Jim’s Blog

Key Verse: Luke 16:31 “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” It’s amazing but true: there still are “Christians” who have a distinct prejudice against (if not and out-and-out hatred for) Jews. Three or four time s a year, I receive mail […]

Key Verse: Luke 14:33 “…whoever of you does not forsake all he has cannot be Me disciple.” I don’t like those words in the key verse. Nor do I like these words: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, […]

Key Verse: Luke 12:1b “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Nobody likes a hypocrite. There’s something instinctive about this distaste — rather like our dislike for foul odours, snakes, and dishonest salesmen. We prefer people to be who they say they are. Regardless of the masks we ourselves may wear, we […]

Matthew 5 Divorce vv.31 & 32 – Part 5 Malachi starts the argument by declaring that Israel has one God and a unique covenant. Israel will be his people and he will be their God. But they have become disloyal to their national family (V. 10), their spiritual family (vv. 11,12), and their marriage partners […]

Key Verse: Luke 11:9 “And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Have you ever thought of prayer as a process? Usually we think of it only in terms of verbalizing: articulating a need. But if you […]

Key Verse: Luke 10:20 “…do not rejoice…that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” In the last chapter, we read of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples “to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (9:2). In this chapter, He sends out seventy […]

Key Verse: Luke 9:58 “…Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Read the last part of this chapter, and you get the distinct impression that Jesus didn’t have the foggiest idea, when it came to public relations. Before you get […]

Key Verse: Luke 8:15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Hear. Retain. Produce. That’s what “noble and good hearts” do. The object of hearing and retaining  is the Word of God (v.11). […]

Key Verse: Luke 7:9 “…I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Most everyone likes to know what others think of them. And if it were possible, to know what God thinks of them. What most of us know, however, is what we think of ourselves. Generally, when […]