After all, I love to show the inseparable connection between history and faith. We go to ancient sites in Israel to connect them with biblical events and to our lives today.

Tourist traps don’t align with those goals.

(Photo of Nazareth Village by מוחמד מוסא שהואן CC-BY-2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)

I’ll be honest, to spend time meandering through a place where people dress up in costumes like some Christmas play sounded to me to be . . . well, let’s just say I thought we could spend our valuable time somewhere else.

To my surprise, our time in the Nazareth Village proved to be one of our guests’ favorite stops in the Galilee. The village transported us back two thousand years and gave us a taste of the first century in a place where significant events actually occurred.

It gave a taste of life when Jesus lived here.

Nazareth Village—A Step Back in Time

As we entered through the rock doorway, I had to look hard to find anything that looked modern.

(Photo: The synagogue in Nazareth Village)

Sheep pens, burning oil lamps, cultivated fields, reapers with sickles, shepherds with flocks, hand-hewn caves with foodstuffs—all served to help us visualize life as it was during the time when Jesus grew up in this very village.

An audiovisual display provides a fine introduction to the Nazareth Village.

The guided tour provides insights about century-one Nazareth that otherwise you’d never know.

[[slideshow]]

(Photos of Nazareth Village by Cathy Stiles. Can’t see slideshow in RSS? Click here.)

Based on considerable research, the Nazareth Village is designed to portray first-century agriculture, clothing, foods, and building techniques.

• A life-sized synagogue revealed how the building remained cool in the heat of summer.
• A huge millstone showed how a donkey would have circled to crush the wheat.
• A wall-sized loom allowed a woman in period dress to describe how multicolored fabrics were woven.
• Terraced walkways and smooth paths made it easy for all ages to explore.

(Photo: Synagogue in the Nazareth Village)

Imagining Jesus’ Carpenter Shop

Because I love woodworking, my favorite moment was the carpenter shop.

I could not imagine making furniture without my table saw, router, and orbital sander. And yet, Jesus and the carpenters of Galilee used a variety of ingenious hand tools to produce everything from practical implements to heirloom pieces.

(Photo: Carpenter in the Nazareth Village, by מוחמד מוסא שהואן CC-BY-2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)

The carpenter toiled over a crude workbench and gave new meaning to the term wood-working.

Here’s a great scene from The Passion of the Christ, which portrays Jesus working in His Nazareth carpenter shop.

(Can’t see video in RSS? Click here.)

Something Old, Something New at Nazareth Village

Archaeology at the site of the village has unearthed pottery shards that date from the early Roman period. The excavators even discovered a wine press carved from the bedrock.

Blending history, archaeology, and loads of creative imagination, the Nazareth Village effectively transports both children and adults to the first century through a creative blend of environment, education, and inspiration. The gift shop even gave us each a replica oil lamp as a souvenir.

(Photo: Scrolls in the synagogue at Nazareth Village)

Although I never would have expected it, the Nazareth Village did what no other tourist stop had—it portrayed what life was like in a sleepy farm village in century-one Galilee.

We’ll go there again.

Question: What benefits do you see in portraying life as it really was? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Even their struggles seem better. Have you noticed?

The temptation to compare yourself with somebody else can be devastating in the Christian life.

(Photo: By Michael Johnson, CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

When Peter first met Jesus, the fisherman followed the Master out of a motive for glory and a prime seat in the kingdom of God. Peter wanted to be the “greatest” in comparison to others.

But after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, a single conversation along the shores of the Sea of Galilee at Tabgha changed Peter’s whole frame of reference.

That conversation can also help you not compare yourself with the lives of others.

It can free you to follow Jesus as an individual.

Compare Yourself to Peter (and See Yourself)

Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. Of course, Peter affirmed his love for Christ.

Then Jesus looked far into Peter’s future and revealed what Peter’s love would cost him:

When you were younger you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go” (John 21:18).

• In other words, Jesus told Peter that he would die a martyr’s death—ironically, the very thing Peter had feared when he denied Jesus.
• Jesus reminded the apostle of their beginnings together by saying something He had said years ago along these same shores (Mark 1:17; John 21:19). “Follow Me!”

