Satan’s Way
When Messiah begin to talk about His impending death, he met resistance from His own followers who had believed He would, by force, set up His kingdom. They had no room in their thinking for such a crazy idea as the Messiah suffering and dying. Peter rebuked Jesus, but Peter found himself verbalizing the
Give it all to Him
When we present all of our bad experiences to God, He will begin to heal us in new ways. When we hand over all the broken pieces, He will help us to deeper healing. Ironically, there are pieces that we can’t find, but this is no problem to our Father; He knows where they
Saved through Sanctification
Too many want to make holiness an optional addendum for believers who might be interested in it. It is not something added to salvation, but is an integral part of salvation. Jesus “suffered without the gate to sanctify the people with His own blood” (Hebrews 13:12). “God chose you as the firstfruits to be
Take Your Tambourine
“Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.’” (Exodus 15:20–2 NIV). This is about the exodus,
Set Right to Live Right
Because of our language we want to make justification solely into a legal kind of transaction with God the Judge. It is much more than that, as a matter of fact justification and righteousness come from the same root word. Justification means to be set right or put in right relationship with God on
Labor Not In Vain
At the graveside we offer comfort from the great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. Because of the resurrection we can say, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” This is to say that all our
Who is this Risen One?
He is the seed of the woman who will bruise the head of the serpent! He is the promised Messiah of David’s line! He is the Suffering Servant that Isaiah saw! He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah! He is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world! He is
Rejecting Suffering
Suffering makes us want to run away. We see it as a bad thing to flee. We pray to be released from it; it is the focus of most of our prayer lists. Embracing legitimate suffering is the way to mental health. To hide, bury, deny, or avoid your suffering creates a false reality,
Humility and Suffering
A new and recent physical problem has had an humbling effect on me. Suffering can “bring you down a notch or two.” It can snatch away our arrogance; it can break our pride. It can bring us to a humble place, and from that vantage point we can see, sense, and feel things that
On Washing Feet
When they entered the upper room, the disciples walked by the same towel and basin that Jesus used to wash their feet. They were waiting for someone to serve them, in the absence of a servant; they never thought to be one. It is easier to sit and be served than it is to
Finding Blessing in Suffering
We tend to only identify blessing as non-suffering. We think of health as a blessing and it is. We think of financial prosperity as a blessing, and it may be. But pleasure, prosperity, health, leisure, etc. have to be balanced with the reality that there is blessing to be found in suffering. If suffering
Suffering’s Invitation
Holy Week 2025: Human suffering is an invitation to experience God; to experience the God who is, not the God we have made Him out to be. Moses only saw the back of God. In this age, we are invited to see the face of God; His face is only seen in the Christ
The Fullness of Glory
On the Mount of Transfiguration the disciples glimpsed the glory of Jesus. They would have been more than ready to go tell it. But Jesus said, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” “Hold your testimony until you see more, then you can tell the
Palms And The Unexpected
We waved our Palm branches with the throng of worshippers and shouted our hosannas. We did not know what would hit us around the bend. We thought life was just fine now that the Messiah had arrived. We did not imagine suffering, death and a grave. That’s the way life sometimes hits us. Everything
Palm Sunday Eve
Holy Week was the most intense week of all history. In this week of compressed eternity the meaning of history is revealed. The God-Man faces death, darkness, depravity and cosmic powers of evil. Rejection! Betrayal! Denial! Crucifixion! Burial! Resurrection! Prophecy fulfilled! Hidden mystery unfolded! Victory won! Atonement made! Captives freed! Gates of Hell collapsed!
The Sick Self
One of the purposes of self-denial is the death of our sick self, the selfish self. We need to die before we die. Baptism calls for it. When the sick self dies, God gives us back a new healed self. Paul called it sanctification. Jesus called it losing yourself and finding yourself. The self
Self-Denial And Generosity
Without self-denial there is no generosity. “Everything is mine. It is my time, my money and my stuff. Get away and leave it alone.” That’s sad! To live generously is to be like God. He gives light, life, mercy, grace, a creation of beauty, rain and sunshine for the just and unjust. God’s generosity
Self-Denial And Daily Life
Without self-denial there is no community whether it is family, church, work or neighborhood. What happy families and churches those are where everybody has to have their own way! Certainly not! Without self giving there is no one to prepare the meals, set the table, clean the floor and arrange things nicely. Living in
The Cross And Self-Denial
One mark of cheap grace is Christianity without self-denial. Christians do not have the option of following Jesus without taking up the cross and denying self. That is what He said! "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:27 (NASB) The real experience of following
From Temptation To The Cross
Jesus’ victory over temptations in the wilderness was foundational for His victory on the cross. He overcame temptation to demonstrate to us that we can too. The descending Spirit at His baptism enabled His victory in His testing. We need the Spirit to face our temptations, live a life of selfless service, face our
The Lord Knows The Way
We sang a song when I was a child which said, “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow.” One day at a time, one step at a time, we trust His guiding hand. We walk with Him whose other name is Path (Way). Without Him we
The Wilderness Teaches
As ancient Israel was tested by their wilderness experience, so we also will be tested by our wilderness experiences. As Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, so are we. Wilderness times repeat themselves in our lives. It is not the place we want to settle and stay. It is a place of preparation that
Your Wilderness Experience
“Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him” Mark 1:12-13. Jesus was with the wild beasts and was unharmed by them. Remember this in your
Self-Denial 24/7/365
Lent was never intended to be the only time we practice self-denial, living the rest of the year in self-indulgence. But we do need appointed times in our lives to truly practice self-denial, to strengthen us for the regular times. It is to be a remembrance time, walking the wilderness with Jesus, reminding us
Overcome
We make excuses for the failures in our personal lives. Jesus has clearly shown us by His victorious example in temptation that we can and must overcome the tricks of the enemy against us. Jesus entered the temptation with the anointing of the Spirit and came out in the power of the Spirit. The