Why was I born? Why were you born? Why were any of us born?  Are we here in this world by chance? Or is there a greater purpose to our lives? I once read about a philosophy professor who wrote to 250 people whom he felt were the great thinkers of his day. He asked … Continue reading Born to bless

I sometimes get asked about the ‘unforgivable sin.’  It’s found in Mark 3:28-30. Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they were saying, “He … Continue reading The ‘unforgivable sin’

We’ve been thinking about Jesus as our big brother. He is described in those terms in Romans 8:29, and he calls disciples “brothers and sisters” in Mark 3:35. One of the things an ideal big brother does is protect his younger siblings.  ‘But,’ you might be thinking, ‘Jesus doesn’t protect me—at least not in a … Continue reading The protection of our big brother

In the previous devotional I encouraged you to think about Jesus as your big brother. After all, he is described in those terms in Romans 8:29, and he calls disciples “brothers and sisters” in Mark 3:35. One of the things an ideal big brother does is intercede for his younger siblings.  Picture a student in … Continue reading He is interceding for you

Jesus is my…  How would you finish that sentence? Lord? Saviour? Friend? What about big brother? We don’t tend to think of Jesus in this way. However, Romans 8:29 says that Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Then there are passages like Mark 3:35 where he says: “Whoever does God’s will is … Continue reading Big Brother Jesus

Philip Yancey tells a story about a professor in Spain’s golden age who worked to translate the Song of Songs (a biblical book) into the Spanish language. Sounds good, right? Well, at that time it wasn’t allowed. As a result, the professor was taken away and tortured—for four years! Eventually, he was allowed to return. … Continue reading Don’t let today’s defeat steal tomorrow’s victory

John Bunyan was a Christian who had his share of ups and downs, including time in prison for his beliefs. He was separated from loved ones, including his wife and children. Instead of beating him down, his hardships built him up. They refined and fortified his faith. In a biography about his life, the following … Continue reading Humbly. Thankfully. Gladly.

I sometimes hear people express disappointment that someone they know has walked away from God and his church. It’s painful and sad. “But they were brought up in the church,” they will sometimes say. In other words, since they often went to church, shouldn’t they know God and how important it is to worship and … Continue reading “But they were brought up in the church…”

The past few devotionals have focused on being different because of Jesus. It’s not always fun to be different. Just ask the kid who gets picked on because he doesn’t look or sound like anyone else.  These days, maybe you feel like that. Perhaps you say or do things because of your faith and it … Continue reading When they call you crazy

Michael Mangis writes: “Faith means stepping onto the path that looks so much like it goes in the wrong direction.”* This statement reminds me of the logo for the TV series, ‘The Chosen.’ It’s a program which depicts various parts of Jesus’ life. The logo has a bunch of gray fish swimming in a circle. … Continue reading When it looks like you’re going in the wrong direction