The Pharisees had peppered Jesus with questions. Now Jesus turned the focus to them. “What do you think of the Messiah?” he asked.
The Pharisees, despite their religious training and knowledge, believed the Messiah was a descendent of David. While correct, their answer fell short of the complete truth – that he was the son of God – and left them stuck in religious rules and traditions.
Read More hope, forgiveness, holy living
Like many psalms, Psalm 106 begins with praise, but in verse three it transitions to this opening thought, “Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.”
Now there’s a mind-blowing concept. Talk about setting the bar completely out of reach! Nobody – I repeat – nobody always does right and acts justly in every situation. Human fallibility and self-interest dictate to the contrary.
Read More rebellion @en, forgiveness
There is nothing sweeter than having a relationship restored. Strained friendships are a burden for both parties. An unwillingness to forgive robs everyone of joy.
The forgiveness of God is complete and thorough. The invitation extended to Moses highlights the restorative mercy of God. Moses is asked to chisel two tablets of stone like those he broke in anger.
Read More grace, forgiveness, restorationHave you ever noticed the prominent role that trees play in the Bible? The creation account in Genesis begins with God planting two very special trees in the Garden of Eden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After our first parent’s disobedience, we were banned from access to the Tree of Life. But the amazing, good news of the Bible is that at the end of the book, in the last chapter of the Book of Revelation, God restores our access to the Tree of Life (Revelation 22:1-5).
Read More forgiveness, righteousnessThis passage gives us a strange and even intriguing picture of forgiveness. Most often forgiveness is portrayed as God’s response to our confession of sins. In this passage we see something very different. Here it is not because of the crippled man’s faith that Jesus pronounces him forgiven but rather the faith of the man’s friends: “When Jesus saw how much faith they had…”
Read More friendship, forgiveness, faithFailure is never fun! And it is not what we are planning on either. No one sets out in the morning saying, “How can I fail today?” “What problem can I run away from now?” And Israel, Moses reminds us, is no different. But they let their fears and anxieties win. It took a major resetting of priorities for them to succeed. Can we do any better?
The story in Deuteronomy is aimed at people who are trying new things.
Read More forgiveness, Future, failure, courageThe problem with the Law was that it was so easily limited to behaviour modification. God’s constant lament against Israel was that they looked religious on the outside while mistreating the weak, the poor and the immigrant among them.
Jesus isn’t concerned with what foods you eat and whether you wash your hands before you touch it.
Read More Holy Spirit, forgiveness, heart, rootThe cliché that faith can move mountains is part of our culture. Often it is taken to mean that if we believe in ourselves, or if we believe in our dreams, we can accomplish anything regardless of the obstacles in our way. Some Christians take Jesus’ words to mean that if we simply believe that God will answer our prayers, he will do anything we ask. Do we want a new sports car? Just really, really believe and ask God!
Read More forgiveness, faith, prayer
The potential for good exists in all people. We have been made in the image of God, yet that image has been distorted in all of us. We are not “by nature” what God created us to be. As a result not all relationships are good.
Read More friendship, tongue, gossip, forgivenessIt’s been said the root of all sin is pride. Pride could be defined as living independently of God, like our accomplishments are our own.
It would be easy to criticize the prideful Samson, but I’ve been there. Many of us have. It’s surprisingly easy to believe in our own success. Ever notice when things are going well, you don’t feel like you need God? I have.
Read More independence, forgiveness, pride