Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

CONVERSION-CONVERSATION

“By God’s grace I am what I am.” –1 Corinthians 15:10, our transl. The purpose of life is to be converted to the Lord. For example, “in the year King Uzziah died,” Isaiah “saw the Lord” in the temple (Is 6:1). Isaiah was converted. He saw God’s glory, became painfully aware of his own sinfulness, was forgiven and purified, and accepted God’s call to be a prophet (Is 6:1ff). Saul (Paul) was also converted. He did not see but heard the risen Lord (Acts 9:4). He was struck blind for three days, during which he prayed (Acts 9:8, 12). Then...

OVERWHELMED?

“People were coming and going in great numbers, making it impossible for them to so much as eat.” –Mark 6:31 Jesus and His apostles were overwhelmed by the demands made of them. Jesus tried to deal with the problem by going off with His apostles in a boat to a deserted place (Mk 6:32). However, thousands of people met Jesus on the other side of the lake, and Jesus was faced with the humanly impossible task of feeding thousands of people in the desert. When the demands made on you seem overwhelming and when your attempts to deal with your...

MARRIAGE MATTERS

“Let marriage be honored in every way and the marriage bed be kept undefiled.” –Hebrews 13:4 When God revealed to the world His Ten Commandments, he set aside two of them to teach the human race about His thoughts on marriage: “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14). “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” or husband (Ex 20:17). St. Thomas More and St. John the Baptist died as martyrs making a stand for God’s definition of marriage. Surely many others have suffered greatly over the centuries as well for the sake of God’s plan for marriage. Sadly, numerous people...

A DUST RAG

“If any place will not receive you or hear you, shake its dust from your feet in testimony against them as you leave.” –Mark 6:11 “The love of Christ impels us” (2 Cor 5:14) to share the Good News of Jesus. Some people accept Him while others reject Him. When Jesus is rejected by those with whom we share the Gospel, we tend to take it personally. We feel rejected, disrespected, and unjustly treated. We must then shake off this grime and dirt of rejection, or we will become encrusted with bitterness. We shake off the dust by accepting the...

HANDLE WITH FAITH

“At this they began to ridicule Him. Then He put them all out. Jesus took the child’s father and mother and His own companions and entered the room where the child lay.” –Mark 5:40 The family and friends of Jairus who had gathered to mourn this young girl’s death thought nothing more could be done. Perhaps they had heard of other healings worked at the hands of this itinerant Preacher, but when Jesus told them she was not dead they ridiculed Him (Mk 5:39-40). They thought their situation was too much for Jesus to handle. What situation are you facing...