Christian Culture

1. Message: What stood out to me today was In Mark 7 when the Pharisees were calling out the disciples because they didn’t do the ceremonial hand washing tradition before they ate. It was more than just hand washing to... Continue reading →

Mistaken Identity

M Message: When Jesus went to the region of the Gerasenes he met the man possessed by demons. The man initially ran toward Jesus and bowed before him, but then he screeched at Jesus saying “why are you interfering with... Continue reading →

Emotional Baggage of Guilt

Emotional Baggage of Guilt Message: Well I’m still sucked into the story of Jacob so here I go again in Genesis! Jacob is about to see his brother face to face for the first time since he stole his blessing... Continue reading →

Fraudulent Blessings

Message: It seems I’m stuckin Genesis lately but I can’t help but follow this interesting storyline. If you remember back to where Jacob received the stolen blessing, his father said that he would be his brother’s master. When he blessed... Continue reading →

Honoring Covenants Brings Blessing

H Message: Jacob had marked a large stone as a monument to mark his covenant with God. He renamed the town Bethel before showing up at his Uncle Laban’s place.He endured a lot of dishonesty, trickery and unfair treatment in... Continue reading →

Patterns & Cycles

Message: As I was reading about Jacob’s interaction with his Uncle Laban I started to see a continued pattern of trickery going on. Previously Jacob manipulated and tricked his way into stealing Esau’s blessing and then he runs away to... Continue reading →

Embrace the Process

Embrace the Process Message: In just this one chapter we see a large summary of Jesus’ ministry beginning with John the Baptist preparing the way, the baptism of Jesus, a confirmation from God about his purpose, Jesus in the wilderness,... Continue reading →

Offenses Lead to Rebellion

Message: What stood out to me in Genesis 28 was the fact that Esau was paying attention to the fact that his parents steered Jacob away from the Canaanite women and instead sent him off to his uncle to find... Continue reading →

Shake Off That Yoke of Bondage

Message: Rebekah manipulated her favorite son, Jacob to trick his father into giving him the first-born blessing. He blessed him by making him the master over his brother and guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine. When Esau begged... Continue reading →

It Was Necessary

Message: The betrayal of Jesus was necessary for the plan, but it still had natural consequences on everyone involved. Promise: Everyone who drinks of the blood will confirm the covenant between God and his people. Warning: “How terrible it will... Continue reading →

The Kingdom of God Means Prepare, Invest & Help

Message: Reading the two parables about the kingdom of heaven, and then the judgment day scenario in Matthew 25 I realized that I have always heard them discussed separately with individual meanings. While this is true, I also realized the... Continue reading →

I Pity the Fool

Message: Proverbs 26 gives several scenarios for how and how not to interact with a fool. Command: Don’t be a fool, trust a fool, argue with a fool, honor a fool or expect wisdom to come from a fool. Application:... Continue reading →

The Number One Deadly Heart Disease: Religiousness

Message: The religious were being publicly rebuked and exposed as Jesus spoke to the people and told them that the religious only appeared to be clean on the surface as they made a show of themselves acting righteous while demanding... Continue reading →

God’s Promise is Personal and Worthy of Testing

Message: God’s promise to Abraham was to make nations from him. He had already waited a long period of time, tried manipulating things his own way and then 14 long years later he finally received the son he was promised.... Continue reading →

When My Past Decisions Mock Me

When My Past Decisions Mock Me Message: God made Abraham & Sarah a promise. It took time so they took matters into their own hands and tried to produce the miracle on their own. Ishmael was the result and years... Continue reading →

Leaders Are Servants

Message: In normal human nature people desire authority and power, and rulers assert their authority over people, but God intended us to lead by serving and this is what Jesus modeled. This goes against the grain of our selfish desire... Continue reading →

What Am I Still Hanging Onto?

Message: Two angels came to stay with Lot on the night before they were to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah. They urged him to get all of his relatives and loved ones to come with him and escape the land before... Continue reading →

Forgiveness

Message: Servant was forgiven of his large debt but demanded someone else to be punished until he could pay back his small amount. Command: Promise: God forgave us for everything. We could say this was a pretty large debt. Warning:... Continue reading →

Covenant of Obedience

Message: God made a covenant with Abraham and that covenant included both sides keeping their word in that covenant. Command: Obey the covenant Promise: God promised Abraham he would make many nations out of him through his wife, Sarah. Warning:... Continue reading →

Cooperating With the Plan

Cooperating With the Plan Message: God gave Abram a promise that he would make him the father of nations. This promise looked like it wouldn’t ever end so Sarai stepped in to try to get it done. Command: Don’t try... Continue reading →

Bible Reading Plan