Why We Lack Understanding
As the disciples were commanded, you should also say nothing until the Son of Man has risen in you— until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you truly understand what He taught while here on earth. When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before. In fact, you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to deal with them.
Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life. Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12).
The surprising power of Christ’s love
This week on Discover the Word the group has gotten to know a man named Malchus—an obscure character in the Easter story. So why do all four gospel writers tell us his story and why do they give us his name? What came of Malchus’s encounter with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? It’s a story […]
Does God Have a Blueprint For Our Lives?
If you want a 21st-century snapshot of the tower of Babel, you should visit Belgium’s Brussels Airport. I recently had a short layover there while on my way home from a trip abroad.
Godliman Street
My wife, Carolyn, and I were walking in London and came across a road named Godliman Street. We were told that a man once lived there whose life was so saintly that his street became known as “that godly man’s street.” This reminded me of an Old Testament story.
Saul’s father sent his son and a servant to look for some donkeys that had wandered away. The young men searched for many days but couldn’t find the animals.
Saul was ready to give up and go home, but his servant pointed toward Ramah, the prophet Samuel’s village, and replied, “Look, in this…
Today's reading: Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
I used to always wonder why my neighbor takes up two parking spaces on our block. Aaliyah always had to park in front of her house. So it didn't matter to her if she took up two parking spaces. Aaliyah has a small car, so I didn't understand why she never left space for another car to park. If she received a space when she arrived home from work, she would always park super close to the car behind her. I was debating whether to say something to her about it, but I declined. Instead, I decided to let her witness my actions. Actions speak louder than words. I live in Philadelphia, PA and recently we had an ice storm. It was so bad that it took two hours or more to dig ourselves out of our respective parking spots. Another neighbor helped me to dig my car out of my spot. Aaliyah was outside around the same time we were. I decided after my car was out, to help her. Needless to say, Aaliyah, was so grateful. To this day, she no longer takes up two parking spaces. I learned that day, that a little kindness goes a very long way.
Thank you Father God that it is all about you and never about us!!!!!!!!
The Collision of God and Sin
The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross— He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.
The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus— He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming.
“What the deaf man heard”
Today on Discover the Word we continue our study on Malchus, a man who comes to learn of Christ’s love in one of the most unorthodox ways imaginable—by getting his ear chopped off! An interesting conversation about “what the deaf man heard” right here on Discover the Word!
What Lasts Forever?
My friend, who had gone through many difficulties recently, wrote, “As I reflect on the past four semesters of student life, so many things have changed . . . . It is scary, really scary. Nothing stays forever.”
Indeed, many things can happen in two years—a career change, newfound friendship, illness, death. Good or bad, a life-altering experience may be lurking just round the corner, waiting to pounce! We simply don’t know. What great comfort, then, to know that our loving heavenly Father does not change.
The psalmist proclaims, “You remain the same, and your years will never end” (Ps. 102:27). The…
When I Couldn’t Feel God
I glanced across the hall. There were hundreds of people, all from different states across Malaysia, gathered together for the annual convention organized by my church.
What Lasts Forever?
My friend, who had gone through many difficulties recently, wrote, “As I reflect on the past four semesters of student life, so many things have changed . . . . It is scary, really scary. Nothing stays forever.”
Indeed, many things can happen in two years—a career change, newfound friendship, illness, death. Good or bad, a life-altering experience may be lurking just round the corner, waiting to pounce! We simply don’t know. What great comfort, then, to know that our loving heavenly Father does not change.
The psalmist proclaims, “You remain the same, and your years will never end” (Ps. 102:27). The…
Blindsided by Jesus’s love – the story of Malchus
Do you like surprises? Even for those of us who don’t, we might come around when it’s a good surprise. Today on Discover the Word, the team gathers to discuss one of the most surprising things about Jesus, by looking at one of the most surprised people in the Bible. Blindsided by Jesus’s love—the story […]
Experiencing Lent for the First Time
This year marks the first time I’m actively participating in the season of Lent. Apart from it being an annual liturgical season, I originally had little idea what Lent was about.
Kossi’s Courage
As he awaited his baptism in Togo’s Mono River, Kossi stooped to pick up a worn wooden carving. His family had worshiped the object for generations. Now they watched as he tossed the grotesque figure into a fire prepared for the occasion. No longer would their choicest chickens be sacrificed to this god.
In the West, most Christians think of idols as metaphors for what they put in place of God. In Togo, West Africa, idols represent literal gods that must be appeased with sacrifice. Idol burning and baptism make a courageous statement about a new believer’s allegiance to the one…
Where is Jesus when we get blindsided?
Have you ever been blindsided by something? We can all get caught off guard by events we didn’t expect. But today, the Discover the Word team sits down to discuss how a man named Malchus got blindsided by Jesus’s disciple Peter. Suddenly, the flash of a sword changed his life. So where is Jesus when […]
A Family Crisis that Redeemed Me
Three years ago, I was involved in a family dispute. My willful, unforgiving, and prideful character deeply hurt my family and it reached a stage that I eventually left home.
