In Matthew 17:1-9 and Mark 9:2-10, the story is recorded of Jesus taking Peter, James and John up a high mountain. When they got to the top, Jesus was transfigured: His face became as bright as the sun, and His clothes were whiter than any cleaner could clean them. Then, Moses and Elijah appeared with Him and were talking with […]
As you go to work, to vacation from work, to a missions trip, to the grocery store, home… are you a tourist, or an invading force? Are you expecting, hoping, to encounter something that changes someone’s life, even if its yours? Are you staying insulated from having to care too much, or pay too much, or get too tired, or […]
Fear of not being in control has helped produce fear of unity among believers. “We want to work with you – come join us in our projects,” is more likely to be heard than a gathering for prayer in which the prayer might be, “Lord, show us how we can submit to you by submitting to one another.” Ecumenism is […]
When Amy Carmichael’s fellowship in India became the environment in which several young women got the idea that the Jesus Whom they had encountered was wearing a crown of thorns instead of the expected crown of gold, they stopped wearing their jewels. Since the caste-burdened society believed that poverty was a judgement against individuals and their families, their pride led […]
One test of the righteousness of our responses to the situations we face or discuss could be to ask ourselves how well they line up with the work of reconciliation and restoration and redemption. He is still at work seeking and saving things and people that were lost to Him. But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, […]
Sons and daughters of Yahweh don’t wilt under criticism. We don’t become bitter when falsely accused. We respond to insults, threats and attacks with love and with intercession. We build and plant and harvest. We may only get one great thing astonishingly right in our lifetime. It might be the next thing we attempt, without regard for how the last […]
How willing are we to get in trouble over doing what’s righteous? Peter and John were both too full of fear to think when Jesus was arrested. After being filled with the Spirit of Jesus, however, they stood up to the thugs who had Jesus tortured and killed. They were being told to stop preaching about Jesus, and they refused. […]
Ask the Spirit what you are missing regarding this “command of Scripture,” written by Paul to the congregations at Colossae: “…and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.” (Colossians 4:16-17) And, get the concept that some things were written that ended up in the Bible that are not commands to you. Ask the Spirit about everything you read […]
And you, Philippians, know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that is increasing to your account. […]
We are all on a journey. Our lives are thrust into a flow of others’ lives and deaths. If we simply surrender to the current, we will end up somewhere. The destination will not be good if we are only under the influence of powers and purposes from the world. Bitterness, unforgiveness, mismatched partnerships – these can snag us and […]