Mary’s Heart ‘Joseph of Arimathea was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs’ John 19:38-40
The Tree of Life He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God Revelation 2:7 In the book of Revelation Jesus addresses seven churches. These were
God is Close The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…’ John 1:14 God seems a long way off to most people. You might even sometimes find yourself thinking that. But God has never wanted to be a long way off. From afternoon walks in the Garden of Eden and His visible presence
Vision and Passion Compared to earlier generations, most people today live pretty mediocre lives. It’s more than just what we do or don’t do. It’s the lack of purpose leading to a lack of passion. Life for most, including Christians, is humdrum. Today is not much more than yesterday served up again. Little changes. But
A God-Shaped Vacuum The length of our days is seventy years or eighty if we have the strength … Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom Psalm 90:10,12 Almost 1600 years back Augustine wrote “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts find no rest until
Once More – With Understanding Sing praises to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our king, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth, Sing praises with understanding Psalm 47:6,7 Music is probably still the single most effective medium for reaching kids today. Music matters! It matters to those of us who
Praise His Name I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O Lord. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly Psalm 40:9,10 The satisfaction of
Freedom and Wholeness Mark 2 opens with the well known story of the paralytic man being let down through the roof – a crowded house, a crowded street, people digging through brushwood and lowering their friend on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’(Mark 1:5).
The “Waiting” Lesson Our world is fast paced and has finely tuned us to be the same. Once we were patient in a long queue; now we have little patience. Once we wouldn’t mind being “on hold” on the phone; now our impatience grows by the second as we wait “forever” for the other person
Being Well Grafted We once had what seemed to me a pretty stunted lemon tree. It rarely grew any lemons and so I decided to cut it down. Taking the lazy gardener’s approach, I cut it off at ground level. Some months later I noticed it was sprouting like crazy. So I let it grow
