Salem's New Testament Challenge

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3

Usually the focus of Jesus' miracle in this chapter is him turning water to wine, but a friend of mine shared a beautiful truth with me this summer. The first miracle Jesus performed to reveal his glory was at a wedding. Why is that important? The Bible compares all the people who believe in Jesus Christ (past, present and future) to the Bride of Christ and it declares Christ is the Groom. One day we will be united with him in his glory. No extravagant or royal wedding on this earth can compare to that wedding celebration between Christ and His Bride! Marriage is a beautiful gift from God, which God defined for us in Genesis chapter 2. Marriage should be a reflection to the world around us what true love looks like. Submission, love, sacrifice and respect are all aspects between both the bride and the groom. Ultimately it is because of Christ's faithful love to those who believe in him that allows people to love him in return. "We love because he first loved us!&qu

Question of the day is…“Who is your Andrew?”  Let me explain… Andrew had probably heard stories of the coming of the Messiah from the time he was a little boy. Then John the Baptist came on the scene and Andrew spent time listening to what he had to say. Andrew had to have liked what he heard. When John pointed Jesus out to Andrew, Andrew was ready to follow. Andrew and the other disciple went up to Jesus and were curious as to where he [Jesus] was staying. Try to picture in your mind what Jesus looked like when they asked Jesus this question. My mind will only let me see a huge smile and a very welcoming man. He said, “Come and you will see.” Once they got to the place Jesus was staying they spent the rest of the day with him. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy being around someone who makes me feel comfortable.  Sometimes we feel like we have so much sin in our life that God is looking down on us (we feel that way because we are looking down on ourselves). Guess w

Today we read Luke's version of the resurrection and ascension. Something which really glared at me today was the word Eleven . There was one man missing to receive the news of the resurrection - Judas', the betrayer of Jesus. The eleven men remaining saw Jesus with their own eyes and all but one of those men would be killed for their belief in the risen Christ. All Eleven lived their life to share the truth of God's kingdom. The Eleven knew they would follow, Jesus - turning back from truth was not an option! Luke 24

What a spectacle! This chapter shows the power of many voices even if the message of the many voices isn't true. They took Jesus to the governor (Pilate), he found that Jesus had done nothing wrong, so he sent him to the king of the Jews (Herod). Herod did not find that Jesus was guilty, so he sent him back to Pilate. "He has done nothing to deserve death." Yet, the people's accusations were so loud and persistent that Pilate gave into their demands - Jesus was crucified! Two men were crucified with Jesus - one on the right and one on the left. One believed Jesus was the Messiah the other did not. One entered paradise with Jesus that day! May our prayer be, " Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom. " Jesus' response to that prayer will always be, " I assure you...you will be with me in paradise. " Luke 23

We are at the point in Luke's gospel where we see Jesus' last few days before he is crucified. Even though Judas had followed Jesus for three years, his loyalty was far from him and he was ready to make some money. He knew the religious leaders wanted Jesus gone and in his greed he helped speed the process along. In actuality God's perfect timing is taking place! "At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6-8 Jesus made it clear at supper that evening he knew who the betrayal was coming from. Yet, Jesus still ate with him. Jesus knew Peter would deny him, yet, he prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail. Even the guards who came to arrest Jesus were taken care of by him. One guard's ear was cut off by a zealous disciple and Jesus healed the guard. Living like and following Jesus' teachings looks extremely different from how the world tells us to act and react. May our lives reflect and

People can only look at outward actions of other people, but God looks at our heart . God saw the widow's heart and knew her motivation - thankfully he sees our heart and knows our motivation as well. Father, may our thoughts and actions bring You glory! Sunday's message at Salem was about the aspect of generosity in our lives. If you didn't get a chance to be here or watch it already, I encourage you to take time to listen. Luke 21 Generosity Sermon

Chapter 20 is full of questions. The people came to ask Jesus questions and he then in return would ask them questions. Life experience has shown me that many times people ask questions because they are trying to defend their point of view or justify their behavior.  The religious leaders wanted to trap Jesus; they didn't like what he was saying, doing or teaching the people. Trapping him was their goal. What an impossible thing to do, because Jesus' questions always stumped them because their true answers would cause them to lose face with the people.  Jesus' questions brought to light the hypocrisy of the questioners. Their motivation was to bring glory to themselves and their traditions, not to God. May our lives point other people to the truth of who God is and always bring Him glory! Luke 20

