Unlikely Followers

The Pharisees devoted themselves to the rules of ritual purity and to turning the nation to righteousness—something they believed would prompt God to deliver them from the Romans.

Jesus’ purpose in his teaching was to reveal the heart of God. He distilled the entire law into two principles: to love God supremely and to love others as much as we love ourselves. While the Pharisees looked for outward conformity, Jesus looked for inward change.

The Real Deal

Jesus’ compassionate assessment of the people he encountered was that they were “confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” To multiply the number of people reached during his ministry on earth, he delegated twelve of his closest followers to engage in spiritual work similar to his own.

Losing Our First Love

What event prompted the Pharisees to ambush Jesus and his disciples? According to Matthew’s chronology, the only recorded event involving food that they could be referring to was the feeding of the 5,000. Their response to one of Jesus’ most astounding miracles was an accusation related to meal etiquette.

How did they get it so wrong?

Words Matter

Lying vs telling the truth. Talking more than listening. Speaking hurtful words instead of healing words.

There’s a lot going on in this passage, but it all relates to our speech. Words matter, Solomon tells us, and so much so that “we are rewarded or punished for what we say and do” (v 14).

Maybe lying is your problem. It comes naturally to some, especially for those who don’t like confrontations.

From the Heart

The 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 root, Holy Spirit, forgiveness, heart

Behind the Smile

Serving men across Canada for the past seventeen years has helped me increase my love for the book of Proverbs. This book is filled with the teaching of wisdom from a father directed to his son. I pray that fathers across Canada share wisdom like this with their children.

Television is filled with commercials featuring people who are smiling because of their latest purchase or experience.

Authority

Even though Jesus doesn’t answer their question, he answers their question. John the Baptist had his authority from heaven, as everyone with any spiritual insight recognized. The leaders couldn’t deny John the Baptist’s authority, plus they were afraid of the people, so they refused to say that his authority was from human beings. On the other hand, they couldn’t admit that John the Baptist’s authority was from heaven, because that meant acknowledging that Jesus’ authority was from heaven, too.

A Godly Leader Struggles with Divine Direction

Samuel had a struggle between his head and his heart. Mentally he knew that God had rejected Saul. But emotionally Samuel grieved and still longed for God’s blessing on Saul.

The great prophet Samuel now is fearful of his protégé Saul; what if he finds out about this anointing of a new king? I love the fact that God grants this dear servant a “cover” for his trip to Bethlehem. “Take a heifer with you”. It worked perfectly!

Of Seeds and Weeds

A farmer carefully prepares the soil to increase the chances of a good harvest. But the quality of the seed is of utmost importance. If one out of every ten seeds a farmer planted failed to grow, he would lose ten percent of his crop. If two out of every ten seeds failed to germinate, the farmer would lose 20 percent.

In this story the seed was the highest quality possible.

The Good Samaritan

Have you ever considered how our actions reflect the condition of our hearts?

The story of the Good Samaritan is one that challenges us. Samaritans were cultural outsiders, as far as the Jews were concerned. They did not worship the God of the Old Testament, and indeed a Samaritan village had recently rejected Jesus (Luke 9:51-53)!