Mark 5:1-20 tells the story of a miserable man who was kept in the tombs by a legion of unclean, demonic spirits. The spirits trapped him there to torment him continually with the spectacle of death. They cut him off from society and he lived as a dead man among the dead. The “Gardarene Demoniac,”Continue reading “Jesus stills the storm and He stills the soul.”
Category Archives: Encountering Jesus
Man of the Tombs meets Jesus
MAN OF THE TOMBS Bob Bennett © 1989 Matters Of The Heart Music (ASCAP) Man of the tombs He lives in a place where no one goes And he tears at himself And lives with a pain that no one knows He counts himself dead among the living He knows no mercy and no forgivingContinue reading “Man of the Tombs meets Jesus”
Fear constricts the flow of grace while Faith opens its hydrant
I think the tendency of many people, even Christians, is to view God as stingy and holding back the best from us as if God is like a man who is afraid he will run out so he is always thinking about the cost. There is a lot of stinginess to go around in ourContinue reading “Fear constricts the flow of grace while Faith opens its hydrant”
Trusting God when Bad News comes
Have you ever had a friend or spouse approach you with the words, “I have some good news and some bad news, which would you like to hear first?” This is common phraseology in our culture which is sometimes simply employed to communicate an outlook that is mixed with positive and negative elements, but inContinue reading “Trusting God when Bad News comes”
When God doesn’t answer “on time”
Typically when we share our anxiety about a circumstance with a friend, we expect the friend to respond with a similar angst to our situation. After all that’s how we know they care, right? But when a friend responds with nonchalance, we feel that they don’t really love us. Well sometimes we project this sameContinue reading “When God doesn’t answer “on time””
How to come to Jesus
Sometimes we’re faced with a situation where we know we need Jesus but we don’t know how to start, what to say or how to come. In Mark 5, we meet a desperate dad who is also a synagogue leader. He’s not over-thinking what he should say or how he should come. He just comes.Continue reading “How to come to Jesus”
A life that welcomes sinners is a calling to an openness and comfort around sinners like a doctor has around sick people
When you get really sick, besides your mother, who comes to mind? … The Doctor! Doctors are identified with sick people and no one chooses a Doctor who is visibly uncomfortable around sick people. I was a pre-Med. major for about six months in college until I realized that the sight of blood made meContinue reading “A life that welcomes sinners is a calling to an openness and comfort around sinners like a doctor has around sick people”
A life that welcomes sinners will be criticized by the self-righteous establishment
Do you love a good controversy? Well, Jesus was the instigator of several controversies during his 3 years of ministry on the earth including the strong disagreement over the people with whom he chose to eat. The Religiously Serious leaders of the day (the people who you may have expected to be closer to JesusContinue reading “A life that welcomes sinners will be criticized by the self-righteous establishment”
A life that welcomes sinners overflows into the desire to invite your non-religious friends to party with Jesus
Last night I asked a large group of friends to describe the best party they had ever attended. Eyes lit up as men told stories of great wedding receptions and even a yacht party on the open sea that lasted five days with all expenses paid. Well surprisingly, the best party Jesus ever attended onContinue reading “A life that welcomes sinners overflows into the desire to invite your non-religious friends to party with Jesus”
A life that welcomes sinners begins with an experience of Christ’s undeserved love & generosity
Often we encounter Jesus in the gospels walking around in “secular space” associating with people of questionable character. One day he went out and met a tax collector named Matthew or Levi (likely his original Hebrew name) sitting at the tax booth, a place infamously known for plundering and unjust transactions. Because Roman Tax CollectorsContinue reading “A life that welcomes sinners begins with an experience of Christ’s undeserved love & generosity”
Lead, Laugh, Love 