Short Thoughts 2018
The Seed and its Seeds
Botanically speaking, a seed does not die when it is planted in the ground.
Its seed coat, the hard exterior, is softened by rains, enabling the process of germination to begin.
Everything that is needed to produce a new plant is contained within the seed coat –
the food source and the embryo plant simply lie dormant, waiting.
Pitch Your Tent: Build An Altar
‘All these people died still believing what God had promised them.
They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.
They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth...
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.‘
Pressing Pause
Psalm 23 is full of comfort and delight in the goodness of God.
One of the Greek words for “love” is agape, which merges two words and two concepts.
Ago means “to lead like a shepherd,” and pao is a verb that means “to rest.”
Love is our Shepherd leading us to the place of true rest in his heart...
Being found by God
‘One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian.
He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush.
Moses stared in amazement...
Four Days Late
‘“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ...
[Mary] fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”’
(John 11:21,32 NIV)
When Lazarus became ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus that ‘he whom you love is sick.’
Martha and Mary believed in the miraculous power of Jesus to heal their sick brother...
God’s Distributors
‘His disciples replied,
“How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”’
(Mark 8:4 NLT)
This is the disciple’s response to Jesus’ suggestion that they feed 4000 people.
It’s not surprising that they were overwhelmed and perplexed.
Looking at the situation through human eyes they saw no plausible solution...
The Day of Small Beginnings
‘Who despises the day of small things?
Men will rejoice when they see the plumb-line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”
(Zechariah 4:10)
Zechariah’s prophecy relates to Zerubbabel, who led the emancipated Jews back from exile in Babylon and directed the rebuilding of the altar and temple in Jerusalem...
Desire the New
‘”And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins;
the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, “The old is better.”’
(Luke 5:37-39 NIV)
Jesus uses the craft of winemaking to speak about the old and the new....
Push through
‘As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.
She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.’
(Luke 8:42-43 NIV)
This unnamed woman had unsuccessfully sought advice from physicians for twelve years.
Her affliction deemed her to be religiously unacceptable.
She would have lived on the edge of her faith community...