“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) I have a coworker whom I see almost every day. He often comments about my devotion and asked me recently to deal with a spiritual question that has bothered him for many years. “One week,” he said, “I want you to tell me why God had to resort to such extreme measures to save us. I mean if he really is so […]

“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) We all know it as the shortest verse in the Bible. But it is long on what it tells us about the character of Jesus, both as the Son of God and as the Son of Man. The setting is in a small town, Bethany, located just two miles east of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, or anywhere near it, was not the safest of places for Jesus to show up. Word about his miracle-working power was spreading through the region like wildfire. The Pharisees were threatened […]

“I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 13:35) I enjoy parables. They are great teaching tools and were used by Jesus to convey spiritual truths that are often difficult to grasp. In Jesus’ case, he would use an everyday situation that happens in life to communicate how he felt we should live our lives, respond to life situations, etc. Jesus liked them so much that about forty of them, over a third of the Gospels, […]

“He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45) When I came to know Jesus, I actually thought my problems would disappear. After all, the burden of sin had been lifted from my shoulders. The sense of euphoria I felt initially placed an unrealistic expectation of what God would do for me. When I came down, I realized I had been forgiven. However, the consequences from all those sinful choices I made were […]