Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your…
Category: Random Questions
If Faith Really Works…
People often refer to Hebrews 11 as the “Hall of Faith”. It details various people who placed their faith in the living God. We may expect things to end well for each of them. Contrary to our temporal perspective, some of these people do not get to ride off into the sunset at the visible…
The Measure, The Ruler
The peace of Christ is not just a housewarming gift. It is not my employee. The peace of Christ is actually my boss. What if, instead of frantically trying to find this peace, I listened for it. What if, instead of me directing where peace should go, I go where this peace directs? Let the…
The Work God Wants From You
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither…
Fool Me Seven Times
We all know the feeling of being let down or offended. In today’s way of living, we feel that no one should ever do this to us, ever! And yet, they do. Repeatedly. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!” We protect ourselves. We insulate ourselves. We brace ourselves. If…
The Purpose of Sound Teaching
Consider these words Paul wrote to Timothy regarding teaching the truth. What attitudes and activities hindered sound teaching? What ideas and behaviors opposed the truth? What similarities and differences do we see at work today? When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary…
When Fear Greets You
Humans have dealt with fear for as long as there have been fearful ideas. People have developed all sorts of techniques and strategies for responding to fear. Through it all, fear somehow persists from one generation to the next. We have heard famous quotes about fear and have at one time or another probably told…
Does Heaven Drop Calls?
Are there times when it seems like you cannot hear from God? Are there other moments where it feels like God is not listening to you? What does Scripture say about such moments? How can we establish a stronger connection on both the giving and receiving end of communication? “Shout it aloud, do not hold back….
“Funny”
Funny – causing laughter or amusement; humorous. Funny – difficult to explain or understand; odd; unusual, especially in such a way as to arouse suspicion; slightly but undefinably unwell. Such is the way we define the word “funny“. In this life, we may find ourselves on the receiving end of some rather “funny” treatment from…
If You Are My Enemy
I wonder if anyone ever started out a letter with the greeting: “To my unimportant, despised foe.” As absurd as this sounds, how do we today “greet” an enemy? Do we smile and speak through gritted teeth? Do we blast music into the phone? How about the old pie to the face? Jesus expected a…
Food for Thought 