Jesus Who?

Real Wealth

gravitek — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:16:21 +0000

Jesus told this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop . . . he said, ' . . . I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.

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Sharing Good News

gravitek — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:04:56 +0000

His life, torture. His neighbors, tormented. A man possessed.

Demons controlled his body. When strong men tried to subdue him, he fought and won. When officials tried to chain him, demonic power shattered iron. He screamed day and night and cut his flesh with rocks.
This man saw Jesus.
The demons saw Jesus.
The demons realized they were in trouble. Jesus drove the demons out of that tortured man.
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Ascended into heaven

gravitek — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:00:44 +0000

Why are class reunions fun? Certainly part of it is seeing people whom you haven't seen for a while - and seeing how they've changed! Without fail there's a person or two whom you don't recognize, because they just don't look the way they used to look. It's true - we tend to remember people the way they looked the last time we saw them.

So what's the last "sight" that the disciples saw of Jesus? It happened like this.

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Easter

dkamin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:39:23 +0000

We like things nailed down. We like the predictable path of life: you’re born, grow up, go to school, work a job, retire, grow old and die. When life doesn’t follow that predictable pattern, it’s frightening. Maybe it’s another reminder that we don’t know as much as we think we do.

Easter is that kind of reminder. It turns things upside down. Followers of Jesus had gone to anoint his body. They understood what death and burial meant. But there was no body. Now what did they know? They thought they knew Jesus. Now what did they know?

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Jeremiah 31:31-34 – God Says, “Let’s Start Over!”

dkamin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:29:07 +0000

A wise friend once gave me some advice about marriage counseling. “If a marriage doesn’t work, usually it’s because the people in the marriage don’t work. You can’t have a functioning marriage with dysfunctional people.”

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Good Friday

gravitek — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:36:30 +0000

If you wanted to know about God, where would you look? Some say, “There is no God, so the question is mute.” Others say, “God exists but cannot be known.” Others suggest, “God lives in you, so meditate and get to know yourself.”

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Maundy Thursday

gravitek — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:25:07 +0000

The Thursday of Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, is called Maundy Thursday. The name comes from the Latin word “mandatum” which means “commandment.” The word appears in the Latin translation of John 13:34, where Jesus said to his disciples: “A new commandment (mandatum) I give you: Love one another.”

While Jesus truly did give his followers that great command on the night before Good Friday, Maundy Thursday is perhaps most memorable for is its “suppers.”

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Palm Sunday

gravitek — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:24:07 +0000

In Christian churches all over the world, the Sunday before Easter is celebrated as Palm Sunday. There are processions and parades; choirs of children and adults singing hosannas and hymns…and there are palms. Churchgoers walk on them, children wave them, and altars wear them. All this is done to commemorate the coming of Jesus to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover festival in the year 30 A.D.

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Truth

gravitek — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:50:19 +0000

Politics and religion. You just don't talk about those things. With politics one can understand that perspective. It's hard to know who's telling the truth. So many have a reason to twist the truth.

With religion the devil wants you to think the same. That it's so hard to know who's telling the truth, because so many have a reason to twist the truth.

Have you wondered, "Maybe no one can ever know what is true?"

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Suffered for all

gravitek — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:49:40 +0000

One time Jesus took three of his disciples to the top of a mountain. We read, "There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ... a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!' When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. 'Get up,' he said.
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Take a Closer Look

gravitek — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:25:25 +0000

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” - Matthew 13:44

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The Way

gravitek — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:05:28 +0000

How many roads are there to heaven?

Most people want to get to heaven. They don't want to die and suffer forever.

How do you get to heaven?

Are there many roads? Do they all lead to the same place?

Or are you just crossing your fingers, hoping you're on the right one?

Jesus says there is only one road to heaven. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How arrogant! Arrogant?

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Grew up in Nazareth

gravitek — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:02:24 +0000

The Bible tells us about Jesus' miraculous conception and his birth in Bethlehem. We're told that afterwards, because of threats to Jesus' life, Mary and Joseph had to take Jesus to Egypt for a time, then later the family returned to the land of Israel. (cf. Matthew 2) Surprisingly, the Bible is silent about the rest of Jesus' growing years - except for one incident when Jesus was 12.
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Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

gravitek — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:29:56 +0000

I have never really been hungry. Have you? What I mean is that I can’t remember a time when I had gone days without eating and didn’t know when I would eat again. What a terrible, desperate feeling that must be. People who go on diets can’t say they know that kind of hunger, but they speak of feeling hungry all the same. And it’s not a pleasant feeling.

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Born of a virgin

gravitek — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:11:17 +0000

"If you could pick the ultimate boss, what would that person be like?" We'd want our boss to be smart, to have clout. Additionally, we'd like our boss to be "one of us," to have worked the job we have so that he/she could understand our particular challenges. Certainly we'd want a boss who "had a heart" for the employees, so that our best interests would be served.

Then we had suggested: "Wouldn't we want a Savior to have similar qualities?" Of course! Since Jesus is truly God, we know that he's smart, incredibly so. And talk about clout - wow!

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Forgiveness

gravitek — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:19:54 +0000

What frightens you?

Spiders? Loneliness? Getting sick? Losing your job? Losing the ability to walk?

Every morning many of us drape our legs over the edge of our beds, plant feet squarely on the floor, and stumble into a brand new day. We may mutter at the alarm, squint painfully at the sun, and shudder at that first cold blast from the shower. But we are on our feet. Balanced. Strong.

Can you imagine losing the ability to walk?

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The Measure of a Mustard Seed

gravitek — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:08:13 +0000

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).
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The Dead Who Die in the Lord

gravitek — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:58:55 +0000

Many things are scary. Watching your infant wiggle out of his car carrier, which you had momentarily set on the table—that’s scary. Witnessing a car swerve into oncoming traffic—that’s scary. But of all the scary things, death for many is the scariest.

It’s scary because of what we know and don’t know. We know death is certain. Its cloud hangs over us at every traffic intersection, on every consult with our doctor, and during every violent storm. What we don’t know is what dying is like. We don’t know what -- if anything -- happens after death.

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Are the Pure in Heart

gravitek — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:57:56 +0000

“Blessed are the pure in heart.” - Matthew 5:8

Wash your hands. Wash your hands! So often we are reminded of the need to wash our hands. After using the restroom, before eating, after eating, before cooking, after cooking. It’s so hard to keep them clean.

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Are the Poor In Spirit

gravitek — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:57:20 +0000

The hand is out. The face is pleading. In this case, the need is real. When one has run out of options and is desperate for help, begging seems the only choice.

It’s hard to imagine that one who is forced to beg would be happy about it. Being so poor in physical things can make life very hard.

Yet when it comes to a person’s spiritual condition, God says that it is very important to be a beggar. In fact, true happiness only comes when you see that you are a beggar.

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