Creative Space for Wanderers
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: 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 …
Read: Consider two phrases in the passage we read today: Lord if you are willing and when Jesus saw their faith. Both demonstrate an unusual faith in a man they hardly knew. They had heard about this preacher that was going from village to village, town to town, teaching good news, adding wisdom to wise …
Read: Back from the desert temptation experience, Jesus’ ministry is now set for launch. Not surprising, His teaching is exceptional and people are amazed. They were amazed when He taught as a 12-year old (), I can’t even fathom what another 18 years of life on earth added to His sermon archive! In this passage, …
Read: We fast-forward to somewhere between A.D. 25 and A.D. 26, when John the Baptist, and his cousin Jesus, were about 30 years old. John preaches the need for repentance through baptism and even baptizes Jesus. Luke covers the story of John the Baptist differently than the other Gospel accounts. His intentional process of identifying …
Read: Today we read a story that I’ve read a hundred times. It reveals the incredible truth that Jesus was fully human and, we later appreciate, fully God. Of all the stories, I’m so grateful that Luke was careful about choosing this one. There are times when I read a verse that my head seems …
Read: Betrayal complete, now the leaders have their work cut out for them as they prepare their case against Jesus. Meanwhile, Peter is doing his very best not to be the one Jesus called out a few hours earlier: Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he …
Read: As I began to read this section, I simply had to stop and ponder what it must have been like to have a private discussion with Jesus: And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Four of the disciples had …
Read: As I began to process chapter 13, The Olivet Discourse, I simply had to stop and observe the first few verses through the eyes of the disciples, with a bent toward the current state of so many churches in this country. As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, …
Read: The reward for following Jesus cannot be understated. The risk associated with putting Jesus first might require all we have on earth. Am I willing to let go of everything? I know the right answer, but I have to wonder as I read through the encounter with this man of great wealth. Jesus looked …