Blog Posts containing "John 1:1"

A landowner leased his land to tenants. The harvest time came. He sent servants to collect his produce. The tenants refused to pay their tithes. He sent his son. The tenants killed him. What will the owner do to those tenants? The literal parable would say with the religious leaders that he will put them to death and lease the vineyard to tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time. The grace translation would compare and contrast the differences between a stone that is rejected and one that is the cornerstone.  Read more

This story starts with Jesus being challenged to state the authority that gives Him the right to cleanse the Temple. He will give them the answer if they will answer His question: Did they believe John the Baptist’s authority was human or Godly. They refuse to answer for fear of the crowd. He will not answer them either. He then goes on to give them the answer. He tells them this story. “What do you think? A man had two sons. He said to one, ‘Go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son said, ‘I will not.’ But later, he changed his mind and went. The second son said. ‘I will go.’ But he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”  Read more

Matthew 26:14-27:66: “Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, Lema sabachthani?", that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. There are Christians who are confused with the death of Jesus and some angry and fearful that God would do such a thing to His Son. How can anyone understand this? This scripture is one of the most difficult to understand in a worldly way. It must be understood spiritually, in a godly way. We are rationally looking at the same thing in the same way. To understand it, we must look spiritually at the same thing in a spiritual way. We need to spiritually wonder what difference the death of Jesus on the cross makes when we are out of the Love of His Spirit and when we are in the Love of His Spirit.  Read more

This story of the Transfiguration is one of the most significant stories in the Scripture. There was Jesus, Elijah and Moses. What did they all have in common? Much! They were talking to Jesus about their Exodus. Each one was involved in a type of exodus experience. Elijah was caught up in whirlwind and the flaming chariot. Moses led the Exodus of the children of Israel out of the slavery in Egypt. Now Jesus was to have His Exodus being resurrected from the grave. Peter displayed his legalism saying. “Rabbi it is good we are here. Let us make three booths one for you one for Elijah and one for Moses.” Mark adds almost in astonishment, “He did not know what he was saying.”  Read more

The last Sunday in Christmas can be a real bummer for some. All the preparation, hard work, busy malls, traffic and people can really stress a person out. Let us not take away any joy that is left. The embers are still lit. Just a bit smoky but with a few embers left. Here come the resolutions time. Some people make many and others none. By definition a New Year resolution is a commitment to make a life style change that would be advantageous for us. Most of us have made New Year’s resolutions at one time or another. The reason we quit making them is because they do not work. The reason they do not work is because they are symptoms. Until we know the cause they will be a lost cause.  Read more

Think literal Legalism: Legalism finds no consolation or closure about traumatic events. Feel the spiritual Grace: Grace finds consolation and closure in the Presence of God. Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:7-14 Think literal Legalism: “With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back.” Feel the spiritual Grace: “With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back spiritually.”  Read more

Jesus is asking the people what did they go out into the wilderness to see in John the Baptist? It was not some prince in a palace. If they did they would be terribly disappointed. They went out to see a prophet. But the question is how do you see a prophet? What do you look for? A prophet of God is not something you see. It is something you feel. You feel they are in the Presence of God and are sharing not their thoughts, but God’s thoughts. This is what a true prophet is. You listen to what is being said because the speaker is in the Presence.  Read more

“Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'” Presumption can lead us to believe we are in God’s Peace when we are not. It can have us believe that no matter what happens we cannot and will not ever be in His Peace about certain things in the past, present or future. Presumption leads us to believe that we know how to change the unchangeable by working on it long enough or thinking about it hard enough. We overcome our presumption by knowing as a fact, that when we are in the Presence of the Peace of God we can be at Peace under any condition. St Paul tells it like it is when he wrote in Romans 2:2, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed.”  Read more

“All sins shall be forgiven and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” Mark 3:28-29 Those seeking a literal answer ask, “What is the unforgivable sin?”  Read more

“Then came to Him certain of the Sadducees who deny that there is any resurrection” What we are thinking is irrelevant. How we are thinking is relevant. The lesson today is an example of the fact that literal thinking trying to get rational answers to spiritual questions is irrelevant. Only spiritual thinking can get grace answers concerning spiritual questions.  Read more