It's My Turn

When looking deeply at Christ’s words as He speaks of the beatitudes we see another stark contrast between what is and was in existence and the way in which we need to look at life.

The thrill of life is not in the achieving of the goal. The trill is in the working toward the goal. Overcoming the obstacles is where one finds true success.

Jews as a rule, didn’t travel through Samaria but Jesus and His disciples not only passed through Samaria, but they stopped and spent time there.

The founders of our nation labored diligently and carefully to create our nation. They used a foundation of three pillars, holding equal weight. They are Home, school, and church.

The Two Seas – There is a stark contrast between the areas surrounding the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilaeae reflecting the names and the characteristic of life. One is baron and dead, the other teaming with life of all kinds.

Jericho is where Bartimaeus called out for mercy from The Savior. It was central to the preparation for His mission given Him by the Father and ministered to many. We all need a Jericho as we cross paths with others.

We think of wilderness as being an area of undergrowth and tress but in reality, the wilderness of the New Testament is quite barren and expansive. Christ chose to spend the time of His temptation there, apart from the distraction of the world, just He and His Father.

The Jordon isn’t a large river, but all through the history of God and His people it has been the most constant body of water He has chosen to use in the lives of His people; whether miraculous crossing, a boundary for the Promised Land or waters of baptism, the Jordon has played its role.

Bethany played a major role in the life of Jesus. Here He could rest and fellowship with those closest to Him. These times of intimacy with those who loved Him are reflective of the intimacy He seeks with today’s believers.

It was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus looked over at Jerusalem and wept. Perhaps it was the site where He taught His disciples to pray and He spent much “alone time” there with His Father…we each must find our own Mount of Olives.

From the palace to the cross, Christ endured suffering as no one before Him or after, and He did it for you.

Out of the ashes of failure Peter found through his repentance, not only a new life that impacted the entire world for Christ. It’s one thing to find fault; it’s another thing to look deeply into our own hearts.

Jealousy is destructive to the one who is jealous as well as the one of whom we are jealous.

Failure to acknowledge the truth, no matter how difficult can be lethal.

In our quest for beauty we all too often look to the outside a person when they should look inwardly for it.

Counting the cost of our actions – consequences are more often than not more than we are prepared to face.

We often allow opportunities to slip through our fingers. If only we could see beforehand those that will not come our way again.

Forgiveness and second chances are of grace, not of merit. With so many second chances given to us, how can we withhold that grace from others?

It really is much more blessed to give than to receive, but – sometimes we receive more than we could ever imagine because of our giving.

What is remembered about those who pass from this world is directly connected to the good they do while they’re here.