Lora and I happened to be in Bend on Thursday, the day a shooter entered an elementary school and shot and killed three young children and a teacher and seriously injured another young child and a teacher.How can we make sense of such pain, such dark evil?  As I was grieving over such dread and awfulness and how one even reconciles such a thing, I was reminded of a few verses of Scripture;•  “…the...  Read More

Luke 14:25-17:10; John 11:1-37.  “Weigh the Cost”          What will it cost to purchase that product?  What will it cost to build that?  What will it cost to speed through that school zone and get a ticket?  What will it cost to go to war?  Whether small or large items, we wisely weigh the cost first.  Have you ever sat down and listed the pros and cons of a decision you are about to make?  It’s ...  Read More

Luke 13:22-14:24; John 10.  “Like Sheep”          Things to know about sheep: Ranked as one of the most helpless animals on the earth; Have a number of enemies; No protection like a dog with sharp teeth or a deer with a fast foot, or a bee with a sharp stinger, or a skunk that can drive away any beast with his smell; It is not adapt at sensing danger; They are very easily frightened; They like to ...  Read More

Luke 12:35-13:21; John 9.  “Be Ready”          I love the way this passage starts out, “Be dressed for service and well prepared…”  My dad retired from the airlines, and when I was young we would get an occasional special treat in the form of an airplane flight.  As an employee’s family we were required to dress up a little.  I remember dressing in a nice button up and slacks before the flight.  I...  Read More

Luke 11:14-12:34.  “Money and Hypocrites”          It is interesting how instruction concerning both money and hypocrisy come up in the same chapter (Lk. 12).  Jesus discussed the topic of money more often than Heaven.  Money is such an enormous part of our lives.  It is in front of us daily at work, at the store and at home.  It can get to a point where it consumes our thoughts as we think of wha...  Read More

         I was reading something today that described a disciple of Christ as one who follows behind Him with head bowed low wearing a long dark robe.  That may display some kind of reverence, but I’m not sure it displays the passion and joy a disciple of Christ should have.  This week’s passages will describe various aspects of what it means to be a believer/disciple of Christ and how that plays ...  Read More

I was reading something today that described a disciple of Christ as one who follows behind Him with head bowed low wearing a long dark robe.  That may display some kind of reverence, but I’m not sure it displays the passion and joy a disciple of Christ should have.  This week’s passages will describe various aspects of what it means to be a believer/disciple of Christ and how that plays out daily in our lives.    Read More

Matthew 8:18-22; Luke 9:51-62; John 7:1-8:20. “Awareness of Sin”          F.B. Meyer has been credited with saying that “when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know.  First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin.  And second, we do not know the power of the force that assailed him or her.  We also do not know what we would have done in the same circums...  Read More

Matthew 17:14-18:35; Mark 9:14-50; Luke 9:37-50. “Humility”          “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” – James 4:10         In 1973, Senator John C. Stennis was mugged and shot outside his home.  When Senator Mark Hatfield received word of the incident he drove straight to the hospital.  Upon arriving, he observed that the hospital staff was overwhelmed with t...  Read More

Matthew 16:13-17:13; Mark 8:22-9:13; Luke 9:18-36.  “Transparency”          Jesus modeled transparency to us in how He lived His life.  Jesus opened himself up to His disciples and allowed them to know certain things about Him and His purpose.  I do think that it is important to note that He was more transparent with some of his disciples (Peter, James, and John) than He was with the rest.        ...  Read More

Matthew 15:21-16:12; Mark 7:24-8:21.  “Simple Faith”          I have long struggled with the overabundance of denominations that we have within Christianity.  Certainly, there have been valid reasons involved that led to some of these divisions.  Taking a stand on issues such as the deity of Christ or salvation by grace alone through faith alone is never wrong.         That being said, I am often ...  Read More

Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23; John 6:22-71.  “A Changed Heart”          “The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.” – 1 Timothy 1:5         Jesus turned the religious system of first century Judaism on its ear.  He was able to look through their traditions and recognize that they wer...  Read More

