August 20, 2022“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.” – John 10:11 When you read God’s Word, the Bible talks a lot about Jesus being our Shepherd. In fact, the Bible gives Him three different titles related to this term. The first term the Bible says, referring to this title, is that Jesus is the GOOD Shepherd. Specifically in John 10, we find Jesus talking ...  Read More

August 19, 2022 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet, a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.” – Micah 5:2 As we introduced yesterday, we are going to spend a great deal of time over the next several days unpacking the Holy Land! We are going to look at the places that were the central settin...  Read More

August 18, 2022“I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.” – Ezekiel 11:17 As I noted yesterday, when I was 18 years old, my parents took me on a trip to Israel. That first trip to the Holy Land revolutionized my life and my walk with Jesus in a powerful way, and because of that, one of my favorite...  Read More

August 17, 2022“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities— His external power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” – Romans 1:20 When I was 18 years old, I graduated high school, and my parents gifted me a trip to Israel for graduation. They didn’t send me to Cancun ...  Read More

August 16, 2022“Then he said, ‘Look, I have come to do Your will.’ He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.” – Hebrews 10:9 As we have looked at the last few days, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and plead to His Father, “if there is any other way to save the sinners, let’s do it another way.” But the Bible is clear, this was the ONLY WAY. But Jesus plea...  Read More

August 15, 2022“He went on a little farther and bowed with His face to the ground, praying, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine.’” – Matthew 26:39 Yesterday, we discussed how Jesus knew what was coming before it ever came. But this does not mean Jesus was excited about what was to come. Jesus did not want to be c...  Read More

August 14, 2022“He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and He became anguished and distressed. He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’” – Matthew 26:37-38 Yesterday, we discussed how Jesus had a place of prayer. He had a place in the Garden of Gethsemane that He would regularly go to. He went there once more before He wa...  Read More

August 13, 2022“Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, ‘Sit here while I go over there to pray.’” – Matthew 26:36 Yesterday, we looked at a time when Jesus broke bread with the disciples and told them what was coming. He predicted that they would desert Him (and they did). But long before they scattered, Jesus brought His disciples up on the Mount of Olives an...  Read More

August 12, 2022“On the way, Jesus told them, ‘Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, God will strike the Shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.’” – Matthew 26:31-32 You can probably imagine Jesus reclining at the table with the twelve disciples in the Upper Room— br...  Read More

August 11, 2022“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” – Romans 10:9-10 How does God the Father reveal to us who God the Son is? The same way He reveals the truth in our hearts and mind...  Read More

August 10, 2022“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’” When Jesus asked Peter the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter gave his confession and said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Some translations read, “You are the Christ.” Peter used the Greek word Christos, which is translated as Christ or Messiah, which are synonymous. When you say J...  Read More

August 9, 2022“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” – Psalm 37:4 As we have looked at the last couple of days, idols can be found in all shapes and sizes. We worship idols related to success, money, possessions, and stuff. We can find them in our personal identity and physical fitness. But no matter what you call it, if you have put it before God, He calls it idola...  Read More