a better hope

    The story of Jesus, Mary, and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) has long interested me. It is a short story that says many things. I pasted it below from the KJV. Let's get started. *** 38  Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39  And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42  But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. *** The story is something many of us can relate to. While we are busy doing our service, others are, seemingly, loafing. As we saw in the story of Lazarus, these ...

  I love the story of Jesus and Lazarus. I relate the story below so we're all on the same page. This story lends so much insight into the mind of God and His attitude toward human beings, His tremendous, out-of-this-world kindness, and grace. And, it contains the shortest sentence in the King James Bible: "Jesus wept." For those who think men cannot or should not cry, look at our Savior crying over His friend Lazarus, even though he was about to raise him from the dead. So, let's get started. ***  11 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5  Now Je...

  The story of Jesus and the rich man is a goldmine of truth, of which I can only scratch the surface. The Bible is a multilayered book that can be studied a lifetime and still so much is left un-gleaned. And, yes, I’m going to be doing a little bit of preaching (but when am I not?) on this post.  The story of Jesus and the rich man is related three times in the New Testament (Matthew 19:16–30, Mark 10:17–31, and Luke 18:18–30 (Where were you, John?)), and three is a very important number of completeness. If you find the number three coming into play, pay attention. A good example of the use of three is how Jesus was dead for three days and after that was resurrected. In Jewish tradition at the time, if someone rose from the dead after only one or two days, they were not really dead. So because Jesus was dead for three days and came back to life, he was truly dead and defeated death for all of us by rising from the dead. As a side note, when Lazarus was raised from the dead, h...

  "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."  (Proverbs 18:10) The above proverb relates to a recent post about the names of God. The very name of God is a strong tower or defense. According to Philippians 2:9-11 ( Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of  things  in heaven, and  things  in earth, and  things  under the earth;  And  that  every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ  is  Lord, to the glory of God the Father), there is nothing higher than the name of Jesus Christ (nor more powerful!). And, as Christians are supposed to point the way to Jesus Christ, Jesus points the way to the Father. In Him is found everything we need or want. In these present times, which are more than a little uncertain, some things remain certain. Those things are found in my Bible, from whic...

  Recently I felt God convicted me of something. I'll mention that in a little bit. But first, I want to talk about the names of God. During these strange and troubling times, it is important to keep our eyes on God because "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)  For those who are sick (or afraid they will get sick), claim this promise: " Bless the  Lord , O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:   Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;  who healeth all thy diseases;   Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;   Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:2-5) Recently, I came across the photo below which lists 17 names of God.  Names are very important to God. How many times did he dictate what His people should name something or someone? I don't know, but it's ...