The last words a dying person speaks to his/her loved ones are usually full of meaning and significance. This is especially true of the dying Jesus on the cross. The 4 Gospels record the 7 last sayings of Christ in their Passion narratives of Christ’s crucifixion. Let us take a look at one of these […]
Living the Kingdom on Earth
Posts by John Neposlan (Page 19)
A mother was busily writing letters at her desk as her little girl played in another room with a doll. After some time, she called her daughter to come and sit on her lap. The little girl said: “Mommy, I’m so glad you called for me. I love you so much.” “Do you darling?” she […]
What was Jesus’ “Main Thing” when he ministered in our midst some 2,000 years ago? Many New Testament commentators make the case that the core of Jesus’ message and ministry was the kingdom of God. I agree 100%. Let me explain.
One of the most enjoyable and inspiring movies I have ever seen is Mr. Holland’s Opus. It came out in 1995. Mr. Holland, played by Richard Dreyfuss, aspired to be a great music composer in his life. But because of various circumstances, he ended up teaching music to high school students. It was a job […]
Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna in the 2nd century, exercised enormous Christian leadership in the early Church. When he was in his 80s, for instance, he journeyed to Rome where many were converted to Christ. Shortly after his return home to Asia Minor, persecution broke out against the Church in his city. For sport, the […]
Miracles Start Small Like all great works of God, the feeding miracle of the 5,000 (John 6:1-15) started simply. It began in some small Judean kitchen with a mother making a small lunch for her young son. Barley loaves were the least expensive kind of bread. In addition, our account specifically says the fish were […]
One particular Sunday morning, a Pastor was running a little overtime on his message. He noticed his wife in the second row pointing to the Timex watch on her wrist. He became a bit flustered and mixed up some of his words. He said, “The Lord took 5,000 barley loaves and 2,000 fishes, fed 5 […]
In the New Testament Book of Hebrews, in the eleventh chapter, we have a catalogue of several Old Testament heroes of the faith. It is interesting to note that 7 of these Hall of Famers come from the Book of Genesis: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. These 7 represent a thread line […]
The Lord’s Prayer (Mathew 6:9-13) is a profound pattern for prayer that Jesus taught His followers. It is hard to exhaust its riches and its capacity to edify the people of God. Jesus not only teaches the primacy of God in our lives but He seriously takes into account our full humanity. NO MERE ANIMAL […]
Last week’s blog was entitled “Bragging About God“. I looked at the first line of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus used as a template to teach His disciples to pray: “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Mathew 6:9). I believe that Jesus prayed that first because a human being’s greatest need […]