Pearls From Peace

Hebrews tells us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." We all have a race that we run, a marathon race of this life. Each of our races is different, but the goal is the same, to finish the race. Jesus helps us finish our race in life and finish it in faith, so th...

Bu Faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac...

Do you ever feel like you're not good enough? If so, how does that make you feel? Unworthy? Unloveable? Not worthy of the love of other people? Not worthy of the love of God? Even though we know the difference between right and wrong, we never are good enough for God, because we are not perfect. So, God sent His perfect Son to be perfect for us. And through Jesus' death and resurrection, through H...

The high priest would enter the Mosty Holy Place once a year, on the day of atonement, and offering forgiveness of sins for himself, and on behalf of the people. The way to receive forgiveness was through the sacrifice of animals, the practice God established for His people. For without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Jesus because our Great High Priest because He sacrificed...

As we think about the world that we live in and sharing the Word of God with those around us, what exactly are we asking people to do? Consider Jesus. Consider Jesus who bled and died for you. Consider Jesus who won your forgiveness on the cross. Consider Jesus who rose victoriously from the dead triumphing over sin, death, and the devil. Consider Jesus whose resurrection give you the promise that...

We often tell stories to things we were witnesses to. Those stories sometimes begin with something like, "back in my day... A long time ago... When I was your age..." Hebrews tells us that a long time ago God used prophets to speak to His people, but now He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. And those witnesses to Christ and His work wrote them down, as carried by the Holy Spirit. These w...

As Paul heads to Jerusalem he spends time with the Ephesian elders, he commends them to God and the Word of His grace, and he encourages them to take care of themselves and the flock because after his departure wolves will come to attack the flock and wolves that look like sheep will twist things to draw them away from Christ. Does this happen in our world today? And if so, what do these attacks a...

As Paul wanders around the city of Athens, a city full of idols, he finds an altar to an unknown god. Having had conversations in the synagogue, marketplace, speaking about Jesus' death and resurrection, he is brought to the Areopagus, and Paul takes the opportunity to witness to the people, to take this unknown god, and make Him known to them: the only True God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How...

After an earthquake, Paul and Silas are freed from their chains in prison, and the jailer thinks they've escaped. After announcing all the prisoners are still there, the jailer asks, "what must I do to be saved?" This question is still important for us today. What must WE do to be saved? How do Paul and Silas answer the jailer? How do answer you? The same: Believe in the Lord Jesus. But is it that...

As the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, spreads throughout the world, many people, Jews and Gentiles believe. Some Christian Jews thought that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised (a sign of God's covenant with His people) in order to be saved. After much debate it was decided the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised, because it is Jesus that saves, not the act of circumcision. Are the...

Saul, the one who persecuted the Christ followers, was there approving the stoning of Stephen, goes from persecuting the Church of Christ, to being persecuted himself. What would make someone change their entire way of life? Nothing less than meeting Jesus Christ, the One whom he also persecuted. But this isn't really a come-to-Jesus moment, it's a Jesus-comes-to Saul moment. The same goes for us...

On Father's Day, we give thanks for the fathers or father figures that God has placed in our lives. We might even thank them by allowing them to sleep in. We may also think about the impact they have had in our lives, and the message they would leave us with. As we read the story of Stephen, he addresses fathers and brothers giving them a message that ends with him being stoned to death. In his de...

What are you willing to stand up for in this life? Is it the things that you believe in? Is it things you don't believe in? I mean, who would stand up for things they don't believe in, or things that go against God's Word? Sinners. Like me. Like you. And so we need somebody to stand in our place, to succeed where we fail. That's Jesus, who dies on our behalf, for us, to save us, to give us repenta...

The Christ-followers of the early Church, that expanded rapidly at Pentecost, devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to the breaking of bread, to prayer, and to fellowship. As we take a look at the Church of our world today, is it characterized by those same things, or is it different? And as we think about the Church expanding, numbers increasing, who is actually responsible for that growth...

God is Trinity, Triune, Three-in-one, one God yet three persons. That means 1+1+1=1. That's how the Trinity works. On this Trinity Sunday, we don't just confess our faith in the Trinity, we get to hear the Confirmation class confess their faith in the Trinity. That faith that was planted in them at their Baptism, through the water and the Word by God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in whose name...

Can you imagine what it must have been like that first Pentecost? The feeling of the Holy Spirit allowing you to speak in other languages. Hearing the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ in your own language from someone that couldn't speak it before. Having 3,000 believe that life-saving message. But Pentecost is more than just feelings. And the life of the church today is more than just feelin...

As we read the story of Jesus' birth we hear of the virgin Mary being visited by the angel and told she will give birth to the Savior. Mary visits Elizabeth, a woman previously barren, who is pregnant as well, and confesses her faith in the child that is in Mary's womb. Mary and Elizabeth, become mothers during unusual circumstances. Mothers who believed in the Savior of the world. Mothers who wou...

As we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we look at the genealogy of Jesus, going all the way back to Abraham. What we find is that there are many names that stand that Matthew mentions, as we remember stories of the Old Testament. Names like "Father" Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Tamar, Rahab, and "the wife of Uriah." All this is to say: God worked through sinful people AND their sinful a...

The name Habakkuk means to "embrace." The prophet Habakkuk has a conversation with God about the sin of the people and how God will deal with it. While Habakkuk does not expect the response God gives him, he embraces who God is even amidst God's answer. As we think about our lives and the answered prayers that maybe aren't the answers we want from God, do we "embrace" God like Habakkuk, or do we w...

The story of Jonah is one that we might all be familiar with. We often picture him being swallowed by a whale. But the part of the story that is more important is what happens after he's no longer in the belly of the fish. The people of Nineveh repent, and God spares them from destruction, but this doesn't make Jonah happy. While he may not wail, he certainly is angry. Angry at God's mercy towards...

The story of Jonah is one that we might all be familiar with. The prophet called by God to go to Ninevah runs away from God's calling. In the end, he's swallowed by a whale. Is it a whale? And while he's in the belly of the "whale" he repents. Does he repent in the belly of the "whale"? And because he repents the "whale" throws him up back on shore? Is that how the story goes? Are we really that f...

In the Old Testament, sometimes God's messages to His prophets are clear. And sometimes they make us scratch our heads. So, when God tells Hosea to go marry an adulterous woman, we might find that odd. This adulterous woman, who also indulges in prostitution, ends up leaving Hosea. Hosea is then called to buy her back, bring her home, and love her. To buy back, is a way we can define redemption. T...

Text: Daniel 6:6b-23, 25-27; John 20:1-10; Mark 16:1-8 What does Daniel and the lions' den have to do with the empty tomb on Easter Sunday? So much! As we walk this two-year journey of reading through the Bible, we can see many parallels to the story of Daniel and Jesus, lions, Satan, and the miracles that God works through the lives of His people. Daniel triumphed over the mouths of hungry lions,...

Text: Matthew 27:11-14, 24-26, 28-31, 38-44; Luke 23:34-45a; John 19:23-37 On Good Friday, Jesus is beaten, mocked, scourged, abused, and ultimately crucified. As He looked on at all those who were responsible for Him being on the cross, He loved them. As Jesus hung on the cross, He loved us until the end. He loved us until He breathed His last breath, and it was finished. The price paid for the s...

On Maundy Thursday, as we celebrate Jesus washing the disciples' feet and instituting His Supper, we see that Jesus "loved them to the end." Judas who would betray Jesus, Peter who would deny Jesus three times, and all the other disciples who would flee in the Garden of Gethsemane... He loved them to the end. Jesus loves us to the end, and He invites us to come and eat of His flesh and drink of Hi...