Today’s passage: Luke 24:19–24 Focus verse: “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.” (Luke 24:19) Jesus pretends he doesn’t know what the men on the road to Emmaus are talking about. Though I’m uncomfortable saying that Jesus plays dumb, that’s essentially what he does. “What things?” he […]
Jesus Did Not Come to Abolish the Law and the Prophets Too many people who read and study the Bible focus on the New Testament and dismiss the Old as no longer relevant. Yet we are wise to embrace the Old Testament. When we do, we’ll develop a greater understanding of God and who he […]
Jesus Has Risen! Today’s passage: John 20:1, along with Matthew 28:2–4, Mark 16:4, and Luke 24:2–3 Focus verse: Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. (John 20:1) John, Mark, and Luke all simply write that when Mary Magdalene and her friends arrive at the tomb, […]
A New Heaven and a New Earth Today’s passage: Revelation 21:1–8 Focus verse: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. (Revelation 21:1) We receive John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth with much excitement. The original version, courtesy of God’s […]
We’ve Lost Christmas as a Spiritual Celebration. Let’s Not Lose Easter Too Recently some groups have banned Easter egg hunts—not the activity but the name. Concerned pundits decry this as political correctness gone awry or the timid majority kowtowing to the vocal minority. Although “spring egg hunt” sounds lame, this new label doesn’t dismay me. […]
Without Good Friday, There Would be No Easter At one time, my dad received his paycheck every other week, on the last day of the workweek. With a smile, he called each of these paydays good Friday. (And he called the other Fridays Passover!) Dad enjoyed good Friday twenty-six times a year. Some years the […]
It Is Finished Today’s passage: John 19:28–30, with Matthew 27:45–54, Mark 15:33–39, and Luke 23:44–48 Focus verse: Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30) Together, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John combine to record seven things Jesus says on the cross as he dies. One […]
When God Wants to Give You a Second Chance Make Sure You’re Ready to Receive It You’re probably not familiar with Ahithophel in the Bible. His life serves as a lesson in how not to respond to disappointment. Though his name does show up a few times during the reign of King David, Ahithophel is […]
Celebrate Jesus for Who He Is and What He Did Palm Sunday mark’s Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It celebrates his arrival. It occurs only a few days before his arrest and execution, and it happens just one week before his resurrection from the dead, which we celebrate on Easter Sunday. All four of the […]
Today’s passage: Matthew 22:34–40 and Mark 12:28–34 Focus verse: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37) After he shares the three parables, the religious leaders—roiling over Jesus’s parable of the tenants—seek to trap him […]