“Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother” (Luke 7:14-15). Only Jesus could do this. Death has such vast power that we …
“When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’ But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.” (Luke 9:54-56) Let’s be clear about one thing. The Samaritans had a rotten attitude. They hated the Jews so …
Day 30 – A Samaritan Village: Let Go and Move On Read More »
“There arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep” (Matthew 8:24) In 1933, Diertrich Bonhoeffer, shortly before Hitler came to power took his text from Matthew 8:23-27, the story of Jesus calming the sea. Jesus was asleep in the boat during the …
Day 31 – Sea of Galilee: When Christ is in the Boat Read More »
“How hard is it for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24-25). They must have laughed when Jesus said it. Camels can’t go through the eye …
“He said to them, ‘Give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have only five loaves of bread and two fish’” (Luke 9:13) The location of this miracle is described in various ways: “A desolate place” (Matthew 14:13). “A solitary place” (Mark 6:32). “A town called Bethsaida” (Luke 9:10) “The far shore of the Sea …
Day 33 – A Solitary Place: Give Them Something to Eat Read More »
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his Harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38). These verses have been translated into every language. The harvest is plentiful all over the world. Right now, while you are reading …
Day 34 – In the Villages: The Harvest is Plentiful Read More »
“Still another said, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say to my family.’ Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:61-62). Let’s call this fellow the Divided Disciple, which is a contradiction …
“Zacchaeus, come down immediately” (Luke 19:5). He was a little man with a big problem. Jesus was coming to town, but the crowds kept Zacchaeus, who was a short man, from seeing Him. A familiar Sunday school tells the story: Zacchaeus was a wee little man - and a wee little man was he. He …
Day 36 – Jericho: A Little Man with a Big Problem Read More »
“When He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days” (John 11:6). Why did He wait two more days? Why not come now, right now, while Lazarus is alive? If He really loved Lazarus, why delay at all? It is easy to understand the disciples’ confusion. “Lord, this man is …
Day 37 – Across the Jordan: Waiting for Lazarus to Die Read More »
Lazarus was already dead for four days when Jesus arrived in Bethany. He had been dead long enough for his body to begin decaying. Now Jesus is here. What will He do? Lazarus has been dead so long that any thought of an immediate resurrection is out of the question. But that doesn’t seem to …