Quote 7

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23: 39-43


"The thief could not walk in the paths of righteousness, for there was a nail through either foot. He could not perform any good works for there was a nail through either hand. He could not turn over a new leaf and live a better life for he was dying.”


Arthur Pink



We are not saved by what we do, but by our faith in what God has done in Christ Jesus.

Pay Attention!

“Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times saying I repent, you must forgive him.” Luke 17: 3&4.
I doubt the sincerity of anyone who asks forgiveness from me seven times in a day. That’s the point of this verse. We are not to look continually at others and how they treat us. We are to love them friend or foe. “Pay attention to yourselves.” When I read passages like the one above I tend to pass over them quickly, much less try to put them into practice. I am astounded Jesus wants us to do so many things difficult. Things like continually forgiving, loving our enemies, being last of all, not putting ourselves forward and take the last seat. The disciples thought these difficult too. “The Apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith.” Jesus replies, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.” Luke 17: 5&6. In Matthew 17: 20 Jesus says of mustard seed faith that it could “move mountains.” If one can move trees and mountains with faith the size of a mustard seed than how small is the faith needed to forgive? How small is the faith needed to love enemies? It seems that Jesus is telling us that these things take much less faith than the mustard seed size faith. No wonder Jesus ask the question, “When the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18: 8. May we pay more attention to ourselves and put more faith and trust in Christ to be able to love our enemies, turn the other cheek and continually forgive. Then, quite possibly, maybe, trees will be uprooted and mountains moved.

Though He Slay Me

“Lord, Son of David have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. Matthew 15: 22, 23. He ignored her. She was not insulted; her need was greater than her pride. This Canaanite woman knew who could meet her needs. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” verse 23. She was persistent; she continually kept following after them to get to Jesus. Not only that but she was persistent in the presence of many, many who were condescending to her, and these many were the people who were closest to Jesus. Once again it didn’t matter her need was larger than her pride; her love for her daughter was greater than insult. He answered, “I came only to the lost sheep of Israel.” verse 24. Jesus tells her that he is here only to help certain people. For the third time she does not give up. The women came and knelt before him. Lord, help me! verse 25. And now what does Jesus do? He calls her a dog. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” verse 26. Was she hurt, was she crushed? No, she only knew the need of her daughter and she knew that Jesus was the only one who could help her. Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him. Job 13: 15. Her answer to Jesus seems even to have surprised him. Yes, Lord,” but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” verse 27. Then Jesus answered, “ Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” verse 28.
One of the great difficulties for us when we read this passage of scripture is that it seems so unlike Jesus. We can’t believe he could act in such a way, that he would respond in such a rude manner to this poor needy woman. Sometimes though Jesus would act much like an actor on stage to bring out the best in people. After the resurrection on the road to Emmaus Jesus acted like he was traveling further than the two disciples so that they would invite him to stay with them for the evening. Luke 24: 28-29. Jesus acted to bring out the best in this Canaanite woman so we could learn from her.
Is our need for Jesus greater than our pride? No matter how good the church there are always some in it who will ignore you. There are always people in it who are condescending because you’re not the right type of person, you don’t wear the right clothes, you’re not in management, or you don’t golf. Some of these people may even be in positions of leadership. But you must have fellowship, don’t let a few people keep you from experiencing all that God has for you. You can’t go it alone. Don’t let your pride keep you from your needs being healed. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. verse 28.

Abraham The Father Of The Faithful

Did this man know happiness? Probably now and again as when Ishmael and Isaac were born or as when God stayed his hand in the land of Moriah. But that was not what mattered. His destiny, his cross, if you like, was to show faith, to lift himself time after time from the floor of disappointment and despair and return to the fight of life, to hear the tremendous promises and yet be content with the flimsiest of fulfillments before he died, to follow desperately God’s retreating shadow because he knew there was nothing else worth following, to lay down his pilgrim’s staff while still in the valley of deep darkness, seeing only the faintest rays of the suns rising on the distant hills. What an example is there for us whose faith is fitful and fleeting and cold and selfish, hardly deserving the name.

John C. L. Gibson The Daily Study Bible Series, Genesis. Westminster Press.


And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:5-6

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. Genesis 15:13-15

So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? John 6: 67-68

Christmas Thoughts About Joseph

Life just never worked out the way Joseph had planned. I'm sure he imagined how wonderful marriage to Mary would be. The pain and disappointment he felt when Mary told him she was pregnant must have been great. Before he was told in a dream that the situation was from God, he showed great love toward Mary. He wanted to quietly take her away, to save her from disgrace. The marriage was not working out the way he had planned but God was in it.


How did he feel when arriving in Bethlehem, after a long and exhausting trip, to find there was no place for them at an inn? He could not find suitable accommodations for his wife, who was so close to giving birth. How did he feel when the child he would raise, was born in a stable with the livestock? Did he feel like a failure, an insufficient provider? This was not as he had imagined, but God was in it.


I wonder if Joseph liked living in Egypt? In one instance he had plans of returning to Nazareth with his expanded family. He probably was looking forward to the joy of being reunited with friends and loved ones. Introducing them to the new arrival. In the next instance the family are fleeing for their lives to Egypt. Egypt instead of Nazareth, but God was in it.


Sometimes life doesn't seem to be working out. Maybe, just maybe, God is in it.