Tagged: verse for the day
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned to Him and said [in Hebrew], ‘Rabbouni!’ (meaning ‘Teacher’).” –John 20:16 Mary Magdalene called the risen Christ “Teacher.” This is only the beginning of our intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, for we can call Him “Brother” (see Mt 12:50; Rm 8:29; Heb 2:11). We have the awesome privilege to be in God’s family. We need perspective to appreciate our family privilege. A little less than two millennia before Christ, God chose the Jewish nation as His people (see Dt 7:7). Jews alone were the chosen people of God. All the rest of the...
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“Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land.” –Exodus 14:21 After the Israelites had crossed the sea and the Lord had bogged the Egyptians’ chariot wheels in the midst of the sea, Moses again “stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth” (Ex 14:27). This drowned the Egyptian army. When Moses stretched out his hand, he did miracles. However, when Jesus extended His hands (Mt 12:49), He did even...
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“Why did you bring us out of Egypt?” –Exodus 14:11 Patrick Henry said: “Give me liberty or give me death.” The Israelites said: “Give me life. Who cares about liberty?” They said: “Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert” (Ex 14:12). Most of us can relate better to the Israelites than to Patrick Henry. We want “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” However, life and happiness can be higher priorities than liberty. In fact, pleasure is often a higher priority than liberty. We may know we are trapped in...
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“He pitied them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them at great length.” –Mark 6:34 The main responsibility of a shepherd is to feed his sheep. Jesus the Good Shepherd is preoccupied with feeding His sheep. He Himself went without food (Mk 6:31) to feed His sheep by teaching them at great length. The way Jesus wants us to show our love for Him is by feeding His sheep (Jn 21:17). We need both physical and spiritual feeding, but the most important is spiritual. We are fed spiritually in two ways: Holy Communion...
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“The smoldering wick He will not quench.” –Matthew 12:20 A man with a shriveled hand comes to the synagogue (Mt 12:10). This man is like a smoldering wick. One of his hands is almost useless. There’s still a little life left in his hand, but it’s just smoldering, barely alive. How did the Pharisees react when they saw a smoldering wick? They reacted with wickedness by exploiting this man in hopes of accusing Jesus (see Mk 3:2). When confronted with healing and life, they wickedly plotted death (Mt 12:14). How does Jesus react when a wick is smoldering? He responds...
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