“Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, ‘Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.’…
Photo Credit: Bureau of Land Management via Creative Commons [dropcaps style=”]T[/dropcaps]here is one question that we learn to ask at an early age: why? While it can test the patience of any parent, those initial questions show that we are trying to discover the underlying meaning or reason for something existing. We become accustomed to
A religious man came to Jesus looking for the boundaries of who he had to love and those who could simply walk by. Jesus’s response to how He defined one’s neighbor probably changed the direction of the conversation. While the scholar was looking for rules, Jesus was more concerned with the heart. The Jews did not interact with the Samaritans because of their lineage. Therefore, Jews would sometimes go to extensive lengths to avoid contact with the Samaritans. The Samaritan who helped the man in need while everyone else walked by was loving his neighbor. It would have been inconvenient and costly…
sat on my patio, taking a needed break to soak in a little sunshine. As I looked around at the grass, it was so lush and thick from all of the rain. You don’t need to use a sprinkler system with the rain we have been experiencing. Yet, the sun was shining, which is another key component for growth. The day finally came to a close, and the sun dipped its head behind the horizon until tomorrow. 3 AM rolled around with all of its fury – thunder, lightening, and rain…lots of rain. As it poured and I listened to it crash onto the roof, the rain didn’t seem wonderful. Wonderful was actually the last word I had in mind. Yet, when I awoke in the morning, the grass was bright green and standing tall. The rain was working its purpose to water the earth. The violence of the storm was yielding something beautiful…
The king of Aram specifically sent troops to capture Elisha. Every time he would plot an attack against Israel, God would speak to Elisha, and Elisha communicated God’s word to the king of Israel. The king of Aram was so frustrated by this prophet who was thwarting all of this plans, so he surrounded Elisha with his army. Elisha’s servant was the first to see the army with his eyes, but he wasn’t the first to see the situation. When Elisha saw all of the horses and chariots from Aram, his attention was focused on something that his servant couldn’t see. While Elisha had every right to be afraid and hide, he had eyes to see more than what could be seen on the surface. Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant so that he might see. To his surprise, the army of Aram was small in comparison to God’s army that stood with Elisha…