(Photo: Shores of Tabgha, beside the Sea of Galilee)

The Knee-Jerk Reaction to Compare Yourself

Peter noticed John walking behind them. “Lord, and what about this man?” (John 21:21). Having learned of his own violent death, Peter inquired how John would die. Torture? Crucifixion? Come on, Lord, You can tell me!

Peter still struggled with comparisons.

Jesus’ response brought Peter’s priorities back into perspective. “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” Then Jesus repeated the command, with a particular emphasis, “You follow Me!” (John 21:22).

Just as we reveal our love for Jesus by serving others, so we should serve without comparing ourselves to others.

The “Compare Yourself” Cure

Someone else’s calling or cross always seems a better deal than yours. Compare yourself with him or her and you will react with envy, discouragement, or depression.

But answer Jesus’ question, “What is that to you?”

• Jesus died for all of us at once; but we enter a relationship with Him as individuals: “You follow Me!”
• The bottom line? Comparison stems from either coveting or pride and smacks of basic ingratitude to God.

The Lord reminded Peter what all believers should remember:

Our love for God expresses itself by serving others without comparing ourselves with them. (Tweet that.)

And the motivation for such devotion? Jesus answered that with a question.

“Do you truly love Me?”

Question: What’s your advice to help someone who is struggling with comparisons? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Adapted from Wayne Stiles, Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus: A Devotional Journey Through the Lands and Lessons of Christ (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2008), pp. 162-163.

That’s how the introduction begins to Max Lucado’s beautifully illustrated hardcover book, Who Is this Jesus: The Hope You Can’t Resist.

The editor’s introduction challenges the readers to recall the worst day of their life and then to take hope in spite of it. Why? Because the Bible meets us where we are and gives us (with a nod to Charles Dickens) hope in the best of times and the worst of times.

The introduction offers biblical examples of those who received hope when they didn’t expect it:

• David, while fleeing from King Saul’s madness, sought refuge in a cave where God became his refuge (Psalm 142:3-5).
• Paul, while recounting his missionary struggles to the Corinthians, testified that he thought himself as good as dead, but God—who raises the dead—rescued him (2 Corinthians 1:8-11).

These biblical examples finally shift to Mary Magdalene, who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb that first Easter Sunday morning.

The Bible tells us of the soldiers who guarded the Christ’s tomb and who witnessed the angel who rolled back the stone that covered the tomb. The soldiers fell to the ground and fainted in fear (Matthew 28:4).

The introduction concludes:

The Bible doesn’t tell us the story of any of these soldiers . . . And yet . . . if the story had been told . . . it might have gone something like this.

Although the conclusions to Who Is this Jesus are super, the book has some snags.

A Story Told as Only Lucado Can

What follows the introduction is a creative and compelling story of what might have happened.

Blending Scripture with creative imagination, Who Is this Jesus tells us of Claudius, a Roman soldier who finds the rag-tag group of disciples huddled in the upper room. He tells what he saw and heard at the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. Claudius then recounts how he and the other soldiers buried Jesus, sealed and guarded the tomb, and then witnessed the resurrection.

A Few Snags

In spite of the great storytelling and fabulous paintings, the book left me with a few problems unresolved:

• The story of Claudius never mentions the only part of the Roman soldiers’ story the Bible does tell us! Namely, after witnessing the angel, “some of the guard” went and told the chief priests what happened:

When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’” . . . And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. —Matthew 28:12–15

This popular story still had legs in the second century, as noted by Justin Martyr (Dialogue, 108). Granted, if only “some of the guard” reported the events, Claudius could have represented those who didn’t. But it would have been nice for the fictional story to include this historical incident, just as it recorded the events at the cross.

• A minor issue: Lucado calls the upper room “a small room,” but Scripture calls it “large” (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12). I like that one of the paintings in the book was of the modern Upper Room (built in the Crusader days), which represents the same air space of the original Upper Room.

• The biggest challenge I faced while reading the book was more personal than anything. The book begins by asking the readers to recall their “worst of times” moment. Then the book concludes by pointing the reader to the death and resurrection of Jesus—a historical event. This is fabulous. There is no better place to point anyone.

