God doesn’t have throwaway lines. Jennifer Kennedy Dean
Throw-away lines are remarks delivered casually or as an aside that seem to have little to do with advancing the storyline. They can often seem unimportant to or disconnected from the narrative.
Who has time for breakfast in our rushed society? Not many, unless it is eaten on the run. Breakfast is my favorite meal to eat at a restaurant with loved ones. I have a few favorite places; not often, but on a quiet Saturday or during vacation.
Jesus’ appearance strengthened those he spent time with during the short time before his homegoing to heaven. His encounters offered proof to the skeptics and opportunity to reconnect with his loved ones powerfully and compassionately. He resolved unfinished business. There was confusion about the meaning of the kingdom of God. Previous notions left the people looking for an earthly political or military kingdom. Not so. God’s kingdom is his spiritual reign for the transformation of lives through the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This awaited them in Jerusalem. Would they ignore his charge and miss out? No! They listened and complied.
The Christ-followers scattered and left Jesus alone when he was arrested (Matthew 26:31 ESV). After his death, they were fearful and confused, unsure of what or who to trust about all the recent events. However, that evening, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, some of the disciples hid in the familiar upper room behind locked doors. They feared the Jewish leaders might persecute them like they had Jesus and bring charges against them.
After the Sabbath, the first day of the week dawned. An angel of the Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James by the tomb where Jesus had been buried. The angel told the women to let Jesus’ disciples know that he was alive, and that Jesus would see them in Galilee.
The first church spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching. And they continued to share, to break bread, and to pray together (Acts 2:42 ICB).
Do you ever wonder if your prayers make a difference? It can be tempting to leave the task to the heavy hitters—those prayer warriors with a gift for praying.
How important is prayer in your life? As your schedule gets busier, do you find less time to pray and sit alone with God? I am guilty of that at times.
Luke records a busy time in Jesus’ ministry. More and more people started to hear the news about Jesus. Crowds were coming to hear him teach. Sick people also wanted him to make them well (Luke 5:15 EASY).
I wrote before about my small dog, Buddy, that was attacked by another dog. This happened on a Sunday morning shortly before we were to leave for church. My husband, John, was walking our dog down the street. A big, muscular dog grabbed our dog in his mouth, shook him fiercely from side to side and finally dropped him. In all of this, the stray dog’s teeth sank into John’s hand, leaving behind several puncture wounds.
My little dog, Buddy, was recently attacked by a much bigger and stronger dog. The veterinarian performed surgery to save Buddy's life. He had a wickedly long incision on his underside. The veterinarian told me to let him know if the incision became infected.
Do you have any enemies?
No one wants to think there are enemies… but they are real, and YOU do have them.
The Bible is clear… God’s children have spiritual enemies and those enemies hate God!
Do you want some encouragement today?
Hang in there… through any testing or temptation happening.
Look at this promise…
Your heart, my heart… the heart can be a mess. Torn apart… pulled so many directions.
Yet… God says…
This may seem simple… but what happens to you if you make the choice for life?
You live.
I have learned a secret… Do you want to know it?
When I don’t know what to do, I pray this prayer…
In the days before HGTV revealed the intricacies of home decorating, I naively decided to redo the wallpaper in our bathroom myself. Why hire a professional when I could do it, right? Little did I know how tricky it would be to remove the existing paper or how tired I would become before finishing the project.
I sank into the overstuffed rocker and massaged my throbbing forehead.
For the past few days I’d been obsessing over a difficult situation. Not only did I think about it all day long, I woke up during the night to think about it some more. I kept chewing on the situation like a dog gnawing on a bone.
My grandson plays high school baseball. He can throw a wicked pitch called a curveball. It’s especially hard for batters to hit because it dives downward as it nears the plate.
“Hang in there” is an expression of encouragement in today’s world. It’s a way to say, “Don’t give up.” Recently, I needed to apply the hang in there concept to my prayer life.
