After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for…
After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast. So he…
[Jesus] left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It…
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not…
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him,…
In the previous post (“On Rebuilding: Starting from the Ground Up”), we saw how Ezra and the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple—the centerpiece of all Israel. We mentioned that this is not unlike our own struggles to rebuild our lives, especially after things happen that rip life apart. We further mentioned…
They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations;they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations (Isa. 61:4). If we look at the world around us today, we will see so many people in the midst of pain, brokenness, and darkness. Their lives are coming to an end, it…
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into…
Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:12-13). Have you ever stopped and thought about just how foolish…
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I…
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I…
[Note: This is the final post in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1…
[Note: This is part 5 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
[Note: This is part 4 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
[Note: This is part 3 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
[Note: This is part 2 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary as.That You May Know: The First Letter of John During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,…
[Note: This is part 1 in a six-part series looking at the First Epistle of John. Some of the material is adapted from my commentary That You May Know: The First Letter of John. During this series, we won’t necessarily touch on every single verse, but will look at the major messages that 1 John…
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.…
This week, we continue looking at the life of Abraham, the man of faith, to see what we can learn for our own journey of faith. God is able to redeem our past (Gen. 16:1-16; 21:8-21). The Lord gave a promise to Abram, that he would have a son. The only problem? Abram and Sarai…
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to…
The Bible is full of examples of faithful men and women who heeded God’s call on their lives. In today’s post (the first of a two-part series), we’ll look at what we can learn from the life of Abraham, the father of faith. Obedience brings us one step closer to His purpose (Gen. 12:1-9).Abram and…
Welcome to the first installment of #WordforWednesday. In this series, we will study a passage of Scripture once a week in an in-depth manner to pull out its teachings so that we may apply them to our lives. Just a note: These posts may tend to be longer than the average blog post. But that’s…