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Victory Overtaking Defeat
John 20:1–18 is part of the lectionary readings for Easter Sunday, April 12th. The eyewitness testimony recorded in this passage reminds believers that Jesus truly rose from the dead in space-time history. There is no better message of hope that Christians can proclaim, especially as people around the globe struggle under the crushing weight of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The Savior’s crucifixion is the prelude to His resurrection from the dead. After the crowd outside the Praetorium (the official Jerusalem residence of Judea’s Roman governor, Pilate) insisted on Barabbas’s release, Pilate ordered his soldiers to flog Jesus. The military personnel pressed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and wrapped…
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Praying for the Impossible
I was recently convicted about the power of prayer. Reading through the book of Acts, I came to the story of Peter’s imprisonment. If you’re just skimming your reading or you have read the story many times over, it’s tempting to take this moment for granted. With a fresh glance, I was struck by this encounter in the early church and all that it implies for my life and yours. The infamous King Herod was at it yet again. Actually, this time it wasn’t Herod the Great, the famous King who slaughtered many children, hoping to find baby Jesus among the carnage; this was one of King Herod’s legacies, his…
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Painting Rocks for Pennies
When I was eight-ish years old, a neighbor friend and I gathered a bunch of rocks, painted them, and sold them door to door for a quarter. We did surprisingly well…well enough to buy some candy from Pauley’s Grocery Store. I don’t know why I love rocks. I don’t know their appeal. I just know that when I see one with unique characteristics and hidden qualities, I have to pick it up. I feel like that’s how Jesus felt picking his disciples. Seeing someone that others have overlooked. Appreciating a deeper quality only He could see. Overlooking rough edges knowing He could redeem it and redirect it for a…
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God’s Thoughts and Ways – Part IX (Peter)
The Perfecting of Peter Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and…
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Unexpectedly Beautiful
The temple mount towered in the background. The Gate called Beautiful cast a shadow on a man’s weathered face. Friends carried him to the gate every day, and he spent his hours pining for alms. He eked out an existence by playing on others’ piety. There was nothing beautiful about this man’s life or the religion practiced within the walls that stood behind him. The temple excluded the needy from its entrance because of their infirmities. The place that should have brought spiritual healing only gave handouts. So he never expected to find salvation outside the temple gate. As the hour of prayer approached, the man continued his plea for…
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Can I Get A Witness?
I am a romantic and an idealist at heart, and so it will come as no surprise that I love the TV show, This is Us. During this first season there has been unspoken tension between Kevin, a selfish 36-year-old actor, and his stepdad, Miguel. Every time that Miguel tries to help, affirm or encourage Kevin, Kevin rejects him and pushes him away. But one day, Kevin is anxious about the opening of his show and so Miguel says, Kevin, you remind me of your dad, you know that? The way that you move your hands when you talk, the way that you walk across a room. Sometimes you remind…
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Is Peter Insulting Women? (Part I)
Was the apostle Peter a misogynist? In response to this question one writer said, “99% of people in his culture were—so sure.” If we take Peter’s words at face value, we might think so. In his first epistle he writes some instruction that can trip up the twenty-first-century reader. After telling slaves how to deal with unjust masters, he adds this word to the wives: In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.…
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THE BIBLE Miniseries: My Perspective
One of my co-workers, a Muslim, kept asking me if I had been watching the Bible miniseries. When I told him that I had not, he said, “You should, you would like it.” “I usually don’t like it when Hollywood does a Bible movie,” I told him. “They usually add all kinds of stuff to it that’s not in the Bible. Like in the movie The Ten Commandments, they made it as though Moses and Pharaoh’s wife had once been in love, which is completely extra-biblical. I mean, the Bible is the best-selling book of all-time, it’s not like they can improve on it.” “No, man, you’ve got to see…
