Imagine meeting someone who told you things you had never heard before...things that you somehow knew were true. What if He started doing things that nobody else could do...healing the blind, making paralyzed people walk, bringing the insane to their right minds?
Read MoreIt must have been pretty amazing when the shepherds showed up with stories about heralding angels and the light of God’s glory shining all around them. As Mary held the Lord Jesus and washed His tiny hands and feet, what did she think of these grand events?
Read MoreThe crowds continued to flock to John, the wild preacher who gave his message in the open places, far from the Temple in Jerusalem. As he baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan River, the people could see that his bold declarations were full of the Spirit of God, and so they began to wonder who he was. Is he the prophet Elijah come back to life as foretold in Malachi 4:5?
Read MoreThe Spirit of the Lord had come to anoint the Son of God in a special and powerful way. After Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Jesus away from the Jordan and the bustle of ministry that surrounded John. Jesus was compelled to go out to the wilderness and to the silence of utter nature.
Read MoreThe world of the Jews was being shaken. In the midst of their great, national Passover celebration, the young man named Jesus was turning everything upside down.
Read MoreAs the ministry of Jesus began to grow in influence, a lot of people weren’t happy. John the Baptist’s disciples weren’t the only ones who noticed how popular Jesus was becoming. The Pharisees were taking notice of Him, too.
Read MoreAs the Lord travelled to Galilee to begin His ministry there, He stopped for several days in Samaria. The people there had responded to His message of freedom and transformation with great faithfulness. Then the Lord journeyed to Cana.
Read MoreAs Jesus made His way through Galilee to tell the people of the region the Good News of the Kingdom of God, He traveled to His home town of Nazareth. They had waited for so many years through history for the Kingdom of God to come.
Read MoreWe have already learned about the writers of the book of Luke and the book of Matthew. Let’s refresh our memories, and then we’ll go on to learn about the writer of the book of Mark. Matthew was written by Jesus’ disciple, the tax collector. He wrote his book for the Jewish people to help them understand that Jesus was really the promised Messiah of Old Testament prophecy.
Read MoreIn the early days of Christ’s ministry, He spent His days preaching and teaching in the northern region of the nation of Israel around the Sea of Galilee. One day while Jesus was in Capernaum, He went for a walk along the edge of the water.
Read MoreHow different were the people of Capernaum from those in Nazareth! They heard the words of Jesus and believed! Many were healed of their suffering. Can you imagine the excitement the people felt as they watched people being set free?
Read MoreAs Jesus and His disciples were traveling to the cities and towns around Galilee, the Lord continued to do His work of teaching and miraculous healing. Crowds came from all over to follow this wildly popular young preacher.
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 MoreThe book of John was the last of the three Gospels to be written. At the end of his book, John tells the reason he wrote his Gospel. It was so that, “…you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name’”
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 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.
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