Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46-47)
The way of Jesus is to hear the cry of the margins. The disciples were on a mission with Jesus and had a schedule to keep. Jesus hears the cry of a blind man and stops to help.
I am walking my way through the Gospel of John and there are times I find passages I’m familiar with a bit humorous. John 5 is one of them. Continue reading “How NOT to have a healing ministry”
As I keep moving prayerfully through Acts 5, I am struck by how I like to emphasize things in my preaching and teaching.
I love Acts 5:12-16. Peter’s shadow falling on people heals them and delivers them from demons! Who wouldn’t like that? Who couldn’t preach on that? Continue reading “The enemy shows up when things are GOOD”
Reading for today:
Psalm 51; 69:1-23
Lam. 1:1-12
2 Cor. 1:1-7
Mark 11:12-25
Lam. 1:5
Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief
because of her many sins…
Prayer:
Lord, we are blind and our blindness is simply stunning. All the advantages have been afforded us and we have become lost in our own comfort and abundance. We are desperately in trouble and do not see it. Heal us of our blindness. Tough us with your healing power so we can see before it’s too late and we wake up only to realize our enemy isn’t worried about us anymore. In this Holy Week, please favor us with a healing touch so our eyes are opened. Lead us to the cross.
Reading for Saturday:
Psalm 102, 108, 33
Ex. 2:23-3:15
1 Cor. 13:1-13
Mark 9:14-29
Reading for Sunday:
Psalm 118, 145
Ex. 3:16-4:12
Rom. 12:1-12
John 8:46-59
Thoughts from Mark 9: Continue reading “Love without pretense”
Reading for today:
Ps. 80, 77, 79
Gen. 44:18-34
1 Cor. 7:25-31
Mark 5:21-42
Jesus had his “reputation” put on the line several times, and people didn’t seem to care. Continue reading “Faith that risks”
We have struggles with how to “be the church” in western Christianity. Do we invite people to come in? Do we just plunge ourselves “out there”? How much do we get “involved” in other peoples’ lives? Continue reading “Touching the leper”
