We’ve all heard the story about doubting Thomas, but he’s not the only one who doubted Christ’s resurrection. When the women return from the empty womb and tell the apostles, they don’t believe them – they find it an idle tale. Yet we have Peter, known for his impulsive words and denial of Christ, getting up and running to the tomb hoping to see if it’s true and amazed then he sees the empty linen cloths. Hope became belief and the gospel Peter preaches in Acts 10. He tells how he and the apostles were witnesses of all Christ did in Jerusalem and Judea. He preaches not only about Christ’s crucifixion on a tree – the cross, but how God raised him up from the dead three days later. Peter and the chosen were witnesses of Christ’s appearances after the resurrection and were commanded to preach this gospel – this good news. Yet, Peter and the apostles were not the first to proclaim the resurrection. It was the women who came and found the empty grave. They were the ones the origin...

  Luke 19: 28-40 Philippians 2: 5-11   We hear of Jesus procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As I read this passage along with the Philippians one, I note that Christ, who could have claimed equality with God, didn’t ride on a beautifully decorated white stead onto a red carpet which in his royalty he truly deserved. But as it says in Philippians, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a man – the form of a slave. He rides instead on a borrowed donkey and it’s not the paparazzi and the rich, famous and beautiful who praise his divinity but the everyday people – the poor folks laying down their cloaks and grabbing palms branches to wave and honor this Savior who had healed so many people and performed miracles.   This joyful procession is the beginning of Holy Week, but who would have predicted that it would end in the Lord’s crucifixion. His humility is not only shown in his riding a donkey but in becoming obedient to death, the cruelest death – death on...

  Philippians 3:4 -14 Isaiah 43: 16-21   The apostle Paul in our Philippians passage tells how he had it all – had done all that was expected of him as a good Jew. He tells how he put this all behind him when he became a Christian. He called seeking after righteousness in the way of following the laws all rubbish since he has received the grace of righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.   The verse which really strikes me is verse 13 where he says, “forgetting what lies behind and pressing on – straining forward – putting our focus on what lies ahead. So many of us are ashamed of things we’ve done in the past but in Christ we can put the past behind us and focus on the new life which Christ gives.   In our Isaiah passage, the Israelites are in captivity in another nation. They find themselves as Isaiah describes it as a desert in the wilderness. Their spiritual lives are dry, and they feel stuck in their captivity. They are stuck also in their longing...

  I have just finished the book, The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. He brought out another character in the story for us to identify with. Many of us identify with either the younger rebellious son or the older responsible son in the parable. Nouwen, however, brings up the character of the forgiving father and how we need to become like him. Our Corinthians 5 passage tells us how we have been made new in Christ – reconciled to God through Christ’s work on the cross. The father in the Prodigal Son represents God the Father who welcomes home and not only forgives the younger son but the bitter, angry older son. Whatever son we feel represents us, God forgives and welcomes us home. As ambassadors for Christ, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. As God forgave us and accepted us back home – no matter what, we are to do the same to others. We are to be like God who hasn’t counted the trespasses against us. God is making his appeal through us as his ambassa...

  The Pharisees are shown as villains throughout the gospels since they have Christ arrested and crucified. In Luke 13, however, we have them warning Christ to get out of Jerusalem since Herod wants to kill him. Is this good will on the Pharisees’ part or do they just want to get him out of town or maybe they themselves want to kill Jesus – only God knows. Herod is an enemy of the Jews and Jesus calls him a “fox.” This is interesting since he talks about wanting to be like a hen and gathering them up in safety from the “fox” Herod. Christ hasn’t been able to do so since the Jews of Jerusalem have killed the prophets and those sent to them and will do so to Christ. Jesus wants to protect them and give them new life through him, but they are not willing. In Psalm 27 we see those who are willing – those who seek the Lord’s face. The Psalmist acknowledges that this is the God of my salvation – the one true God. Though Luke uses the image of a mother hen protecting her chicks, the P...

  Lent has begun and many of us have given up things like eating sweets, drinking coffee, even chocolate. Some even go on fasts during this time. However, some will find sights of sweets, chocolate brownies, and smell of coffee to tempt them away from their promise of withholding. Our Luke 4 passage talks about another forty-day period of fasting that Jesus went through. If this wasn’t enough, at the end of it, the devil comes to tempt him. First, he tempts his hunger, his human need for food by telling him to use his power to turn a stone into bread. Jesus answers, “Man does not live by bread alone.” He is talking about the spiritual needs that bring true life. The devil tries again by tempting him with power by offering him authority over the whole world if Jesus will bow down and worship the devil. Again, Jesus quotes scripture. “We shall worship only the Lord your God.” Being denied by Christ quoting scripture, the devil uses scripture itself to tempt Jesus. It is from ...

  Today we study the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up to a mountain to pray. Now while they are praying, Jesus’ face and clothes become dazzling white. Also appearing in glory is Elijah who was known for not dying but riding a chariot up into heaven. Then there is Moses that was known for having his face shine so bright after being with God making the Ten Commandments that he had to cover it with a veil to not make the Israelites afraid. But here the two of them, long gone, are seen in glory. Why did they return to earth? To discuss what Christ was going to achieve in Jerusalem – salvation for all. Peter decides this is great and wants to preserve it by setting up three dwellings, but Christ’s time hadn’t come. In order for us to fully behold his glory he needed to go to Calvary to achieve salvation for all. Paul in II Corinthians 3 tells how we are no longer under the old covenant – Moses’ Ten Commandments. Do you think this was what Moses was discussin...