Grains of Sand

Pixabay If memory serves, Michael Jackson tried to change the colour of his skin. That was probably the most extreme example during this present era of the measures to which people go in the constant search to feel better about themselves. The other example that comes to mind is the woman who underwent endless surgeries to make herself look like Barbie of the famous (or infamous) Barbie and Ken doll collection. On a smaller scale we "nip and tuck," cream and cover, make-up and dress-up, tone-up and touch-up, every flaw we think we see that keeps us from being whatever someone else has decided is handsome, beautiful, acceptable, marketable, relevant, or worthy of being taken seriously.  Then along comes someone like Jeremiah to expose, literally, the ugliness that really counts and the impossibility of covering that ugliness up at any price or by any means. The prophets spent a lot of time describing the consequences attached to the continual rebellion and disobedien...

Google Images Why would a man invite someone whom he despised to supper? Simon the Pharisee did just that. He invited Jesus to dine with him. But his feelings were clear from the beginning. The accepted custom was for the host to ensure that a servant washed a guest’s feet as he entered: to relieve him of the dust from the road and refresh him for the meal. Simon did not do this (Luke 7:44). Neither did the Pharisee offer a kiss of friendship when Jesus came into his house (7:45). Certainly he never honoured the Lord by recognizing him by anointing him with oil (7:46). The signs were all there. This was an inquisition not an invitation to dinner. But one lone woman messed it all up. How “ a woman who had lived a sinful life ” (7:37) got into Simon’s dining  room is a mystery. Mind you, God does move in mysterious ways so it is quite possible that she walked in because God ensured that she was invisible to doorkeepers and servants. Simon saw her and was incensed. Jesus saw her a...

Google Images Well, you have to give him some credit for trying. Pilate, the Roman Governor in Judea, came from a tradition where men could be gods. Caesar himself had made that claim. So when the Jews insisted that he give the order to crucify Jesus because he claimed to be the Son of God (John 19:7), the possibility of that being true was a real one. “ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid... ” (John 19:8). The man was already afraid. An uprising among the Jews could cost him his career. Somewhere in this whole mockery of a trial, Pilate’s wife had warned him not to have anything to do with the plot against the Galilean rabbi (Matthew 27:19). She had seen it in a dream—something else to pay heed to. Pilate was caught in the middle. Beating Jesus wasn’t enough for the rabble (19:1). Declaring him innocent of the charges wasn’t enough (19:4). Passing the buck didn’t cut it (19:6). Oddly enough, Pilate even advocated for Jesus, introducing Him as king—somet...

" Who do you say I am? " (Mark 8:29) This was the question that Jesus asked his disciples. It sounds simple enough. " You are the Messiah ," was Peter's reply (Mark 8:29). You are the Son of God. You are the Saviour. You are the Creator of the universe. You are the Almighty. You are the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. You are the Lord. You are the Head of the church. You are the Judge of the living and the dead. You are the great High Priest. You are the Master Teacher. It's a simple question, with a seemingly simple answer. In fact, the answer begs a huge question: "if this is who I am, then what difference should that make to your life?" The question was never meant to be simply academic, a question of more knowledge or clearer understanding. It was meant to provoke a response. If Jesus is, for example, the Master Teacher, then what do I need to learn, and how am I going to go about that? If He is the Saviour, then what do I need...

“ Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always ” —1 Chronicles 16:11, NIV The Book of Psalms is perhaps the best-known and best-loved literature read by believers. But not all of David’s psalms—a considerable contribution to the book—are found in it. Here in Chronicles we find a wonderful psalm of praise that David wrote on the occasion of the return of the ark to its rightful home in Jerusalem. The whole psalm, all twenty-eight verses, is filled with admirable material that needs thinking about. But to today has been assigned this small fragment of David’s magnificent, God-inspired, poem. The verse directs us to look to the Lord when we so often look elsewhere. Our minds and hearts are so often captured by other things and other people. We look to ourselves. We dig deep within to find our inner strength, considerable at times, to deal with whatever challenges we are living through at the moment. We vaguely claim that this inner strength is God-given, as it is, but ...

The owner of my apartment was invited to come for Christmas dinner. She graciously accepted. She arrived, right on time, ringing the doorbell at precisely 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of December 25th. She doesn't have a key to my apartment even though she's the owner. She has to wait for me to let her in. I thought of her when I read this morning's verse. This one is usually used in the context of evangelism. However, as I look toward a new year and consider the old one I realize that it applies just as much to me as it does to the one who doesn't believe. John writes: " Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me " —Revelation 3:20. No, I don't need to be saved all over again, but I do need to not overload my "house" with so many other guests that there isn't room for the owner to come in. Life gets so full of activities and people that sometimes Jesus ...

This verses says it all: " For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain " —Philippians 1:21.

We stand in front of the store display, weighing the pros and cons of buying what we see before us. Do we, or don't we? Is it, or isn't it, necessary? Can we afford to have it? Can we afford not to have it? Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy. We should have guessed that from the fact that providing our salvation cost Him everything. The gift of salvation is free. As Titus writes: " …he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy " (Titus 3:5). Paul says: " For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord " (Romans 6:23). Matthew records a warning from the Lord about the cost of following Him. Though the gift is free, the living out of the new life we gain from it might cost us relationships, earthly rewards, and quite possibly our lives. (Matthew 34-39). But to be accepted by the Father is worth any price. Listen to these solemn words: " Whoever ac...