Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. — Luke 19:6 Great excitement and joy? This is not something most of us felt when called to the principal’s office. Unless you’re one of the crème de la crème arriving for your certificate...

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see.”— Luke 18:40c Pray to God, “I want to see.” Know what will happen? You will see! Maybe you’ll see a solution to a problem you have. Maybe you’ll see poverty differently. Maybe you’ll find a remnant of your racism. (We all have remnants...

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” — Luke 11:1   Wonder with me how John taught his disciples how to pray. When most of us...

  As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. — Luke 10:38, NLT We’ve all heard this invitation. “You’ll stay, won’t you?” Sometimes we have other plans and the invitation catches...

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” — Luke 10:25 It’s likely the religious expert is the bad guy here. Or is he? It’s a well-documented fact that religious experts such...

So Christ has truly set us free. — Galatians 5:1a We celebrate with food and fireworks on and around the Fourth when I wish we’d celebrate who truly gave us freedom—and that’s Jesus Christ, Son of God. With a focus on swimming pools and celebrations, we find ourselves blinding (or...

  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to the Jordan River.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself life, I will never leave you.” — 2 Kings 2:6   We build our walls, even if we...

They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people (Acts 2:36-47). Her vision took off brilliantly and boldly in 1770. At that time,...

  On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. —  Acts 2:1 The return of people to the pews from Covid brings this text alive today. Online worship remains good and well, too. Online worship will remain good and well as long as those joining remotely...

  So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him [and] instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he regained his sight. — Acts 9:17-18 We’ve all said to God, “Nope! Not gonna do it!” In the moment, we may not realize it’s God who...