The problem is that the majority of the book teaches Jesus’ death and resurrection through historical fiction.

That’s historical fiction.

Few tell a story better than Max Lucado. He has mastered the craft. Max’s other books of creative fiction—especially his tremendous “Wemmicks” stories—are wonderful parables that point to timeless truths. (Who Is this Jesus was excerpted from Lucado’s book, Tell Me the Story.)

Granted, Who is This Jesus clearly tells us the story is fiction. But then the book asks the reader to believe its conclusions are true—and to trust in that truth for peace in the worst of times. This may not be a problem for some readers, and that’s great. But it left me uneasy.

Maybe the story will be just the compelling reason a reader might need to turn to God’s Word to find the real story.

Positive Takeaways

The best parts of the book are the illustrations. Absolutely stunning oil paintings from the brush of gifted artist, C. Michael Dudash. Each painting caused me to stop and study it. You can see more of Dudash’s work here.

In the end, Who is This Jesus does point to the true reason any of us can have hope in worst of times. That reason is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Jesus truly is the hope that you can’t resist.

Question: Do you think I’m too hard on this book? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Sitting behind those eight cylinders, I could go from zero to too-fast in about five seconds (but, of course, I never did).

(Photo by Photodune)

After Cathy and I had our first daughter, I decided I needed a family vehicle. Car seats don’t fit in Firebirds.

So I sold the car.

A few months later, I found a spare set of keys to the Firebird, and I thought: I need to get these to the new owner. Even though I could have kept the keys (as insignificant as it seemed), they really weren’t mine to keep. I had sold them, in a sense, when I sold the car.

Living for God is like finding a spare set of keys to a car you no longer own.

In fact, you have a whole lot of keys that aren’t yours.

Your Life is Not Your Own

After explaining our problem (our sin) and God’s solution (Jesus’ death for our sin), the Bible tells us that God’s grace provides complete forgiveness to anyone who will believe Jesus Christ’s death has fully paid for his or her sins (Romans 3:23; 8:1).

With that faith in Jesus, the car is sold.

• The legal title of our lives now belongs to God.
• Every part of your life belongs to God.
• He has purchased you with the blood of His Son.

So, when you find some area of your life in which you’re not living for God (as insignificant as it may seem), the Bible always points to a past event as the motivation for change:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God –this is your reasonable act of worship. —Romans 12:1

(Photo: By martinak15 from United States. 54/365 Locked. CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Your Motivation for Living for God

The words “in view of God’s mercy” point to the past.

This past act—this transfer of title—this “mercy of God” offered and accepted when we deserved hell instead, remains the motivation for living for God as we should.

Our reason for living for God is gratitude for His mercy, not fear of His wrath. (Tweet that.)

As a Christian, the reason you’re living for God and His glory isn’t to try to earn (or to keep) His love.  It is, rather, because you already have it.

Hand Over the Keys

Having sold my car, I have a past action that dictates what I should do with anything I find associated with that car.

I don’t keep it. It’s not mine. It’s the same in living for God:

Do you not know . . . that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. —1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Having believed Jesus died for our sins, we have a past action that dictates our motivation for living for God.

God’s mercy purchased us.

Question: What is a more effective motivation for living for God—fear or gratitude? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

After all, the most exciting events of Ruth’s story occurred during the time of Shavuot at Bethlehem’s wheat harvest (Ruth 2:23). It’s no wonder today that many people include reading of the Book of Ruth as part of their celebration of Shavuot.

(Photo: Samson was born between Eshtaol (left) and Zorah (right). Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Although I absolutely love the Book of Ruth, Shavuot more often causes my mind to wander further west of Bethlehem—down into the Shephelah.

It’s unlikely anybody celebrates the Pentecost at such an unlikely place as Beth Shemesh.

But a practical application urges us to do so.

Beth Shemesh—Samson’s Stomping Ground

The last time I stood on the site of ancient Beth Shemesh in the Sorek Valley, I thought about the days of the judges.

• A glance to the northeast gave me a clear view of the neighboring sites of Zorah and Eshtaol, where the judge Samson grew up.
• A look to my left, down the Sorek Valley, revealed the direction in which Samson’s carnal curiosity often took him—to the women of the Philistines. One such trip even occurred at the time of wheat harvest or the Pentecost (Judges 15:1).

