We scramble to fix what’s broken, certain we know the one restoration that matters most. But when friends lower a paralyzed man before Jesus in Matthew 9, desperate only to walk, the first words he hears are “Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.” Do we trust Jesus enough to receive what he says we actually need?
The wisdom of the world says: “Get ahead at all costs.” In Mark 10:35-45, James and John tried that when they asked Jesus for a promotion: “When you take your throne, can we have thrones on each side of you?”. Jesus confronted their worldly attitudes by teaching them a crazy strategy for success: Instead of “Get ahead at all costs” Jesus told them to “Serve no matter the cost.”
We are called to be people who show love God and love of people. That is what we should strive to be known for, not all the other things we often grasp onto.
God’s vision church didn’t start with the church building, or even with Christian environments: it started with the world! In John 3:16 we learn that “For God so loved the WORLD…”. Many times we view the world as broken, but, in reality, they are lost and wounded.
We're drawn to people who seem useful, impressive, ready to contribute—and in Luke 18, the disciples felt the same way when they turned away parents bringing infants to Jesus. But Jesus stopped them: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
We've all set out to pursue what we think God wants, only to watch the road curve in ways that make no sense. How do you trust Him when His path seems to undo the very promise He gave? In Genesis 22 Abraham faces exactly that moment as God calls him to offer Isaac.
We've grown so busy we've forgotten why we gather, and our culture whispers that rest is laziness—but Exodus 20:8 calls us to remember the Sabbath as a gift, not a rule, a weekly sign that we belong to the God who rescues us and knows what we actually need.
Jim Krenning lights the third (“Joy”) candle as we continue through a special 52 Verses, 52 Books, 52 Weeks journey through Advent. Jim takes us to the Gospel of John to think about the joy Jesus offers each of us as a free gift.
