Quite a few years ago a gentleman come up to me after a 12 Step meeting asking if we could talk. He was totally broken and desperately looking for a way out of the destruction his disease had caused. “How did you do it?” he asked me. “Because I keep trying, trying, and trying but […]
Category Archives: Peace
Words are doubled in scripture to stress importance. When Jesus said “truly, truly” before a statement, He was stressing it. He was saying, “pay close attention this is important” When Pilate appeals to the bloodthirsty mob to release Jesus, Luke records “they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” “The double cry reflected intensity,” (1). Jesus emphasized […]
At Cana the water became wine. At the Last Supper the wine became blood. At Calvary the blood became redemption. At the tomb the redemption became re-creation. At the second coming the re-creation will become restoration.
The triumphal entry was in anticipation of what Jesus could do. Heal the sick, feed the hungry, raise the dead, kick Rome’s butt. Often our walk with Christ begins in anticipation of what Jesus can do: bless the finances, salvage the marriage, heal the son or daughter, kick the cancer’s butt. The problem is sometimes […]
John 13:8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” We have this fallen inclination, like Peter, to try and clean ourselves up before coming to Jesus to clean us. We think: “I better stop doing that, and start doing this.” Which […]
Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Jesus did not say this because his spirit was about to become some disembodied vapor leaving His body on it’s way to heaven. Ecclesiastes 9:5 is clear, “for […]
Just like Jesus promised to remember the nameless thief he died next to, Jesus promises to remember you. No matter how long it’s been since you last spoke He remembers it like it was yesterday. Regardless of how far away from Him we drift he remembers us long after we have forgotten. “I will never […]
Ezekiel 43:4–5 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. When Ezekiel was given a vision of a new temple. His heart must’ve skipped a beat. […]
Throughout the bible thankfulness is always associated with giving. Thankfulness for a gift + the sharing of that gift = Thanksgiving. However, we live in a world that is obsessed with “what’s in it for me?” Maybe this why, in our modern culture, Thanksgiving is mostly reduced to over-eating and football. This type of inward focus […]
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 (ESV) God certainly knew what He was doing when He created the Sabbath. It’s something we all need. So why are those who keep the Sabbath misrepresented as Pharisees, or legalists? Is it more legalistic to trust in God by obeying Him and resting in […]
Richie Halversen 