JOINING THE FATHER IN HIS WORK Jesus described His activity as being inspired by and empowered by the Father. He did nothing by himself. He spoke and moved as the Father did. There is a great principle on how to live the abiding life on display here. Rather than asking God to join us in
JESUS, THE FAMOUS ONE The little book of Ruth illustrates the use of the Levitical law (found in Lev. 25) which provided for a woman who had no male heir to retain her family’s property. This provision in the law called for a close family member to become a “ga’al” (גָּאַל), which is Hebrew for
DOING GOD’S WILL IS LIKE FOOD FOR THE SOUL When the disciples returned from the town of Sychar with food for lunch, they found Jesus at Jacob’s well speaking with a Samaritan woman. They encouraged Jesus to eat something, but He answered that He had food of a kind they knew nothing about. When they
SURRENDERING EVERY THOUGHT TO THE LORD The psalmist expressed his desire that “all” his thoughts would please the Lord. Stated in the subjunctive, the psalmist recognized that his desire was more like a wish or prayer, than a certainty. For who can control their thoughts? We can be determined to rejoice, but our minds often
DO YOU SEEK THE SIGNS OR THE SAVIOR? This was the first of seven “signs” that the apostle John recorded in his gospel. John calls them signs and not miracles because signs point to something other than themselves. On a trip a few years ago to see the Grand Canyon, I noticed “Grand Canyon” road
THE WORD THAT WALKED AMONG US John began his gospel as Moses began the Torah, “In the beginning…” This signals the lofty aspect of John’s gospel that clearly proclaims Jesus as God’s Son. Using the Greek for “word” (λόγος, logos), John proclaims Jesus as not only equal to God in every way (essence, preexistence, eternality,
WHAT WAS THE CURSE OF JOTHAM? Jotham was the only surviving son of the 70 sons of Gideon. Their half-brother, Abimelech, was born to a concubine of Gideon, who was from the city of Shechem. After Gideon’s death, Abimelech conspired with the inhabitants of Shechem to overthrow Gideon’s sons, and so he murdered all of
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SHECHEM’S SIN Jotham was the only surviving son of Gideon. All of his brothers had been murdered by their half-brother, Abimelech and Jotham had barely escaped with his life. Abimelech had conspired with his mother’s family who lived in the town of Shechem. Afterwards, the citizens of Shechem made him their king.
GIDEON’S 300 AND THAT OF LEONIDAS Centuries before the celebrated Spartan 300 fought the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC, Gideon’s 300 won a victory over the Midianites in 1210 BC. Gideon and his 300 men were chosen by God to defeat the marauding Midianites and bring peace to Israel for the next 40 years.
WHOM GOD SENDS, GOD STRENGTHENS The Lord told Gideon to go with the strength he had to rescue Israel from the marauding Midianites. But Gideon replied that he was far from being strong, he was the least in his family and from the weakest tribe in Manasseh. Yet God sent him. God often chooses