[[slideshow]]

(Can’t see slideshow in RSS or email? Click here. All pics courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Return of the Lost Ark to Beth Shemesh

Years before Samson, the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, eventually returning it on a cart up the Sorek Valley.

• During the Pentecost the Hebrews were reaping the wheat harvest in the Sorek Valley when they saw the ark being brought to them. A set of train tracks today runs roughly along the ancient path by which the ark returned to Beth Shemesh.
• Although they were glad to see it, they made the mistake of looking inside the ark at the holy relics therein. Big mistake! (See Numbers 4:20; 1 Samuel 6:13-19.)
• The Levites of Beth Shemesh knew better than that. (Remember that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Nazis looked inside the ark? Same idea.)

The curiosities of both Samson and the people of Beth Shemesh offer an interesting contrast. Samson had a curiosity about sin and the people a curiosity about God’s holiness.

Ironically, the first made the second just as disastrous.

Findings at Beth Shemesh

Beth Shemesh stood as Judah’s most important city in the Sorek Valley, because it guarded the diagonal route leading to Lachish as well as a critical approach to the Hill Country.

Not surprisingly, the archaeologist’s spade has unearthed history there.

• Archaeologists have discovered a number of interesting finds at Beth Shemesh, including Israel’s largest Iron Age water reservoir.
• Blasting at the Hartuv quarry near Beth Shemesh in 1968 unearthed a cave of limestone stalactites and stalagmites. Dramatic lighting and planked pathways and stairs allow visitors today to explore the 45-acre cavern.

(Photo: Stalactite Cave above the Sorek Valley. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Celebrating the Pentecost

Shavuot also bears the name “Feast of Weeks,” because it comes seven weeks after the feast of Passover.

• The name “the Pentecost” also identifies the holiday since the celebration occurs “fifty days” (seven weeks) after Passover (Leviticus 23:15-16).
• By the first century, however, Shavuot had an additional meaning as a time to remember the giving of the Mosaic Law (perhaps as a result of Exodus 19:1).
• For whatever reason, the holiday came to be associated with a renewed commitment to God’s Law.

(Photo: Gathering wheat at Shavuot. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

The Pentecost Fulfilled

For centuries, God’s prophets anticipated that a promised “New Covenant” would write the Law on the hearts of God’s people through the giving of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 59:20-21; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

• Perhaps for this reason, the King James Version of the Bible translates Acts 2:1 with the words: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come . . .”
• It was on the feast of Shavuot, or the Pentecost, in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit came upon God’s people—just as the prophets had promised.

Reflections from Beth Shemesh

True, Beth Shemesh seems an unlikely place to remember Shavuot. But the events that occurred in the Sorek Valley at the Pentecost wheat harvest cause us to consider the outcome of lives like Samson and the Levites of Beth Shemesh.

It is precisely by observing such lives that our dedication to the fulfillment of the Pentecost offers such hope.

In view of our own weaknesses, the holiday challenges us to adopt a renewed commitment to live according to Holy Scripture—only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Question: What occurs in your life that renews your passion for God’s Word? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Throughout biblical history, the land of Israel sat in an amazingly strategic position as the only intercontinental land bridge between the superpowers of the ancient world.

The most important international highway of the Fertile Crescent ran the length of the land of Israel.

(Photo: The Via Maris ran beside ancient Tel Hazor. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Some call this international highway the Via Maris, or the “Way of the Sea.”

Any nation coming to or from Egypt, or traveling from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Aqaba, had to go through Israel. For many years, Israel remained the crossroads for international imperialism, war, and trade.

It’s hard to believe at first, but this highway offers a practical principle for our daily lives.

It’s all about influence.

Israel’s Location was No Accident

By design, God intended Israel, as a kingdom of priests, to take a mediatory role among the nations.

Because of this, Israel’s central position among the nations proved to be a double-edged sword. When world powers traveled through the land on the Via Maris, one of two things would occur:

1. God’s people would either influence the nations for the Lord.
2. The nations would influence Israel toward idolatry.

Ezekiel records how God lamented that Jerusalem’s placement as “the center of the nations” had borne no obedient fruit (Ezekiel 5:5).

