Light from Darkness; Darkness from Light 03/19/2023 “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
Our Reflection in the Water 03/12/2023 “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;”
The Visible Presence of God 03/05/2023 “Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'”
Temptations to Sin and Death 02/26/2023 “He fasted for forty days and forty nights and afterwards he was hungry.”
Rend Your Hearts Not Your Garments 02/22/2023 “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.”
Where Are the Christians? 02/19/2023 “So be perfect, just a your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Obeying the Law 02/12/2023 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”
What’s a Follower of Christ Like? 02/05/2023 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.”
Bless Us, Oh Lord, Our God 01/29/2023 “He began to teach them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
What’s the Good News? 01/22/2023 “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.”
Discerning the Christ 01/15/2023 “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
The Resonance of God 01/08/2023 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Incarnation Paradox 12/25/2022 “For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
The Marriage of Joseph and Mary 12/18/2022 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”
Are You the One Who Is to Come? 12/11/2022 “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist”
The Baptist’s Message Still Resounds 12/04/2022 “John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Maranatha! Our Lord, Come! 11/27/2022 “So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
What Does It Mean to Be King? 11/20/2022 “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
A Call to Fidelity 11/13/2022 “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.”
Immortality Is Our Inheritance 11/06/2022 “Those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
The Resurrection of the Dead 11/02/2022 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise them on the last day.”
Does “All Saints” Include You? 11/01/2022 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Am I Worthy of God’s Grace? 10/30/2022 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
Sorrow and Thanksgiving 10/23/2022 “…for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Prayer: What’s the Use? 10/16/2022 “I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.”
Gratitude: Barometer of Faith 10/09/2022 “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”
Faith vs. Hope 10/02/2022 “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Paying Our Spiritual Taxes 09/25/2022 “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”
The Case for a Change of Heart 09/18/2022 “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.”
Three Truths about God 09/11/2022 “But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
The Cost of Discipleship 09/04/2022 “This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.”
Beyond Customary Arrogance 08/28/2022 “‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.’”
Saved? From What? 08/21/2022 “‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate.’”
Kairos: Terrible Moment of Grace 08/14/2022 “‘Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.’”
Four Spiritual Work Habits 08/07/2022 “‘Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.’”
The Root of All Evil 07/31/2022 “‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you.'”
What’s with Prayer? 07/24/2022 “‘Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.'”
Work without Prayer Destroys 07/17/2022 “’Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.’”
Jesus Was a Socialist 07/10/2022 “’And who is my neighbor?’”
You Cannot Fail 07/03/2022 “At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.”
Fit for the Kingdom of God 06/26/2022 “But he replied, ‘Lord, let me go first and bury my father.’
But he answered him, ‘Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’”
They Have Eyes but Cannot See 06/19/2022 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”
God Doesn’t Measure Up 06/12/2022 “’Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you..’”
One in the Spirit? 06/05/2022 “’Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.’”
Let Us Go Up to the House of the Lord 05/29/2022 “As he blessed them he parted from them
and was taken up to heaven.”
Where Have We Gone Wrong? 05/22/2022 “’I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.’”
Us Against Them 05/15/2022 “I give you a new commandment: love one another.”
Who Are His Sheep? 05/08/2022 “’My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.’”
Right Where You Are 05/01/2022 “So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’”
The Living Faith of Thomas 04/24/2022 So, Thomas gets criticized for his skepticism. That criticism isn’t restricted to Thomas. It extends to anyone who doubts or questions matters of faith. The critics believe that anyone who questions their beliefs is lacking in faith and therefore not a “good” Christian.
Resurrection of the Body? 04/17/2022 Our personhood will arise and transcend the grave. Like Jesus, we, too will leave behind our image—a testimony of our love and compassion, the relics of our resurrection.
Was Jesus’s Death in Vain? 04/16/2022 “But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.”
“If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;”
“Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'”
“He fasted for forty days and forty nights and afterwards he was hungry.”
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.”
“So be perfect, just a your heavenly Father is perfect.”
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.”
“He began to teach them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
“Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.”
“Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
“For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”
“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist”
“John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
“So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.”
“Those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise them on the last day.”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
“…for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
“I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.”
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
“If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”
“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.”
“But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
“This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.”
“‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.’”
“‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate.’”
“‘Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.’”
“‘Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.’”
“‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you.'”
“‘Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples.'”
“’Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.’”
“’And who is my neighbor?’”
“At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.”
“But he replied, ‘Lord, let me go first and bury my father.’ But he answered him, ‘Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’”
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”
“’Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you..’”
“’Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”
“As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.”
“’I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.’”
“I give you a new commandment: love one another.”
“’My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.’”
“So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’”
So, Thomas gets criticized for his skepticism. That criticism isn’t restricted to Thomas. It extends to anyone who doubts or questions matters of faith. The critics believe that anyone who questions their beliefs is lacking in faith and therefore not a “good” Christian.
Our personhood will arise and transcend the grave. Like Jesus, we, too will leave behind our image—a testimony of our love and compassion, the relics of our resurrection.
“But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.”