burned away the metal prongs. Fix the outlet, and the AC will sort itself out. Why did I need help to figure out the...

What Did You Even Ask?

The air was too thick to breathe and too thin to drink. Looking at the grass, which was now less than an inch from his head, his quivering arms finally gave out. Only 12 pushups, not 20. The recruit muttered to himself, “How am I ever going to do more pushups?” Like a...

My Babies’ First Words Were Blub and Gulg

New parents place a lot of value on their baby’s first words. Will the baby say, “mahmah” first, or “dhuhdhuh”? Either mom or dad will get the bragging rights. But what if those first words are, “dohg-ee”!? Jesus’ first words as a human are not...

Right Hace! Forward Harch!

I remember learning to march. The drill instructor was very patient and repeated a command as many times as necessary for all of us to get it. We carried refreshments around with us on our belts. We smiled a lot. It was spring. It was beautiful. Or maybe not… The...

Reading Between the Lines

Have you ever been told, “Read between the line.”? Sometimes it is a subtle social cue, like not being invited to a wedding. Other times it is painfully obvious, like someone making a statement by wearing white after labor day…. Do we need to read between the lines to...

New Testament

Denying Jesus

Denying Jesus

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Not me! That’s a fun song for small children, but when the question is, “Who is a Christian?” how shall we answer? The answer is of paramount personal importance. In John 18, Peter denies Jesus three times (vv. 17, 25, and...

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Seeking the Wrong Jesus

Seeking the Wrong Jesus

“Bring me a rock.” I hated getting taskings like this. We went and found a “rock,” only to find out the boss wanted a rounder rock, or smoother, or purple. We wondered if the rock we found was the right one. Of course, the military seldom looks for rocks, but some...

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Double-take

Double-take

Sometimes we have to do a double-take. We miss it at first glance, and we have to look at it again to really see it. In John 17, we read Jesus’ prayer to the Father. In this single chapter, Jesus uses the word “world” 18 times! How important was the world to Jesus if...

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Old Testament

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