Instead, God’s people had been swayed by the very nations God intended them to influence.

(Photo: Jerusalem as the center of the world. Engraving by Heinrich Bünting. Public domain.)

Our Location is No Accident

Similarly, God has placed us where we live, work, and worship in order for us to influence others for His glory (Esther 4:14). We have our own Via Maris.

We pursue the wrong priority. We want good health, a good income, a good night’s rest, and a good retirement. Our priority is We. God’s priority, however, is God. —Max Lucado

As God appointed Ezekiel a “watchman to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 3:17), so the Lord Jesus calls us to share God’s Word with those He brings to us and those to whom He takes us.

God calls us to make disciples of the nations rather than to become disciples of the nations. (Tweet that.)

We cannot even imagine what opportunities God’s providence has prepared for us today:

• Whom will we meet today?
• Where will we go?
• God has placed us where we are for His sovereign, deliberate purposes.

May we miss no occasion to bring God glory among the nations—and to bring the nations to Him.

Question: What’s your Via Maris—what’s your primary place of influence? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Adapted from Wayne Stiles, Going Places with God: A Devotional Journey Through the Lands of the Bible (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2006), page 124.

We work, and so God provides money. We pray, and so God answers prayer. We do this, and so God does that.

In other words, we see God as the effect and ourselves as the cause.

(Photo by Photodune)

Life is all about God responding, it seems, and if we do nothing, neither will God.

This isn’t true, obviously. But it’s how we feel.

So what if we’re in a situation where we can do nothing? What happens when we can no longer be the cause?

When God asks impossible things of you?

When We’re No Longer the Cause

When we see ourselves as the cause and God merely as Responder, our view of God is weak. We have limitations. God has none.

When the Lord surprised Abraham by telling him his wife, Sarah, would have a son in a year’s time, they were dumbfounded. But God’s response was both timely and timeless.

Is anything too difficult for the Lord? —Genesis 18:14

When God tells us to do something, we can instantly come up with ten good reasons why God’s way won’t work. We focus on the limitations as we see them instead of seeing God’s power as limitless.

God isn’t limited by our limitations. They’re merely opportunities for His power. (Tweet that.)

Our God of Impossibilities

It’s always easier to laugh than believe the impossible.

It’s true; many times when we follow God’s will, we may not see a way out of our situation. In fact, humanly speaking, there may be no way out.

But that’s okay. We’re not the cause.

Our job is not to see the solution to our struggles, but to obey God and trust Him for the solution. Human limitations are opportunities for God’s power.

(By Akiyoshi’s Room (Akiyoshi’s Room). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Cause in Our Lives

Immediate success tempts us to want to take the credit. That way, we see ourselves as the cause and God as the effect.

Abraham and Sarah had to wait 25 years from the time they were promised a son to the time that they got him.

There’s nothing like a period of waiting and futility to show us that blessing and success in our lives is only of God. This is true even when success does come immediately, but the success often blinds us to the fact.

Our limitations best convince us that success is of God—not of us.

When God Asks Impossible Things of You

As our mortal minds struggle to follow the plans of our immortal God, we must remember that He has no limitations like us.

If God asks impossible things of us, He plans to do the impossible for us. (Tweet that.)

Question: What impossible things are you trusting God for today? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

But most folks are surprised to learn that the original city of Jerusalem lay just south of the Temple Mount on a small spur of land that encompassed about only ten acres.

(Photo: City of David seen from the Observation Platform. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Crammed with houses and punctured with archaeological digs, the original area of Jerusalem looks much different today than it did three thousand years ago when King David conquered it.

But you can still get a sense of its drama.

Let me show you.

Jebus becomes Jerusalem, the City of David

After Israel crowned David king of all twelve tribes, he moved his capital city from Hebron—located in his own tribe of Judah—to Jerusalem in the tribe of Benjamin.

Jerusalem took a number of other names throughout history. In fact, the account of David conquering Jerusalem mentions three other names in one verse—Jebus, Zion, and the City of David (1 Chronicles 11:5).

