Tag Archives: In Christ

Spiritual Genetics

Posted on by

“You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.”                    Matthew 5:13a &14a ESV1

Read Matthew 5:13-16, Mark 4:21-25, Luke 8:16-17 & 11:33-36

I was first introduced to contemporary Christian music in the late 1980s when a friend gave me Amy Grant’s album, The Collection.2 I was so excited to have “cool” music that glorified God I listened to that tape over and over again until I had all the words to all of the songs memorized. On that album was the song, “Father’s Eyes.” The chorus to that song contained these words: “She’s got her Father’s eyes, her Father’s eyes; Eyes that find the good in things, when good is not around; Eyes that find the source of help, when help just can’t be found; Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain; Knowing what you’re going through and feeling it the same. Just like my Father’s eyes.”3

I was so touched by those words I prayed that God would help me emulate His character by making me a woman who had her Father’s eyes. I remember exactly where I was when I prayed that prayer because it was one of those times when I felt like God answered me with, “Yes! That I will do.” At the time, if I had known through how much darkness I would need to walk to encourage others that there is hope on the horizon; how much struggle I would be required to endure to meaningfully help others; or how much hurt I would have to experience to identify with others in pain, I am not sure I would have prayed that prayer.

Continue reading →

The Head and Feet of Jesus

Posted on by

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing for Me … She has done what she could; she has anointed My Body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the Gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”  Mark 14:6-9 ESV1

Read Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9 & John 12:1-8

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus, therefore, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So, they gave a dinner for Him there” (John 12:1-2a) “in the house of Simon the leper” (Matthew 26:6b). “Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him at the table. Mary, therefore” (John 12:3a) “came up to Him with an alabaster flask” (Matthew 26:7a) containing “a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard” (John 12:3b), “and she broke the flask and poured it over [Jesus’] head” (Mark 14:3b) “and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3c). What a touching scene—Jesus spending time with His dearest friends, celebrating a miracle, being emotionally encouraged as He prepared for the future, soaking up the personalized way each of those in attendance shared his/her adoration of Him, all while a beautiful fragrance filled the air. But not everyone was feeling the love.

Continue reading →

Fully Emancipated

Posted on by

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53 ESV1

Read John 6:29-67

As recorded in the latter half of John 6, Jesus, in some manner, repeatedly referred to Himself as the Bread of Life. He claimed to be “‘the Living Bread that came down from Heaven [and explained that] if anyone [ate] of this Bread, he [would] live forever … [He clarified] the Bread that [He gave] for the life of the World [was His] Flesh’” (John 6:51). Jesus insisted, “‘Whoever feeds on My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day’” (John 6:54). Why did Jesus push the issue of consuming both His Body and His Blood though it offended the religious and secular, the seeker and the devoted alike?

If Jesus’ Blood was shed for our sins, why did Jesus say we must partake of both His Blood and His Flesh? And why did “Jesus on the night when He was betrayed [take] bread, and when He had given thanks, … [break] it, and [say], ‘This is My Body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ [And] in the same way, also … [take] the cup, after supper, [and say], ‘This cup is the new covenant in My Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)? Why the emphasis on remembering both His sacrificed Body and His spilled Blood? Are they not for the same thing?

Continue reading →

Truly Amazing

Posted on by

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.”  Matthew 19:21 ESV1

Read Matthew 19:16-26, Mark 10:17-27 & Luke 18:18-27

Most of us want to be amazing at something. We want to stand out above the crowd in some area. We want to be noticed for some significant accomplishment. As a society, we venerate the surprisingly talented. We revere the exceedingly intelligent. We are mesmerized by the astonishingly beautiful. We worship the incredibly athletic. We esteem the exceptionally wealthy. And we honor tremendously influential. Because we are constantly trying to earn accolades and be more amazing than the next guy, we completely miss a great secret: it is actually a blessing to be extraordinarily average, because those who do have a great deal of talent, intelligence, beauty, athletic ability, wealth, or influence are often at a disadvantage.

Continue reading →

What Does it Really Say?

Posted on by

He answered, “Have you not read … ‘What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate’?” Matthew 19:4a & 6b ESV1

Read Matthew 19:1-9

I thought one of our smoke detectors was chirping. I changed the battery, but the chirping continued. I assumed the replacement battery was bad, so I threw away that battery and installed a new one. The chirping continued. Naturally, I was convinced the unit must no longer be working. I planned on purchasing and installing another unit, but to hook up a new one, I needed to detach the clip which connected the current smoke detector to my home’s wiring. For some reason, I was unable to get the clip to release. So, the chirping continued.

