Matthew 19:16-30 Back to the “rich, young ruler” again… This incident of a young man coming to Jesus, asking about eternal life appears in each of the Synoptic Gospels, so we will be reading different accounts of this incident today and the next two days. Almost every time I read this story I find myself …
Monthly Archives: April 2021
April 20 / Mark 10:1-16, Luke 18:15-17
Mark 10:1-16 and Luke 18:15-17 I noticed something different in Mark’s coverage of divorce in today’s reading compared to Matthew’s in yesterday’s reading. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus allows for the wife to initiate the divorce: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and …
April 19 / Matt. 19:1-15
Matthew 19:1-15 The Chronological Study Bible makes the point that we are now shifting our geographical location, that Jesus is back in Judea and we will not see Him in Galilee again. Luke had made that point specifically in Luke 9:51, that Jesus had “set His face to go to Jerusalem”. Much of the reading …
April 18 / Luke 18:1-14
Luke 18:1-14 The (parable) Pharisee speaking: God, I thank you that I am not like other men … I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. (vv. 11b-12) All too often I see myself as a Pharisee. Again in this parable, more of the same. No, I do not fast …
April 17 / Luke 17:20-37
Luke 17:20-37 RTNT 2021. …He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (vv. 20b-21) In the book Heaven the author, Randy Alcorn argues extensively that …
April 16 / Luke 17:1-19
Luke 17:1-19 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (v. 5) This verse has always struck me as somewhat funny. It’s what the apostles said after Jesus had told them to forgive their brother seven times if he repented seven times! Yeah, I can relate to the apostles. If someone keeps offending me …
April 15 / Matt. 18:15-35
Matthew 18:15-35 Repentance and forgiveness… Which is easier, to repent or to forgive? Maybe a better question is – which is harder? And where am I, where are you, on repentance and forgiveness? Repentance and forgiveness… I’m trying to think of any bigger item between us and God than repentance – our need for sincere, …
April 14 / Luke 16:1-31
Luke 16:1-31 I know that I’ve been talking a lot about my brother, Ron, the past two days, but the readings fully related to him and his situation. So again today we read in verse 28 that the rich man had five brothers and that he was concerned for their future welfare. I also have …
April 13 / Luke 15:11-32
Luke 15:11-32 Yesterday, in reading the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin I spoke about Carol and me “finding” my brother, Ron, after his three-year absence from the family. I did not know that we would be reading the parable of the Prodigal Son the next day, another parable that had serious …
April 12 / Matt. 18:10-14, Luke 15:1-10
Matthew 18:10-14 and Luke 15:1-10 Today as I read these parables of “the lost” I thought of my own brothers and sisters. I have seven still living; all but two of them profess Christ – and exhibit their love for Him in various ways. And of the other two, Dick and Ron, Carol and I …