When we read the Beatitudes, we see a picture of the qualities a disciple of Christ is meant to grow in. The descriptions are of a people so full of meekness and mercy that it is hard to imagine anyone would want to persecute them.
Read MoreJesus had spent many months out of the limelight, teaching His disciples and journeying around the countryside. But the time had come for the great festival, and the Jewish families all over Israel were preparing to go to Jerusalem.
Read MoreThe great Feast of Tabernacles had begun in Jerusalem. Everyone wondering when Jesus was going to come. Rumors were swirling around that the Jewish leadership was planning to have Him killed. Yet many of the people who had travelled many miles to the Feast had also travelled miles to listen to Jesus preach.
Read MoreAs Jesus traveled the countryside of Judea, He continued to bring Truth and Light wherever He went. As He healed people of their blindness, their lame feet, and the demonization, He showed the world that the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom was already on it’s way.
Read MoreFrom the point when Jesus started His ministry to where we are now in the story, it has been over two and a half years. He and His disciples have journeyed throughout the towns and villages and cities of Israel, proclaiming the Truth of God’s Kingdom and demonstrating the power of the Most High God through breathtaking miracles and heart-rending acts of compassion.
Read MoreWe find ourselves at an interesting place in the life of Jesus when He walked the earth. He had just explained to His disciples the hope of eternal life…and what that means for those who are still bound up in the things of this life...the distractions of this fallen world.
Read MoreThe Day of the Lord is going to come and even as Jesus walked the earth, He longed for it. It will be the great Day of Salvation for all who put their faith in Him. It will also be a Day of Judgment and fire against rebellion and the darkness of this world. It will bring a final end to the curse, and will usher in a new era of everlasting joy and light.
Read MoreIt was a miracle that nobody had heard of before. A man that had been born blind…that didn’t even have the proper eyes to restore sight to…was given his sight. Once again, Jesus, the radical young preacher that was turning the nation of Israel upside down, had done something nobody could explain.
Read MoreAround that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus. A lot of the religious leaders wanted to see Jesus dead, but these men wanted to protect Him. They warned Him that King Herod wanted to kill Him.
Read MoreNoah and Lot were far from perfect men, but they listened to their God (see Genesis 6-9 and 18:16-19:29). When God’s merciful warnings came, they had ears to hear and were saved. The rest of the people during their times chose their own terrible ends by treating the words of their Maker with contempt.
Read MoreJesus had a way of turning everything upside down. When the disciples tried to block the crowds from troubling Him with their children, Jesus not only told them to let the children come to Him…He told them that they needed to become more like the children!
Read MoreOn His last night with His disciples, Jesus finally made it clear. The Kingdom they were going to proclaim would be far different from what they had imagined, but it was also far greater and more wonderful. As Jesus looked ahead to the days and years to come, He lifted up His eyes to His Father in Heaven and prayed.
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