The Attributes of God:

Who Was Jesus John 1-5 “He (Jesus) said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.” (1:39).                   The question has confronted humanity for the last 2000 years and remains the most fundamental of all questions. The question that confronts us is, “Who is Jesus?” How we answer the question not only determines our response to the message of Jesus but also our eternal destiny. This was the question John confronts us with at the very start of his gospels. While the other gospel writers began with the historical narrative of Jesus’ birth, John begins with a different perspective. Instead of asking where Jesus came from, he focuses on the question “Who was Jesus?”                     Historians agree on the historical reality of Jesus: he was born, and through his teaching, the Christian religion was esta...

The Danger of Distractions Luke 21-24 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”                   The number one cause of car accidents is not reckless driving (4 th ), drunk driving (3 rd ), or even speeding (2 nd ). For most, these are the three things we are most careful to avoid. However, the #1 cause of accidents is something we are all guilty of doing almost every time we get behind the wheel. The #1 cause of accidents is distracted driving: answering a phone call, checking a text message, fiddling with the radio, turning our head to talk to someone behind us, and the list goes on. A person who would never dream of breaking the law regarding drunk driving or reckless driving can easily fall into the greatest trap of all: just being distracted!    ...

Self-Reliance or Self-Denial Luke 16-20 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”                   There are always two questions we are confronted with when we pray. The first is, does God answer prayer? The second is, what prayers does he answer? We all struggle with prayer, for our prayers often seem ineffective, and we wonder whether God listens. In Luke 18, we find Jesus addressing the struggle we all face. Not only do we struggle to pray, but it often seems as if our prayers are ineffective. In verse 1, Jesus tells us a parable to encourage us in prayer. The phrase "lose heart" refers to one who has lost motivation and given up in prayer, for there are times when it seems as if our prayers go unanswered and, even more troubling, unheard! We pray continually and deeply ...

Does God Answer Prayer? Luke 11-15 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (11:9).                   How can we pray effectively so that we know God will hear and answer our prayers? This is a question we all struggle to understand. We believe in God and believe that he answers prayer, yet when it comes to “my” prayer, it seems as if heaven is silent. We hear the testimony of others and how God miraculously answered their prayers, but it seems we never experience such miracles in our own lives. So, like the disciples, we wonder if it is because we do not know how to pray. We read James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your own pleasures,” and wonder if the problem is our lack of faith or improper motives. Even worse, we begin to question the legitimacy of the p...

Losing Focus Luke 6-10 Luke 10:41-42, “But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”                   We are easily distracted by the trivial and sacrifice the eternal for the present. How often are we driven and governed by what is temporal and insignificant? What we believe to be so important today is often discarded and rejected as inconsequential and worthless tomorrow. In our quest to follow the crowds, we spend countless amounts of money to purchase the latest fashions and popular brands, only to discard them in the Goodwill bin tomorrow because they are no longer in vogue.                   In Luke 10:38-42, we find a common scene...

  The Cost of Discipleship Luke 1-5 Luke 5:11, “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”                   We read the words and actions of people in the Bible and often accept them without really stopping to reflect on the significance of their actions. This is true of the disciples’ response when Jesus called them to follow him. Until their encounter with Jesus, they knew little about him. They had heard stories and news that there was a young itinerant preacher performing miracles and preaching to the people. In this, they were no different from the rest of the people of that day. The miracles and teaching of Jesus were undoubtedly the talk of the villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Like all rural communities, news of something unusual traveled fast. So when Jesus first appeared to Peter and asked him to take him a little ways into the water so the ...