Matthew 15; Mark 7 I am more of  a Pharisee than I’d like to admit!  I wonder if their hand-washing ritual was the first recorded germaphobic action?  I don’t eat until I wash my hands…because I know that there may very well be unclean bacteria and other unseen booger bears on my hands.  Yet Jesus reprimanded them for their blind adherence to tradition.  I don’t think it was the hand washing itself that he took issue with: rather, it was the attitudes of their hearts.  He wanted them to see that a person’s character is made unclean by the attitude … Continue reading Releasing traditions

John 6 Jesus fed the multitude.  People back then were just as fond of free food as we are today!  (Just look at the Costco crowd on the weekend taking advantage of all those samples!)  Crowds of people followed him now seeking healing and now physical sustenance.  But Jesus turned their thinking inside out when he told them that HE, his body, was the bread of life.  He compared himself to manna. Many of those listening to Him completely missed the point.  They were still thinking about their stomachs when He was speaking about how they could “feed” on his … Continue reading Missing the metaphor

Matthew 9-10, 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-14 Today’s blog is a double…I’m blogging for yesterday’s reading assignment and for today’s assignment.  My family just returned from a staycation at a local waterpark resort.  It was a fun respite from cooking, cleaning, and laundry, especially since my body is still feeling very bruised and battered.  More on that later. Around this time in history, Jesus sent his disciples out two by two into neighboring villages.  He gave them the authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform other miracles.  What I am puzzled about, though, is that he told … Continue reading Until my healing comes

Matthew 13; Luke 8 Today I drew a line in the sand.  Jesus told us that when someone asks us for anything, to freely give it.  I disobeyed that command because doing so would have enabled a person to further hurt another.  I will give no details, but the Lord knows them.  Maybe the fire in my belly was inflamed by the injustice…I seem to recall a time that Jesus said “No” to those who were turning the Lord’s temple into a supermarket.  (Although unlike Him, I did not overturn any tables or brandish any whips today…but overturning a table … Continue reading Turning the tables