Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:4). Interesting language. The most direct path from Judea to Galilee ran through Samaria, yes. Yet it was still the road less traveled. Why? Oh, Jews did not like Samaritans. There was great ethnic tension. To make a long story short, they were kind of Jewish, but not really, from the perspective of…
Category: Devotional
Rejoicing in Decreasing
How do you react when someone steals your glory? When someone steals your shine? Let’s say you’ve been working at your job for 10 years. You’ve showed up, worked hard, and done your best. You’ve had your eye on a promotion for a while. You’ve outlasted everyone else who would be eligible for it. But then your company hires a…
How Do You Live for Jesus?
God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever does not believe, Jesus says, is condemned already (John 3:16-21). What merits this condemnation? If you are condemned to death by the state, it’s because you have done something to merit it. So, what is the judgment that has brought…
How do you enter God’s Kingdom?
A smart, well-known, and well-liked leader named Nicodemus had seen and heard of this Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus recently burst onto the scene at Passover when he cleared animals and money changers out of the temple. Nicodemus, and surely many others, are somewhat intrigued. So, by night, presumably not to be seen by others, Nicodemus comes to Jesus. He…
Jesus is After Wholehearted Worship
Jesus was a disrupter. He won quite a few fans with his display of righteous anger in the temple when he turned over the tables (John 2:13-25). Some of the people who knew the money changing practices were all kinds of shady were probably fired up. Yeah, he gets it! Down with organized religion! Such disrupters can gain a following…
Jesus is the True Temple
So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days.” But he was speaking about the temple…
When God’s People Do Not Revere God’s Holiness
During Passover in Jerusalem the city is packed to the gills. A relatively small city has all kinds of pilgrims. Imagine an NFL game happening at Laidley Field while the Reds are playing at Power Park and the Mountaineers are playing basketball in the Civic Center. Charleston, West Virginia would be chaos. You’d be parking in Nitro. The wait at Pies…
Bridegroom of the Great Wedding
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do…
Lord of Creation
Jesus begins his public ministry in a Gentile village–Cana in Galilee. There, Jesus, his disciples, and his mother find themselves at a wedding feast–a feast that has gone horribly wrong. They have run out of wine. To us this could seem like a minor problem, but in an honor/shame culture, not providing bountifully for your guests would bring great shame…
Come and See: An Invitation to Discipleship
Jesus has the first word in your spiritual journey. He knew you before you knew yourself. The Bible teaches that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us – that God searched for us and found us – that he ran to us while we were still a long way off. Jesus invites you to follow him – to…