“Everything that the Father gives to me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away...” (John 6:37) We say Jesus is God’s gift to us, and He is. Today’s passage, however, doesn’t say that. Instead, today’s words make this astounding claim: We are God’s gift to Jesus. …
A Good Day For Us
'In all this, I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:35) Mr. Mac cut grass, raked leaves, and worked on my grandmother’s many flower gardens when …
Our Relationship With God
“Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” (Lk. 17:9-10) Whatever happened to casting our burden upon the Lord? To the Lord knowing …
Our Personal Relationship With Jesus
“Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands,’ and the one you have now is not your husband.’” (Jn. 4:16-18) Before this moment, the …
Sharing Love Forever with God
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16) No line in scripture is so well known or so often recited. Because we’re so used to these words, I sometimes think we don’t fully …
God — Our Engineer and Lord
“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” (Jer. 17:7) Have you ever traveled on the Apocalyptic Train? Most often, when I get on this train, it’s in the middle of the night. I’m lying in bed, and this “end-time” train is taking me to terrible and terrifying places. …
Drinking Deep Upon the New Wine of Jesus
Jesus said, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and wine is lost, and so are …
Jesus Came to Help, Bless, and Serve
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited…” (Phil. 2:5-6) Exploitation is a dirty word because it’s ugly and heinous for one person to use another, one race to put down …
Keeping Awake in Our Faith
“And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (Mk. 13:37) I was in Galveston taking a kayak trip. After two hours of paddling, I was tired. Because there weren’t any boats on the horizon and the waters were calm, I decided to take a short nap. I was awakened when I …
Fill Your Heart With Good Cheer
“A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.” (Pro. 17:22) In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, I was asked to become the Interim Director of a department at work. The previous director had been removed for misbehaving and bullying the staff, and I was installed to put the …