My husband couldn’t help me change the smoke detector; he was on a business trip. So, I listened to the constant chirping for days. Finally, my parents came to visit; I asked my dad to try his hand at disconnecting the smoke detector. He was more successful than I had been. The smoke detector was detached, but the chirping continued.

It was my mom who discovered that the device which was signaling its need for a battery change wasn’t the smoke detector at all; it was the carbon monoxide detector! Once we changed the battery in the correct unit, the chirping quit. Day and night for the better part of a week, I had unnecessarily put up with the annoying noise. Because I was so sure that something was wrong with the smoke detector, I never considered the possibility that something else needed a new battery. I wonder how many times we experience needless suffering or cause avoidable pain because we are convinced of something which just is not true. In most such cases, much more is at stake than being slightly annoyed for a short period.

Continue reading →

Eradicating Wild Lilies

Posted on by

“If your Brother sins against you…” Matthew 18:15 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:15-22

When we first moved to our house, I purchased and planted hostas with pretty, bright-green leaves. To complement them, I planted live-forevers which I brought from our previous home and irises that a new neighbor gave me. It was the beginning of a beautiful flower bed, but there was still much open space. So, each Spring, I would add many annual plants like geraniums, marigolds, and impatiens. With consistent watering and weed pulling, I had a flower bed that earned me many compliments.

But the constant work was tiring. I thought if I added more perennials to my flower bed, I wouldn’t have to work so hard. So, one day, when I noticed wild lilies flourishing along the roadside near my home, I thought I had found exactly that for which I was looking. I was excited about the thought of planting fewer annuals. I imagined how the bright orange of the lilies would complement the purple hues of my other perennials.

Something in my spirit told me not to dig up those wild, roadside lilies and add them to my flower bed, but I justified my actions. It was not like the lilies belonged to anyone, and no one would notice or even care if I took them. So, I ignored that still, small voice warning me, and I added the wild lilies to my flower bed.

Continue reading →

Who’s Your Daddy?

Posted on by

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:1-14, Mark 9:33-50 & Luke 9:46-50

In my life, I have worn a variety of hats. My different responsibilities have put me in positions where I have observed many arguments. Some of these arguments have been laughable, others hurtful. Many were passionate discussions which worked out themselves; others become quite heated and needed intervention.

When working with people, it doesn’t take long to discover competition is part of the human make up. We instinctively want to be on top. We tend to assume we are right, and when there are conflicts, we feel others must be wrong. We humans continually evaluate where we fit in any given group. From the time we are children, we compare ourselves and consciously (or unconsciously) compete in attempts to be the best, the fastest, the smartest, the prettiest, the most talented, etc.

An argument common among young boys takes the competition past their own abilities and focuses on the attributes of their fathers. It is not unusual, from time to time, to hear a boy exclaim, “My daddy is stronger than your daddy!” The argument need not necessarily focus on strength; maybe a boy claims his father is smarter, or richer (or any other appropriate adjective) than the fathers of those around him. But the statement is always made with the child’s confident expectation that his assertion will put him on top and finalize the argument.

Once, when Jesus’ twelve closest disciples were arguing among themselves, Jesus extinguished the heated debate by drawing their attention to the greatness of His Father.

Continue reading →

We Have the Key

Posted on by

“I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Matthew 16:19 ESV1

Read Matthew 16:18-19

If you are a Christian, striving to know Jesus better and consistently reading The Holy Bible, you probably believe that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But that doesn’t mean you always understand what you read. If you are like me, there are times when you read something that is so above your head that it doesn’t even seem worth trying to contemplate. Consequently, you are tempted to close your Bible, get up, and move on with your day without giving what you read another thought. Today’s passage has been for me one of those seemingly incomprehensible texts.

Continue reading →

Who Told You That?

Posted on by

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father, who is in Heaven.”  Matthew 16:15-17 ESV1

Read Matthew 16:13-23, Mark 8:27-33 & Luke 9:18-22

What do you believe about yourself? Who told you that? What do you feel about others? Why do you feel that? What do you think about right and wrong? How did you come to that conclusion? What do you believe about God? Why do you believe that? Who do you say Jesus is? Why do you say that?

Continue reading →

Finding Balance

Posted on by

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6 ESV1

Read Matthew 16:5-12 & Mark 8:14-21

Have you noticed, as humans, we tend to live in the extremes? Like the pendulum of a clock, we swing from one thing to another. It is difficult for us to find balance in all the areas of our lives simultaneously. If we do ever achieve equilibrium, we soon realize it is impossible to sustain. This truth reminds me of something Jesus told His disciples.

Continue reading →