Do you compare yourself to other people? Of course you do! When we were in school, we looked at our grades to see how we measured up with our classmates. As we got older, we compared salaries, homes, cars, vacations, etc. We go to the gym and see who is in better shape than us and who isn’t. For most of us, measuring ourselves next to others lets us know where we stand....
Have you ever taken a toy away from a toddler? How did he react? There were likely screams and tantrums and tears. He likely held on as tight as he could to whatever toy you were trying to take away....
To get healed from a snakebite, you look to … a snake? It seems crazy. But it worked because God had promised that it would. God didn’t take away the poisonous snakes; instead, he dealt with the poison....
“He’s not really dead as long as we remember him.” “As long as we have memories of her, she will always be with us.” In times of grief, it’s easy to say these things. Well-intended? Yes. Solid and meaningful? Not really....
It takes courage to speak the Word of God. The apostle Paul knew this from experience. Once, in a city called Lystra, his audience pummeled him with stones and left him for dead. He was flogged and imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica and Berea, and sneered at in Athens....
As a father of twins, it’s not hard for me to understand why a twin would have a problem with people being sure they had seen something. A twin regularly encounters people who believe they saw what the twin knows they did NOT see. “It was my twin sister that you saw” is regular speech for a twin girl. Thomas wanted more than mere words that his companions had really seen Jesus....
It is Sunday morning. Mary Magdalene, longtime follower of Jesus, is still in shock over his death. To make matters worse, she discovers that his tomb is now empty....
In the Middle East, it is common to greet one another by saying, “Peace.” That was true already at the time when Jesus rose from the dead. So when he appeared to his disciples and said, “Peace be with you,” it could have been understood as a simple greeting....
What brings you joy? Does it come when you run a mile in under ten minutes? Perhaps it is when you are flush with cash. Or it may simply be when you are with the people you love. Interestingly, in all of these examples, joy is the product of outward circumstances in your life....
It feels good to know, doesn't it? If you are among a group of friends or coworkers, and everyone is wondering about something, it feels good to be the one in the know. As everyone fixes their eyes on you in silence, just waiting to hear what you have to tell them, you smile to yourself and relish the opportunity to share the news. It feels good to be the one in the know....