Moving the capital to Jerusalem showed remarkable wisdom on David’s part.

• A city yet unconquered by the Hebrews meant that Jerusalem represented neutral territory.
• Even though it sat in Benjamin, no tribe would have felt necessarily proud or jilted.

The City of David Visitor’s Center features a 3-D film—very well done—that provides a helpful overview of the city’s history.

Watch it here:

(Can’t see video in RSS or email? Click here.)

The Steep Slopes—David’s Strength and Weakness

The best way to view the area is to ascend the stairs just inside the entrance to the Visitor’s Center and stand atop the observation platform.

(Can’t see slideshow in RSS or email? Click here. All pics courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Flanked on two sides by steep valleys, the ancient City of David enjoyed a tremendous military advantage—making it relatively easy to defend.

Ironically, however, the steep slopes also proved David’s undoing.

• From the vantage on the observation platform, it’s plain to see how David easily could have looked down over the homes built on the slope below him and seen Bathsheba bathing that fateful evening.
• The modern-day village of Silwan, just across the Kidron Valley from the City of David, has its homes constructed in a similar way.

(Photo: The village of Silwan, across from the City of David. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Archaeology in the City of David

Today, this part of Jerusalem retains the name, “The City of David,” and offers an archeological connection to the monarch.

• At the summit of what is called “Area G,” a stepped-stone structure represents one of the largest Iron Age constructions ever excavated, dating from the 12^th Century BC.
• Many archeologists believe it likely supported the palace of King David, the ruins of which are partially visible after descending some stairs.

In 1838 Edward Robinson discovered Hezekiah’s Tunnel—a marvelous find and one of the few archaeological discoveries visitors can interact with. The related Siloam Inscription was discovered later in 1880.

(Photo: Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Modern archaeological excavations began in the late 1970s and continue today under the capable eyes of Ronny Reich and Eli Shukrun. If you’d like a good overview of the site’s archaeology, pick up Reich’s excellent volume, Excavating the City of David.

Two relatively recent finds are nothing short of thrilling.

1. In 2004, Reich and Shukrun found the first-century Pool of Siloam (known as the lower pool).
2. They also recently discovered a road—the Siloam street—that led from this major water source up to the Temple Mount. First-century Jews would have used this road during their pilgrim feasts—most notably during Sukkot.

(Photo: Siloam street. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Arguing Over the Obvious

Not surprisingly, a number of archaeologists today express their doubts that the entire City of David ever was included in the original Jerusalem.

• But the conspicuous location of the Gihon Spring seems a hard fact to sidestep. Moreover, the discovery of Warren’s Shaft by Charles Warren in 1867 and the fortifications around the nearby Spring House reveal that the locals clearly made use of the spring in David’s day.
• It seems far more likely that this small area of land was the same place David conquered.
• The map below shows the location of the Gihon Spring to the City of David.

(Map of Old Testament Jerusalem, courtesy of Satellite Bible Atlas)

Jerusalem’s Expansion

Of course, the city expanded to the north during David’s time when he purchased the hill that would become the Temple Mount under Solomon’s rule.

• This area the Bible identifies as Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham bound his son Isaac in order to offer him to the Lord (Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1).
• During the time of Hezekiah, the city enlarged again to encompass the Western Hill in order to house and protect fleeing refugees from the northern tribes after their kingdom fell to Assyria.

The walls of Jerusalem have expanded and contracted through the centuries like the breathing of a living being.

Arguably the most important city in history had its infancy in an area that today hardly reflects its grandeur.

Question: What lesson can you draw from the fact that Jerusalem’s place of significant beginning is today so obscured? Please leave a comment by clicking here.

They either tempt us to doubt what He’s promised, or they draw us closer to Him in faith. But we never stay the same.

(Photo by Photodune)

God’s plan for your life is revealed and tested in times of struggle.

If you’re struggling today, don’t miss the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of God’s plan for you.

Joseph shows you how.

God’s Plan for Joseph

Despite his difficult years in Egypt, Joseph gave his sons Hebrew names, which revealed his continued faith in God.