God created human beings to have a relationship with each person who has ever lived and who ever will live and has always been the one pursuing us; He's not willing that anyone perish, but that all come to repentance. He was willing to enter time as we know it and become a human himself. In today's reading, Zacchaeus wanted to see him and Jesus wanted to hang out with Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus realized he was a sinner and after encountering Jesus, he wanted to make things right with the people he had taken advantage of financially. People like Zacchaeus ( all people, because all people are sinners ) are why Jesus came.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost ! Luke 19

In the parable of the religious leader and the tax collector, The religious leader felt he did all his "good deeds" on his own and praised himself. The tax collector realized who he was, a sinful person who needed God. The reality is this, we all need God, because we are all sinners. God alone deserves all praise! A child's faith is a wonderful example of what our faith in God should look like. A child knows they will be taken care of and not worry about all the details, because those who love them will take care of them. How much more does the Creator of the Universe care for and love His children!  Luke 18

In this chapter Jesus heals ten men who have leprosy. Only one comes to thank him and it happens to be someone who would be considered an enemy to the Jewish people. The man realized he could not have healed himself and he gave thanks to the one who could and did heal him! Lord, teach me to always be thankful for the mercies you give - may I follow the example of the one. God's kingdom is here, we cannot see it with our eyes, but it is still very real. There will be a time when this earth as we now know it will go away and God's kingdom will be established for all eternity. We need to build our lives on the firm foundation of God's Word and live our lives on purpose as we prepare for eternity with God. Father, open our minds to Your truths as we read and study your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen. Luke 17

" You cannot serve both God and money ." Where are your heart's desires placed? One thing is for sure, Jesus taught that our heart's desires cannot be both focused on God and His kingdom and the things of this world. Through the Bible, we see how God has interacted with human beings throughout human history: creation of the world, sin entering the world, and God's constant desire to bring people into relationship with Himself. He sent Moses, He sent prophets, but many hated and rejected them. This story of Lazarus and the beggar encourages us to think of eternity instead of just the hear and now.   God sent His one and only Son! We have such a privilege to have a relationship with Him and to learn from Him. I pray that our focus are the same desires, which Jesus has! Luke 16

Finding something we've lost - jewelry someone you love has given you, a wallet, a family pet - brings such peace and joy to a longing spirit. Yet there is such a greater joy when we are dealing with restoration with a person we love. God longs to bring those who are lost from Him into a loving, intimate relationship. May our hearts be as excited as His when those who have been so far from God are found! Luke 15

"You belong to Jesus not me, I just get the privilege of raising you," my dad told me often as I was growing up. When I became a parent, I realized just how much my dad's words were full of love and humility. We want to cling so tightly and try to protect our children from everything - we can even get to the point that we idolize our children or family members more than our desire to follow God. God loves our children and our family way more than we ever could - to place them in His care is the most loving thing we can do. Training our children to love Jesus and pointing our family members to Christ is the most loving thing we can do for them. God had promised to make Abraham into a great nation. Many years passed and still there was not even one child given to him and his wife. They took matters into their own hands and Abraham had a son, but it was not the son that God had promised him. Finally when Abraham was 100 years old, the promised son was born. Through Abrah

People need Jesus! Sin has been passed down to all people, "For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard." ~ Romans 3:23 Jesus was sharing the message that people need to repent, because people cannot save themselves. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ. No one can do enough good works to get to heaven - Jesus paid for our sin, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." ~ Romans 6:23 Following Jesus is not always easy, but it brings true contentment and a peace that we cannot know when we try to go through life in our own strength.  Luke 13

Our time on this earth is short in comparison to eternity. As believers in Jesus Christ our focus should be Christ and our relationship to him. It should be a moment to moment, day to day relationship, so when the tough times of life come we are prepared to meet them on solid footing. It's so easy to get caught up in what we will eat and what we will wear - that we can forget God is the one who supplies those things for us anyway. "But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. " Let's live life on purpose! Luke 12 Father, change our mindset, so our focus is on the things You care about. Thank you for supplying our needs! In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ~ Luke 11: 9-10 Following Jesus is not always easy, many times we have as many questions as we have answers. God desires that we are active in our relationship with Him. He desires that we ask when we don't understand, we may not always get the answers that we are looking for, but as we seek, God teaches us to trust even in the unknowns.  God has given us His Word and thankfully in America we are able to freely read and study His truths.  My prayer is that we never take that privilege for granted! Luke 11 Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us Your Word, so we are able to read it, hear it and study it. Allow us to grow in our faith and when we don't understand, let us actively be involved in searching for answers. In moments when we realize we won

