Craig Middleton
Big & Little Sinners
While Jesus reclines at Simon the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36ff), a woman of the city, apparently with a sinful reputation, approaches Him. Weeping, she falls to the ground at the feet of Jesus, and wets Jesus’s feet with her tears. Her hair then becomes a towel to wipe up the sob-filled mess. She finishes by anointing Jesus’s feet with an ointment she has brought. “As oft as I think over this event,” says Gregory the Great, “I am more disposed…
Do Your Best To Be Blue
“We are the Blue Family,” Father Blue proclaimed to his first child. “We color the rivers, lakes, and seas, and we paint the sky on the most beautiful days.” The first child left home, went out on her own, and became red. And her color filled the sky with ominous and scary imagery. “We are the Blue Family,” Father Blue proclaimed to his second child. “We color the rivers, lakes, and seas, and we paint the sky on the most…
Humility At The Jordan
In II Kings 5:9-14, Naaman, a friend of the king of Syria, arrives in Israel seeking a cure for his leprosy. His journey brings him to the home of a prophet of the Lord named Elisha, who tells Naaman that he must wash seven times in the Jordan River to be cured. Through their dialogue with one another, not only does it become apparent that Naaman’s pride is perhaps his most destructive disease, but also we all learn lessons of…
A Friend Loves At All Times
A small town has a unique way of honoring folks who have supported others who are going through tough times. On the wall which surrounds a park near the city’s center, the name of a citizen experiencing some type of difficulty is written inside of a circle. At some point down the road in this person’s trial, he/she is asked, “Who are those who have been there for you through it all – all of your suffering, anxiety, and weakness?” …
The Buck Stops Here
Harry S. Truman – the 33rd president of the United States – had a sign on his desk which read, “The buck stops here.” It refers to a slang expression from the game of poker. The buck was a marker which was used to keep track of the person whose turn it was to deal. If somebody didn’t want to do it, they could pass the buck to the next person at the table. In his farewell address in January…
Of Man Or Of God
As the Jewish leaders worry about the rapidly growing movement in the name of Jesus, they meet in order to decide what to do with the apostles. A Pharisee named Gamaliel recalls a pair of previous uprisings which “came to nothing” after their leaders (Theudas and Judas the Galilean) perished. Gamaliel then concludes, “So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man,…
Ruler and Redeemer
In Acts Chapter 7, Stephen stands before the Jewish council and delivers an address which encapsulates a whopping 52 verses – a full deck of cards. After weaving throughout different events in Hebrew history, Stephen finally reaches the aces at the bottom of the deck in the climactic conclusion in Verses 51-53. It is there that he boldly confronts the actions of his Jewish contemporaries. Just as their fathers rejected Moses and the other prophets, so also they have rejected,…
You’re Not Thinking Fourth-Generationally
In the film “Back To The Future Part III,” Doc and Marty have traveled back in time to “The Wild West” and the year 1885. They plan a return home to the present in 1985 (one hundred years later) by hitching a ride on a freight train. There is only one problem. The train track runs out, and, at the speed they will be going, Marty thinks they will crash into the ravine below. However, as Doc explains, Marty is…
Take Hold Of Life
Near the conclusion of Indiana Jones’ third cinematic adventure, the titular character tries to maintain his grip on one of Elsa’s hands to keep her from falling to her doom in the abyss below. Rather than grab ahold of Indiana with her other hand, she reaches for the treasure which dangles perilously on a ledge just below her. “Your other hand – honey I can’t hold you!” Indiana shouts in desperation. Stubbornly, she continues to stretch for the holy grail,…
David’s Mighty Men
“David’s Mighty Men” are real-life superheroes, and their true stories – the kind of stuff typically relegated to mere legend – can be found in both II Samuel 23 and I Chronicles 11-12. For example, Jashobeam killed hundreds of men with a spear at one time. When everyone else ran away, Eleazar struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. Benaiah took down a lion in the snow, and he killed an Egyptian giant…
Forgetting & Remembering
Two chapters in the first book of the Bible (Genesis 40-41) present an enlightening quartet of lessons on remembrance and forgetfulness. First, after interpreting the chief cupbearer’s dream favorably, an imprisoned Joseph asks him, “Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house” (Gen. 40:14). In a tragic note, the 40th chapter ends with these words: “Yet the chief cupbearer did…
Declining The Invitation
In Luke 14:16-24, an invitation to a super-awesome banquet has gone out to many. This likely represents the “calling” of God – the Lord inviting others to share in His kingdom (fellowship with Him, eternal glory, an eternal inheritance, eternal life) while, at the same time, summoning them to partake in His holiness and to obey Him even when it is difficult. In the parable, three different people make excuses for spurning the invitation. The first two refer to business…
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