John 9 – Mud in the Eyes Christians

After reading and re-reading the story of the man born blind in John 9 today I am struck by the power and authority of Jesus combined with the blind man’s willing obedience. Our faith is a partnership of unequals. We can’t even take credit for listening and doing because without his command we wouldn’t have [...]

Gospel of John 4:43-54 A Big Request

43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once more he [...]

God Parts the Red Sea

God parting the Red Sea is always a VBS favorite. But it is still one of my favorites as an adult. As I was reading this a couple of weeks a ago a few things struck me that I had never thought about before. Here is the text (Exo 14:10-31):
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked [...]

Outreach and Reputation Risking

It never seemed to bother Jesus if his reputation was at stake when it came to reaching the lost:
- Speaking with adulterous Samaritan women at a well alone.
- Having his feet annointed by a woman with a checkered past.
- Eating with tax collectors and “sinners.”
- Associating with and even healing Gentiles.
- Being crucified because it [...]

Should We Pray for the Hands of Doctors? Praying Too Small

I always thought the prayer, “Lord, please be with the hands of the doctors…” was a strange prayer. We are asking for God to intervene without having to ask Him to do it all himself. It’s like saying, “God if you have time could you help this person?” We are asking for the doctors to [...]

Gospel of Mark – From Fear to Faith (4:35-5:43)

The NIV chapter break between 4 and 5 is in an unfortunate place. 4:1-34 is a distinct unit and 4:35-41 clearly fits together better with the miracles in chapter 5. There is a common theme in the four miracles in these verses. In each one people are afraid and each time Jesus points to the [...]