In relation to Jesus, we talk about the twelve disciples who followed Jesus. It can be easy to miss the fact that Jesus had many more followers than the Twelve. In this chapter we see seventy-two other people who Jesus sent into towns to share the good news of the kingdom of God. The familiar story of the Good Samaritan is in this chapter. Did you notice the question the expert of the law asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Simply put, "Love God and love ALL others." Our actions don't save us, but our actions validate our message. What can we learn from the story of Martha and Mary? We need to lean into Jesus and not be distracted by all the things that want to pull us away from knowing Jesus on a deeper level. Luke 10

Many times Jesus' message was confusing to the people who were listening, because Jesus was talking about eternal things. Our lives should be lived in the light of eternity; these earthly things will pass away, but God's Word will last forever.  We can hold so tightly to things we are not able to keep. Instead, let's invest in things that will last for eternity. Luke 9 Dear Heavenly Father, let us seek You with our whole heart and share Your message with the world around us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you've read Matthew and Mark with us this school year, you've already read these parables and stories of Jesus' life. * The Good Soil * The Lamp Shining Bright for All to See * Jesus' Family - Those Who Obey God's Words * Jesus Calms the Storm * Jesus Heals the Demon Possessed Man * Jesus Has Power Over Death * Jesus Heals a Woman The thing that really stood out to me today is found right at the beginning. Not only did the twelve disciples follow Jesus as he went from town to town sharing the good news of the kingdom of God, so did many women. These women did not just go with them, they are helped fund and supply what Jesus needed. Jesus' influence was passing into more places than just the common people. One of the women who followed Jesus was married to the man who managed Herod's household. These women had so much to be grateful to Jesus for - Jesus had healed many of them, cast demons that would have been caused so much anxiety and stress

* The Roman centurion knows that Jesus does not even have to step foot into his house to heal his servant who is sick and on the verge of death. He knows that Jesus' words have the power to heal. * Jesus raised a boy from the dead out of compassion for the boy's mother. * John the Baptist sent his disciples to see if Jesus really was the promised Messiah. Jesus responds with the truths from Old Testament prophecy. The Messiah would come performing the miracles that Jesus had been performing. * The sinful woman cleans his feet realizing how much Jesus has forgiven her. She knew she needed Jesus! Luke 7 Dear Heavenly Father, let each of us know how much we need you! In Jesus' name, Amen!

We need to make sure we are not getting caught up in religious rules for the sake of being "religious." The religious rulers of Jesus time were so bound to the rules and traditions they were unable to know the heart of God. The Sabbath was a gift God gave to people; God knew our human bodies need rest and a time of refreshing, focusing on the one who gave us life. Jesus' Teachings: * Find contentment in who God is * Love your enemies and forgive * Do not judge or condemn (be aware of your own sinfulness) * The fruits your life produces is what is really inside of you (do your words and actions match?) * Following Jesus' teachings makes you wise (firm foundation) Luke 6

Peter (aka - Simon) had worked hard all night. No fish had been caught. Peter, James and John were professionals and would have known they had done everything they could to get a good catch. Peter let Jesus come and teach from his boat to the crowd of people on the shore. I'm picturing Peter half listening, probably pretty tired. Jesus then performed a miracle for Peter and the other fishermen; he told them where to put their fishing nets down to catch the fish. Peter, James and John were so in awe of the catch, they left immediately and followed Jesus. The type of net Peter, James and John would have used. Jesus continued to heal, to forgive sins, to hang out with broken people and to teach. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." All people are sinners - all people need Jesus! Luke 5

Jesus was tempted in every way you and I are tempted, yet he did not sin. He was clear on his purpose: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,  because he has anointed me  to proclaim good news to the poor .  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners   and r ecovery of sight for the blind ,  to set the oppressed free ,  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor ." Jesus came to share hope by sharing the good news of the kingdom of God with everyone. As Christ followers, this is our purpose as  well! Dear Heavenly Father, give us a clear mind filled with Your truth, give us Your words to share, and allow us to be sensitive to and ready to share in the moments You have put into place for us to share the good news of Your kingdom. In Jesus' name, Amen. Luke 4

