‘When Jotham heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem! Listen to me if you want God to listen to you!”‘ (Judges 9:7 NLT). Jotham was the only surviving son of Gideon. All of his brothers had been murdered by their half-brother, Abimelech. Jotham
‘Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom”’ (Luke 23:42 NLT). In the gospel of Luke, it is recorded that Jesus was crucified between two criminals, one on either side. In the crowd watching the crucifixion were certain Jewish leaders who sneered at Jesus saying, “He saved others; let Him save
‘Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”’ (Judges 6:14 NLT). 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,
“Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives” (Luke 22:39 NLT). On the night that Jesus would be betrayed, He went out “as usual” to the Mount of Olives to pray. On this unusual evening, Jesus followed His usual habit: He prayed on the
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32 NLT). The Lord addressed him as, “Simon, Simon,” not as “Peter,” for he
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NLT). Have you ever heard of the “Urgent-Important Matrix?” It is a time management system made popular by Stephen Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” The matrix teaches that every task can be placed in
“While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins” (Luke 21:1-2 NLT). As Jesus watched the people putting their gifts into the Temple offering, He offered several insights. One insight is that God sees
“No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie: His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun” (Psalms 89:34-36 NLT). Men may break their covenants, but God never
“They were not able to catch Him in what He said in public, and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.” (Luke 20:26 NLT). The Jewish leaders sent spies to entrap Jesus with what they thought was an unanswerable question. They asked Jesus, “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12 NLT). Having to wait for any expected good certainly affects our attitude. In this sense, the writer of the proverb accurately observed the growing despondency of the heart that waits unfulfilled. Yet, it is even more intense in