Apprentice 2 Jesus

Advent

  • Go ahead… be a “Scrooge”

    “Be a Scrooge” has a bad connotation. But that would also miss the whole story, wouldn’t it? Maybe “being a Scrooge” could also be someone who is capable of change. That may mean hitting some horrifying event to wake up, but nevertheless, change happens.  So, go ahead… be a “Scrooge.” It’s up to you as… Read more

  • The Way of the Father

    5 Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 Therefore, if you will… Read more

  • Oh, the places you’ll go

    Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2 There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. (Luke 4:1-2) FULL of the Spirit, Jesus is led BY the Spirit… into the wilderness. There… Read more

  • Generosity

    The ability to live a generous life has nothing to do with an income level. Paul gives this testimony about the church in Macedonia:  While they were being tested by many problems, their extra amount of happiness and their extreme poverty resulted in a surplus of rich generosity. (2 Cor. 8:2) When I was growing… Read more

  • Simeon and Anna — Waiting on God

    When I was in college one of my professors told of a missions teaching trip he had made to India. Near where he was staying were several small caves where those following Hinduism would go for silence and prayer. He decided to hike into that area one day and out of curiosity found a cave… Read more

  • Lord, give us ears to hear

    One way (possibly) to express what the word of God means in full (besides getting so narrow to say it means only the Bible) is this passage in Amos: 9     On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into sad… Read more

  • Surprised by answered prayer

    Luke 1 begins with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were getting along in years and had no children. It was a constant prayer, but one that by this time they offered up without much hope. Then, the answer comes. 13 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife… Read more

  • The Anticipation of the Season

    32 “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. 33  Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. 34  It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a… Read more

  • The Pope, Pentecostals, and the Gospel

    Dale Coulter gives a Pentecostal critique of the Pope’s exhortation, “The Gospel of Joy.” Again, the huge temptation is to focus on one small section concerning the Pope’s critique of greed in capitalism, but there is so much more in this exhortation. One particular paragraph I am meditating on: The pursuit of an equality of status at… Read more

  • The frivolous and the fundamental

    I am taking up regular Advent reading (HERE), but I am also continuing my regular reading pattern I began just before Advent. That reading has me in Mark 12 today (for my Gospel reading). Also, don’t forget you can follow Advent through some good devotional resources HERE. As Jesus’ time on earth is drawing to… Read more