Matthew 14:1-36; Mark 6:14-56; Luke 9:7-17; John 6:1-21. “Peer Pressure”          The court of public opinion is a powerful force, especially for those who live and work in the political arena.  When you read about Herod’s dealings with John the Baptist, you quickly realize that this court of public opinion, or more commonly known as peer pressure, has been influential for 2,000 years.         Pe...  Read More

Gary McIntosh is a Bible professor and church consultant, and he always seems to have a fun illustration to learn from. This week he emailed this lesson that I thought I would pass on to you.“People remember John Wayne as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars. His success, however, was anything but overnight. Born Marion Morrison in 1907, Wayne entered the movie business doing whatever work he could f...  Read More

         The theme for this week is authenticity.  As you read about the life that Jesus lived, I hope you are able to see how authentic He was in His dealings with the people around Him.  Whether they were friend or foe, He did not deceive or mislead anyone and always acted authentic. Matthew 9:27-10:42; 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-13; Luke 9:1-6.  “A Heart for the Lost”          If you love only those wh...  Read More

The theme for this week is authenticity.  As you read about the life that Jesus lived, I hope you are able to see how authentic He was in His dealings with the people around Him.  Whether they were friend or foe, He did not deceive or mislead anyone and always acted authentic.  Read More

Matthew 8:28-34; 9:18-26; Mark 5; Luke 8:26-56.  “Living Out What You Believe”          What do you know about faith?  Most often people tend to make some kind of emotionally active connection with descriptions like “hope.”  However, today’s passage makes a physically active connection.         She had been hemorrhaging for 12 years with no hope in sight, but then she heard about Jesus.  She belie...  Read More

Matthew 8:23-27; 13:10-52; Mark 4:21-41; Luke 8:9-18, 22-25. “Teachable Spirit”          Dad says to his son, "You better get ready.  The bus will be here in a minute to pick you up and take you to Sunday School."  His son asked, "Did you go to Sunday School when you were a boy?"  Dad replied, "Yes I did."  The boy said as he was getting dressed, "It probably won’t do me any good either!"        ...  Read More

Matthew 12:22-13:9; Mark 3:20-4:20; Luke 8:1-8, 19-21.  “A Heart Search”          “Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.”  Jesus went beyond just saying good things.  He went beyond just saying He was equal with God.  Jesus also did good things.  He also did things which displayed His power.  But to many of the unbelieving it wasn’t enough: “Teacher,...  Read More

Matthew 8:5-13; 11:1-30; Luke 7.  “Their Faith”          Jesus gives us a short commentary on the faith of three individuals in today’s reading.  First, we read of the Roman officer who had the faith that Jesus could just “say the word” from wherever He was and his servant would be healed.  Jesus said He had not seen faith like that in all of Israel.  Second, we meet John the Baptist who preached ...  Read More

Matthew 6:5-7:29; Luke 6:37-49. “Submitting to Others”          Think of what today’s passage teaches us about submission: Submit to the Father in prayer; Submit to the words and direction of Jesus; Display submission through forgiveness, fasting, and treating others as you would have them treat you.  Often we do well with the first items but not the last.  We may struggle with forgiving others. ...  Read More

Matthew 5:1-6:4; Mark 3:7-19; Luke 6:12-36.  “Searching for Happiness”          Would you like to know how to experience hope, joy and happiness?  The Beatitudes (Mt. 5 & Lk. 6) tell us how.  The first thing to note is that we will never get anywhere in our search for true happiness until we give up trying to find it by our own efforts and receive it instead as God’s free gift.  God is the source ...  Read More

         This week’s theme has to do with what Jesus taught.  The Beatitudes, the entire Sermon on the Mount, the majority of His parables and a wide variety of other topics are included in what Jesus teaches in these passages.  Yet more than just the elements of what is taught is the significance of remembering who taught.  Jesus is the perfect Teacher and therefore His teachings are perfect. Mat...  Read More

This week’s theme has to do with what Jesus taught.  The Beatitudes, the entire Sermon on the Mount, the majority of His parables and a wide variety of other topics are included in what Jesus teaches in these passages.  Yet more than just the elements of what is taught is the significance of remembering who taught.  Jesus is the perfect Teacher and therefore His teachings are perfect.  Read More