Hebrews 11:20-By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. When he was 40 years old, Isaac married Rebekah. She was having difficulty conceiving a child, and Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah to be able to conceive. God doubly blessed them with twins. The pregnancy was turbulent at one point as she felt the babies jostling or fighting with each other in her womb and she even asked, “Why is this happening to me?” She didn’t know she was having twins. Rebekah had a prayer life as well and she went to the Lord to ask what was going on. God said to her, “Two nations are in y ..read more

Hebrews 11:8-9  8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. These verses detail an incredible journey of faith. God made awesome promises to Abraham, commitments to take him and his descendants to a land of blessing and prosperity, promises to build a nation from his line ..read more

Hebrews 11:5-6-5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Enoch didn’t have to go through the dying process. God chose to simply take Enoch out of this world.I believe that experience was an incredible reward for his faith in God.  We get a litt ..read more

Luke 24:13-35 chronicles one of the many Jesus-sightings that took place after the Resurrection. It tells the story of two followers of Jesus who were walking from Jerusalem to a place called Emmaus, and while on they were on the road, they were processing everything that had just happened. They were processing Jesus’ death. It’s interesting to me that Luke adds the note about these two being on the road to Emmaus, on the road away from Jerusalem. Given all they had experienced, the trauma of the crucifixion, it makes sense that they just had to get away from Jerusalem. Too much had gone down ..read more

Matthew 28:1-6-1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  ..read more

John 10:11 and 14-18-11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one t ..read more

James 5:14-16 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. We are told in Scripture to pray for healing. We would not be told to pray for healing if God didn’t hea ..read more

John 8:1-11 1Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent do ..read more

Jesus prayed a lot. Prayer was routine for Jesus. Luke 5:16 says, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” The disciples knew that prayer was fueling Jesus. They knew it was keeping Him connected in a special way to the Heavenly Father. They knew it was positive and something they needed to incorporate into their lives. They asked Jesus to teach them to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. Just a quick read of what Jesus included in His tutorial on prayer, what we call the “Lord’s Prayer,” reveals that prayer helps us acknowledge God as holy and sovereign. It’s a form of worship. It invites God ..read more

In both Matthew’s and Luke’s account of the Wilderness Temptations, Satan began his speeches with, “If you are the Son of God…”  He went right to an attack on Jesus’ identity. If Satan can get you to doubt your identity, your value, your worth, he can cause a disruption in your purpose. He can rock you at your core to the point where you don’t have the confidence in Christ in you (and that is where our confidence comes from, Christ in us) to do the things God calls you to do.  When Luke tells his version of the Wilderness Temptations, he ends with a verse that would make for a great ..read more