In Matthew’s account of good news (Matthew 20:20-28), Zebedee’s wife approached Jesus to ask on behalf of her sons that they would be given prestige in His Kingdom. She was not talking about church, and His response was not referring to church. His response could have used Joseph, son of Jacob, as the example. Joseph became slave of each person […]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24 Holman Christian Standard Bible ©®) Jesus […]
John did a great job of proclaiming the Law and the Prophets. He finished the project, in fact. Being the least in the Kingdom of Heaven, however, he didn’t proclaim any details about that Kingdom. He did announce that it was at hand, and that a required preparation for encountering it was a changed mind (repentance). Now it’s your turn […]
Jesus seemed to expect that His trainees would have spoken to the storm instead of crying out to Him to save them (Mark 4:35-40). Those trainees included men who owned no testaments, old or new. That was irrelevant to most of them, because they could not read. Why would we presume that He does not expect more from us, rather […]
Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness where your fathers tested […]
The Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Righteousness is the condition of being so properly aligned with the King that I think rightly and act rightly. There is a righteousness that could come through the laws Yahweh gave to Moses for Israel, but no one has achieved righteousness by that method (Galatians […]
It is easy to find Yahweh’s throne! Just follow the trails of your time, your energy, affection, study, and money. They all lead to a throne. If, when you find that throne, which is the easy part, you discover that the king seated on it is not the King of all kings, back up to the beginning of the trails […]
Who was David’s greater enemy – Goliath or Saul? Possibly, neither was an enemy. Saul was a marker to point out to David all of the human attributes not to allow in his life. After 14 years or so of that educational experience, anything that was like Saul that had been in David was gone. Goliath was a marker to […]
Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. Bless those […]
Since the law given through Moses was given only to the descendants of Jacob, and not to any gentiles, if I was a gentile when I became a believer in Jesus, what does the law have to do with me regarding keeping the seventh day separate from any work? Since the change from the day of rest being the seventh […]