One of the amazing things about the story of the Bible is the way it is grounded in real human history. The places the Bible mentions can be found on a map. The ruins of towns listed by Scripture thousands of years ago are still there.
Read MoreA Day is coming that will be the end of everything...or at least everything as we know it. The timing of the End of Time will not be chosen by rulers in the human realm, national politics, environmental disruption, or a chance collision with meteors from space.
Read MoreThe times that Christ lived in were very different times from our own. There were no news cameras or newspapers. It wasn’t possible to take a picture with a cell phone and post it on the internet.
Read MoreJesus was out once again walking along the shore of the sea. What a beautiful view with the yellow, rolling hills that molded themselves around the blue, shimmering waters of Galilee. It was probably some time in the fall, but the nation of Israel is in a land where the weather is mild, even in the middle of winter.
Read MoreAnother feast of the Jews had come, and so Jesus travelled down to Jerusalem to worship His Father at the Temple. Jerusalem was surrounded by high, protective walls that had been built hundreds of years before.
Read MoreAfter His great confrontation with the religious leaders in Jerusalem (see Story 44), Jesus made the journey with His disciples back home to Galilee.One day, Jesus and His disciples were going for a walk through the grain fields of the countryside.
Read MoreJesus was doing massive amounts of healing and preaching to the multitudes. The Jews from Galilee and Judea that came to Him early on in His ministry were being joined by Gentiles from cities hundreds of miles away.
Read MoreThere are few sections of the Bible that are read and celebrated as much as the Sermon on the Mount. It is found in chapters five through seven in the book of Matthew. It contains some of the most beautiful ideals ever written down by a human hand.
Read MoreThe Sermon on the Mount is one of the most beautiful ethical writings in the history of humanity. Just before giving us the Sermon Matthew explained that crowds of people were traveling from all over the nation of Israel and the surrounding Gentile countries to get near Jesus.
Read MoreThese words are like the doorway to being a disciple. In each verse, the Lord did not give a specific action, like “serving” or “sharing the Gospel.”
Read MoreCrowds upon crowds of people had come from all over the nation of Israel and the surrounding countries to see Jesus, the popular young preacher who performed amazing miracles and taught about God in a radical new way.
Read MoreAs Jesus taught about those who would be blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven, the next thing he said was, “‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’” What does it mean to see God? And for that matter, what does it mean to be pure in heart?
Read MoreAs I prepare this blog, my heart trembles. I have never been called upon to truly suffer for my faith. One of the interesting things about blogging is that I can check every day to see how many people have read my posts and what countries they are from.
Read MoreJesus preached the heart-wrenchingly beautiful qualities of a disciple as the opening poem of the Sermon on the Mount. Then He taught that the humility and dependence of His blessed ones would be like salt and light to the rest of the world.
Read MoreJesus declared that the Laws and prophecies of the Old Testament would remain unbreakable and true until the end of time. In His own life on earth, the Lord obeyed them with absolute perfection in response to His heavenly Father.
Read MoreJesus was teaching the Sermon on the Mount. He explained what it means to be a member of God’s Kingdom. The key is found in qualities of the heart such as purity, mercy, and meekness. These rich inner qualities will show outwardly in the way Christ’s followers respond to life.
Read MoreThe next thing Jesus preached about in His Sermon on the Mount is a hard one. It is an area where the brokenness of the human race has created a painful, destructive disaster in the hearts and lives of many precious souls.
Read MoreThe next Kingdom ideal that the Lord explained to for His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount was about taking oaths.
Read MoreThe next thing Jesus tackled in His Sermon on the Mount was a law that Moses gave in the book of Deuteronomy. It said: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” I've know some people to find this repulsive and brutal, but my guess is that they hadn't thought it through very deeply.
Read MoreAs Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He proclaimed six different ways that the Jewish leaders of His time had distorted and misused the high and holy Law of the Old Testament. In His protection against the rages of evil in this world, God gave commands against murder, adultery, and divorce so that sin would be restrained.
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