• In naming his firstborn “Manasseh,” Joseph gave God credit as the One who had made him forget the toil and the pain his family had brought him (Genesis 41:51).
• Joseph’s second son he called “Ephraim,” meaning “fruitfulness,” for Joseph said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52).

But Egypt would become a land of affliction for more than just Joseph.

God’s Plan for Joseph’s Brothers

Just as God earlier used natural elements to bring Joseph to Egypt, so the Lord would use the same to bring all nations to Joseph—including the brothers who betrayed him.

• God purposed to make the brothers fruitful (like Joseph) in a land of suffering.
• But the Lord also first developed faithfulness in them such as Joseph had displayed.

(Photo by Glyn Baker CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

God’s Plan for You

Just as the thread of sovereignty continued to weave through the family of Joseph, so God loops His needle through our lives and draws us close to Him.

God’s plan for you includes the struggles you’re enduring today—as cruel as that may seem at first.

• That doesn’t mean God approves the evil that was done to you.
• It does mean God promises to use every experience of your life for your good—if you draw near to Him through Jesus Christ (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28).

It’s important we remember in our struggles that our goal lies outside of trying to understand God’s plan. He never asks that of us. Instead, He wants to see our trust in Him, through simple daily obedience, even in a land of affliction and confusion.

Both pain and prosperity require that we bow before God in humility, trust and dependence.

Our hearts should long for faithfulness to God more than for certain circumstances. (Tweet that.)

Your Decision Today

Tough circumstances of life always change our minds about God.

They either tempt us to doubt what He’s promised, or they draw us closer to Him in faith. But we never stay the same.

Choose to draw closer. He promises not to fail you.

Question: What are you trusting God for right now that only He could do? Please leave a comment by clicking here.

Adapted from Wayne Stiles, Going Places with God: A Devotional Journey Through the Lands of the Bible (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2006), 50. Used by permission.

This is something Jesus told us two thousand years ago. 

Somebody asked Him: “Which is the great commandment in the Law?”  (Matthew 22:36). Jesus answered it in one word.

Love.

In fact, just before Jesus demonstrated His love by laying down His life, He issued a command to His disciples—and to us: “Love one another.”

Okay, so that’s great.

We all agree it all boils down to love. But what does love look like? How do we do it?

I just finished a great book that helps answer that question.

With Jesus’ instruction, “Love one another,” as the starting point, Don McMinn traces 19 “one another” commands as given in the New Testament. In essence, these 19 commands are the outworking of Christian love.

Each chapter offers real, immediate, and practical ways to apply the “one another” passages.

Although the book is designed for small groups, I enjoyed it as a personal study. The workbook helps Christians grow beyond love as merely a nice idea or a credo. Rather, it leads the believer toward the practical application of love as a verb. Love is what we do, not merely what we believe.

I confess before reading this book, I often chuckled at what seemed an outdated command, “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 16:16). After all, the manner in which the command was originally given no longer is appropriate for my culture. McMinn explains that the principle of the command is to offer a genuine greeting to others. (I have translated Romans three times and I never caught that before.) How refreshing to read such practical applications.

This book helps you explore the meaning and practical applications of twenty “one another” actions, including:

• love
• prefer
• accept
• greet
• encourage
• comfort
• carry burdens
• forgive
• admonish
• pray for
• wait for
• honor
• offer hospitality
• live in peace
• care for

I love the authenticity of the many personal examples where love occurred—as well as when it didn’t. They showed me that love can really occur—and what it looks like Monday morning.

When asked why he wrote the book, Dr. McMinn replied:

Learning to love others is the most important thing. It is the key to a fulfilling marriage, successful parenting, friendships, and professional success. The One Anothers of Scripture present practical ways that we can love others. They are simple. They are doable. These lessons changed my life.” —Don McMinn

There is an optional leaders guide that outlines the Bible study leader’s role and offers some tips for getting organized, including icebreakers and additional discussion questions.

I believe the foundational principles in this book will help build lasting friendships, strengthen marriages and parenting skills, and teach people-skills that are essential for career success.

I read the Kindle edition, but you can get the beautiful softcover edition along with the downloadable leaders guide on Don’s Web site.

I highly recommend it.

Question: What “one another” command means the most to you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.