Creative Space for Wanderers
Read: Jesus sent out the twelve, not the eleven. As I read today’s passage, I’m intrigued by the notion that Judas Iscariot was among those who went from village to village to preach the Gospel. I’m not completely sure what to do with that thought. It reminds me of Paul’s assertion, as long as the …
Read: If you read the title to this post and just keep going, perhaps you’ve been in the Christian bubble too long, but don’t be upset with yourself, you’re in good company! Our Daily Bread devotion this morning prompts us to read where Thomas admits he doesn’t understand and Philip is terribly confused. These two …
Continue reading “Luke: Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman”
Read: Who asked this question? “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” If someone that is possessed by a legion of demons can approach Jesus with this level of honor and recognition, where does that leave us? Sure, we can talk about the …
Continue reading “Luke: Go Tell Everyone How Much God Has Done For You”
Read: Luke tells us a story that begins with “One day…” Most of us know the story about Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves. Beth Ehlert created a video as her song story for Peace Be Still and later wrote the script for a video that became the focal point for Hope Fellowship’s Christmas …
Read: The parable of the sower, a lamp on a stand, and Jesus’ mother and brothers — all carefully crafted to help us understand how to apply the Word of God. Yesterday we talked about Jesus as an itinerant preacher, moving from town to town. Today we read some highlights of His preaching with an …
Read: Just a short segue between stories, Luke adds some interesting detail about the preaching and teaching tour of Jesus. Back in the old days, even before my time, the idea of circuit-riders or itinerant preachers modeled their ministry based on this idea: Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the …
Read: Today, we get to revisit Mark: Jesus Anointed at Bethany from a different perspective and at a different time. This is not during passion week, not just before Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, so it seems this is a separate event that ends with a different emphasis near the beginning of Jesus’ traveling ministry. The passage we read …
Continue reading “Luke: Your faith has saved you; go in peace”
Read: Affirmation. We all need to be affirmed by qualified sources, those whom we esteem to be an authority in our particular ministry. A car mechanic might not think working on the fuel injection system is a ministry, but I beg to differ! Everyone is a minister, each is an evangelist for that which they …
Read: Wouldn’t you like to have the faith of the centurion in this story? Or perhaps the widow who has no words to even ask Jesus for the impossible, yet receives her son back alive? Luke provides these two vignettes to highlight the love of Christ for us and to emphasize, at least from my …
Read: Love your enemies, don’t judge others, the mouth speaks what the heart is full of, here the words and do what Jesus commanded. Somewhere there’s a sign for the wall with these short phrases that summarize so much of Jesus’ teaching. The original audience that heard these words for the very first time were …