Posts from July 2024

Christian friends are an especially wonderful blessing. Having been redeemed by the blood of Christ and “joined together” in His one body (Eph. 2:16-22), our brothers and sisters in Christ should be our closest friends on this earth. Still, all friendships require work and diligent effort on our part to keep them strong and healthy. And, who would be a better teacher of the qualities, attitudes and conduct of a friend than Jesus Himself? Let’s consider this Friend. Jesus saw…

Too many people approach the Bible as some kind of book of do’s and don’ts. They go through the Bible, as it were, making a list of the things they can do and making a list of the things they cannot do. As they do this, they are often looking for the verses that specifically tell them that they can’t do something that they want to do. If this is your approach to the Bible, you have completely missed the…

It is remarkable to watch the growth of Peter. When this fisherman was first called to follow Jesus, he struggled. Jesus once said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:33). You see this struggle as he denied, cursing and swearing that he did not even know Jesus. He serves as an example to keep serving Him and drawing near to Him. Think of how…

Similarities and differences. In any group of people, you will probably find similarities and differences. This is true in a third grade classroom, in a boardroom of executives, on a football field, in a grocery store, etc., etc. This was also true of groups of people that Jesus encountered. In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus met ten men. Now let’s consider their similarities and their differences. Similarities: all ten were men, all were lepers, all stood afar off, all asked Jesus for…