In chapter 1 of Luke we saw the first interaction between John and Jesus when they were both in their mother's wombs. John leaped as soon as Mary entered the room! Now as adult men around the age of 30 they meet again. John began preaching, telling his fellow Israelites to treat people fairly and with respect. He was encouraging them to turn from their sins and follow God, so that their lives would produce good fruit. Many people wondered if he was the awaited Messiah, but John said, "I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Jesus came to John to be baptized and we see the Triune God in this moment: Jesus, the Son, was being baptized, the Holy Spirit took on the physical form of a dove, and the Father spoke from heaven. John came to lead the way for the Messiah. His life pointed people to Jesus! Luke 3 It is Jesus and

The first section of Luke 2 may be one of the most read (or heard) portions of scripture, as many people, churches and households read the story and details of Jesus' birth when Christmas is celebrated. Then we see Joseph and Mary are able to see more confirmation that Jesus was the awaited Messiah when they brought him to the temple.  The last portion of this chapter gives us the only insight into Jesus' adolescent years. Even though he stayed in Jerusalem, it was not because he was being disobedient. Each moment that Mary did not understand in regards to her son, she must have realized it was for a higher purpose. "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man."  Luke 2

Matthew shared a little bit of information about Jesus' early life. Mark just jumped straight into to Jesus' ministry as an adult. Luke did quite a bit of research and gives us extra information, which we haven't seen up to this point. Luke's gospel account is thorough. Right away he let us know that he wanted to give an orderly account so people could have all the information in one place. I'm picturing all the people Luke interviewed. Can you imagine Luke and Mary, Jesus' mom, sitting down and her being able to retell her interaction with the angel and how much it caught her off guard and the moment that John the Baptist leaped inside Elizabeth womb, just because Mary and Jesus (in utero) walked into the room. How about some of the people who were there when Zechariah wrote, "His name is John," and how it did not make any sense to them at that moment. The people would have been wondering, "How is God going to use this little boy name

In Mark's last chapter several verses were added by scribes to later manuscripts. The added verses remain consist to Mark's message as well as the other gospels, but it does have a different writing style than the rest of Mark does. If we end with verse eight, we see that Mary was so afraid at first that she did not go deliver the message of Jesus rising from the dead. The last three days had been a chaotic ordeal for all of Jesus' followers. Mary would have been no exception. Even though Jesus had consistently told his followers he would rise from the dead, it still would be difficult to believe. Eventually she did go share the message with the disciples, but there was so much doubt from most of them. Jesus revealed himself to them and gave them a command, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." That command is still true for us today. We have the greatest message of hope for a broken world! Mark 16

I encourage each of us to really know the truth of God's word, because it is so easy to get caught up in a moment. Did you see how the chief priests influenced the people to fight for the release of a true criminal? When we are not grounded in the truth, we can be easily swayed by loud, panicked voices and messages and join the chaos. Jesus continued to remain grounded and in control as he was beaten, mocked, tortured and killed. The guard right in front of Jesus saw the way he died and said, "Surely this man was the Son of God."  Following Jesus looks different than following the world: I saw this on FB recently and loved the wisdom shared! Dear Heavenly Father, teach us to hear Your voice and follow You completely! Let us live in the peace that you offer. In Jesus' name, Amen! Mark 15

Pride vs. Humility The prideful , religious leaders were tired of Jesus, they were tired of his teachings and his stirring up the people, they wanted Jesus gone, so things could go back to the way things were. The humble woman washed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, which she could have used to spend on herself. Judas, filled with pride , couldn't handle Jesus anymore and his unconventional way of thinking - why not join the other side and make some money in the process. Peter, filled with pride , felt he was so strong he would never deny knowing Jesus. Peter, filled with humility , wept when he did deny his friend. ~  Jesus was well aware of each person and what their actions would be, still went to the cross, willing to die and defeat sin and death for each one of them. Dear Heavenly Father, take our pride and replace it with true humility in response to who Jesus is and what he have done for us! Jesus, thank you for being willing to humble Yourself, so t

When we think or talk about the end times, fear can be created, but several key phrases that Jesus said stand out to me in this passage: * Don't panic * This will be your opportunity to tell them about me * Don't worry ahead of time what you will say * My words will never disappear * No one knows the day or hour * Stay alert * Watch for him Jesus is coming back one day and we need to be ready and alert! What does that look like? A life lived intentionally following him - it's a life sharing his story in our lives. Mark 13