DOES IT SEEM GOD LED YOU THE LONG WAY AROUND? Why did God lead the Israelites the long way around to the Promised Land? He wanted to give them time to grow in their faith before facing warfare with the Philistines. God led them like a coach preparing an athlete for a contest. He put
JESUS, OUR PASSOVER LAMB Among the many instructions God gave Moses concerning the Passover Lamb was that it must be a male without blemish and that they were not to “break any of its bones” in sacrificing it. God was preparing the Israelites not only for their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, but ultimately for
THE SERVANT-LEADERSHIP MODEL OF JESUS When the mother of James and John came to Jesus asking that He give them significant leadership roles in His coming kingdom, He didn’t rebuke them. Instead, He asked whether they were able to “drink from the bitter cup of suffering” that He was about to drink. He wanted them
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS OWNER OR STEWARD? This Davidic psalm begins with an announcement of God’s ownership of everything and everyone. Believing that God is owner and that we are stewards, servants of God caring for His creation, is a life-changing principle. Many Christians claim to believe this, yet they behave as if their
WHAT IS THE FORMULA FOR FORGIVENESS? Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive a brother, maybe “seven times?”. Jesus answered, “Up to seventy times seven.” This was another way of saying that Peter should forgive as often as needed. To further help Peter understand, Jesus told a parable. A parable is the use
DESCENDING TO GREATNESS The disciples were constantly debating among themselves the question of who would be the greatest when Jesus came into His kingdom. They finally asked Jesus. He answered by calling a little child over to Him and saying that unless they repented of their sins and became as this child they wouldn’t even
OUR SAVIOR PIERCED FOR US This Davidic psalm began with the question, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psa. 22:1). These are the very words Jesus cried out from the cross. David wrote this psalm with his own feeling, yet I wonder how much awareness he had that he was describing the
WHO IS JESUS TO YOU? Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Jesus often used the Messianic title, “Son of Man,” in referring to Himself. The disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” Then Jesus asked them the most important
THE SIGN OF JONAH The Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus asking for a sign to prove His authority. He wondered aloud that they could read the signs in the sky to predict the weather, but were not able to read the signs of the times. In other words, they could tell when it
YOUR WORDS REVEAL YOUR HEART The Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t follow the tradition of the elders by washing their hands before eating. He replied that it isn’t what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out. The word “defile,” means to make unclean or impure. Jesus pointed