Monthly Archives: February 2019

Rest Comes Through Revelation

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In that same hour, He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will.” Luke 10:21 ESV1

Read Matthew 11:25-30 & Luke 10:21-24

As I sit down to write today, I am full of emotion and surrounded by uncertainty. My husband’s job of thirty years is in jeopardy. My oldest daughter and her family may soon have no place to live. My youngest daughter was rejected for the internship toward which she has worked for two years. And there is so much unpredictability concerning my son’s application to graduate school that my heart is racing.

I have no idea what the next week will bring, let alone the next month or year. Yet, I have worship music blaring, and tears of gratitude are running down my cheeks. Why? Because we have been through uncertain times before, and God has never left or forsaken us (see Hebrews 13:5-6). Instead, through each problematic time, He has revealed Himself in a more significant measure to us. The process hasn’t always been easy, but each new revelation has given us what we needed to continue in this life in accordance with His plan for us.

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Greater Than

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“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11 ESV1

Read Matthew 11:11-19 & Luke 7:28-35, 16:15-17

Why did Jesus declare, “’Truly, I say to you, … there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he’” (Matthew 11:11)? Similarly, what did Jesus mean when He said, “’Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father’” (John 14:12)? And why did Jesus comfort His disciples by saying, “’I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you’” (John 16:7)? It is because something magnificent happened when Jesus completed His mission on Earth and went back to His Father in Heaven. It is something even better than hanging out with Jesus on Earth. In fact, it is something that is grander than humans could have imagined.

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When Doubt Creeps In

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Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Matthew 11:2-3 ESV1

Read Luke 1:13-17, 39-45; Matthew 11:2-11; Mark 1:4-8 & John 1:6-7, 23-34

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, John knew Jesus was the Messiah from his very beginning. The angel Gabriel told John’s father, Zachariah, that John “would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15b). Shortly after Mary became pregnant with Jesus, she went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, Zachariah’s wife, who was pregnant with John. “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, [John] leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! And why is it granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy’” (Luke 1:39-44). When John first “met” Jesus, he knew Jesus was special.

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Taking Up Our Crosses

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“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Mark 8:34 ESV1

Read Matthew 10:34-39, Mark 8:34-38 & Luke 14:25-33

Maybe it is because we have become accustomed to adorning ourselves with cross jewelry. Maybe it is because we find it fashionable to decorate our homes with cross accents. Maybe it is all of the gracious blessings we receive because of our association with Christ, but in this day and age, we have lost the horror of the Cross. Even when we speak of bearing a cross, we only mean that we are enduring some unpleasant circumstances. But when the first-century followers of Christ heard Jesus say they must take up their crosses to be His disciples, they would have been both confused and dismayed. Continue reading →