This week’s story is often titled “A Woman Caught in Adultery.” But it could have just as well been titled “Men Caught in Hypocrisy.” One cannot commit adultery alone; it takes two. John 7: 53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home. 8:1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next …
To get through the storms of life, we must have faith instead of fear. Jesus can get us through any storm. I remember being in a hospital chaplaincy training program when the person I was visiting was dying. His wife handed him a piece of paper with a Bible verse on it. He held on …
We often worry about what others will think of us. This may prevent us from putting our faith in action. In this week’s story, both Jairus and the woman with the bleeding issue had to take a risk to put their faith into action to become well and whole. Jairus was the leader of the …
Faith amid desperation is the story that unfolds in Mark 5:24-29. We encounter two powerful stories woven together—Jairus’ dying daughter and a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve long years. As Jesus walked through the crowd on His way to Jairus’ home, the suffering woman quietly approached Him from behind. She believed that …
The story of wholeness in the storms of life from Luke 8:22-39 gives us insight into how to navigate our storms. It is easy to think that God has left us on our own in adverse times. But that is not true. The early church applied these stories to the persecution they faced, first from …
Spiritual blindness of the heart is not a physical problem, but a spiritual one. Many people see the world clearly yet fail to recognize their deep need for God. In Luke 8:30–35 we encounter a man whose life was completely broken. Forces he could not overcome possessed and isolated him. Luke 8: 30 Jesus demanded, “What …
From the story of Jesus healing the demoniac from the Gadarenes, we can see that society can’t fix brokenness. Oh, they had tried. Luke 8:29This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the …
Jesus’s power to restore is the good news of the Gospel. In Luke 8:28–33, we see Jesus confront the forces that had destroyed a man’s life. He demonstrated that His authority brings freedom and restoration. As Jesus arrived in the region of the Gerasenes across the lake from Galilee by boat, a demon-possessed man confronted …
True wholeness begins with faith in Christ, who restores what sin and evil have broken. He is the only one who can take us from bondage to freedom. Jesus encountered a man whose life the demonic had completely shattered. Luke 8:27 As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons …
When Zacchaeus met Jesus, he was restored and found a new life. As the chief tax collector in Jericho, he appeared to have it all, yet he may have felt empty inside. When he heard Jesus was passing by, he climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him. A spark of hope probably ignited as Jesus …