The Condemnation of Hypocrisy.Matthew 23 records Jesus's final public sermon in Jerusalem, a powerful, scathing rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees. It is a severe warning against religious showmanship and a call to authentic, internal righteousness.Real Life Principle: True Greatness Rests in Humble Service, Not Self-Exalting Showmanship.Jesus confronts the religious leaders who "do all their dee...  Read More

What do you believe...the Law of God, or the law that men added to the Law of God?  From the earliest of times when God chose His people to free them from Egypt and bring them to His promised land, the temptation of man was to “add his own input” to God’s established law!  When you are more concerned about ritual laws than you are about your faith, trust, and relationship with God through Christ, ...  Read More

In Mark 11, Jesus curses a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit. Immediately after, He enters the Temple and drives out the money-changers, accusing them of turning a "house of prayer for all nations" into a "den of robbers." The next day, the disciples see the fig tree completely withered. These two events are intentionally linked by Mark to deliver one sharp message.Real Life Principle: Authent...  Read More

The story of Zacchaeus, the wealthy, despised chief tax collector, demonstrates the transformative power of seeking Jesus and the genuine evidence of true repentance. Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus, humbling himself to climb a sycamore-fig tree. Jesus responded by calling him by name and inviting himself to his house. The result was not just belief, but a radical change in Zacchaeus's life....  Read More

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." — Matthew 20:26-28Real Life Principle True greatness in God’s kingdom is measured by selfless service, not status. Jesus flips the world’s definition of leadership. In His kingdom,...  Read More

"Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" — Matthew 19:21Real Life PrincipleTrue discipleship requires surrendering what we cling to in order to fully follow Christ. Jesus doesn’t just invite us to believe—He calls us to release anything that competes with Him for our trust, identity...  Read More

Faith and Persistence Today’s chapter contains many special conversations Jesus had and that are important, mainly for understanding the gospel and eternal life. When I read his parables, they make me realize how creative and eloquently He was to explain to his disciples, the people that followed Him, and even us today, about the Kingdom of God. I’m grateful that today we have His written word and...  Read More

In John 11, we witness Jesus intentionally delaying his arrival in Bethany, allowing Lazarus to die. This was not due to a lack of compassion, but to demonstrate God's glory through a powerful miracle. When Jesus finally arrived, he engaged with Martha and Mary, comforting them and proclaiming, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." He the...  Read More

These chapters are a clear depiction of how our “worldview” affects not only the lives of others, but also eternity.  In both chapters, Jesus is using parables to point out that our actions and how we live our lives here are a direct reflection of our heart, commitment, and service to God.  He doesn’t hold back on the eternal consequences and rewards either, leaving a clear distinction between the...  Read More

True exaltation comes through genuine humility.Jesus teaches those invited to a wedding feast not to seek the places of honor, but to take the lowest seat. The principle is: Real Life Principle: When we intentionally humble ourselves and put the interests of others before our own desire for status or recognition, we create space for true honor and exaltation from God or respected individuals. Conv...  Read More

Accountability for What You Have Been Given“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48, NIV)Real Life Principle:This principle, often paraphrased as "With great privilege comes great responsibility," follows Jesus' parable about servants awaiting their master's return. The focus shifts...  Read More

Great Harvest and Humble Prayer “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2, ESV)Jesus looks out at the world—our cities, our workplaces, our homes—and sees a field ready for reaping, not a desolate wasteland. The problem is not the readiness of the world, but the scarcity of willing wor...  Read More

John 9, which narrates the healing of a man born blind, highlights several profound truths.Real Life Principle: The purpose of suffering is not always punishment for sin, but an opportunity for God's works to be displayed and for spiritual sight to be revealed.When the disciples ask Jesus whether the man's blindness was due to his own sin or his parents' sin, Jesus responds, "Neither this man nor ...  Read More

In these books of John, in the New Testament, Chapters 7 and 8 is where we find some interesting events happening in regard to Jesus, especially when He encounters conflict with the religious leaders in Galilee. Jesus did not want to travel to Judea because the Jews were trying to kill Him. During the Festival of Tabernacles, which commemorated the days when the Israelites wandered in the wilderne...  Read More

Matthew 18 is loaded with awesome parables, that Jesus uses to teach the disciples & us, how to live.  Some of these lessons seem pretty easy to understand, and some eh not so easy to understand, or rather, not so easy to do!  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great mil...  Read More

The 17th chapter of Matthew begins with the Transfiguration on the Mountain, which was a vision, a brief glimpse of the true glory of the King.  This was a special revelation of Jesus’ divinity to three of the disciples, and it was God’s divine affirmation of everything Jesus had done and was about to do.  The Transfiguration was a foretaste of heaven; the participants were doing something worth n...  Read More

Around this time, 15 years ago, with the youth group I belonged to, we did a play called “Take up your cross and follow me”. What I can recall from it, is how several young men and ladies in the story are trying to figure out in today’s world and in different social interactions the call Jesus made thousands of years ago: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cros...  Read More

Matthew 15 addresses two key areas that define genuine faith: the contrast between human tradition and God's commandments (vv. 1-20), and the contrast between limited privilege and limitless faith (vv. 21-28). Jesus shifts the focus from outward religious practice to the inward condition of the heart, and from the boundaries of His initial ministry to the breadth of His compassion.REAL LIFE Princi...  Read More

John chapter 6 is a pivotal passage, beginning with the miracle of feeding the 5,000 and culminating in Jesus' powerful and challenging teaching: "I am the bread of life." This chapter invites us to look beyond temporary fixes and find our ultimate sustenance and satisfaction in Jesus Christ alone.REAL Principle: Seek Spiritual Sustenance over Physical ProvisionJohn 6:26-27, 35 "Jesus answered the...  Read More

All of these chapters in the Bible share one of the greatest miracles in Jesus’ ministry that was recorded. The feeding of the five thousand. An amazing story of how Jesus multiplied 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread to feed more than enough for all the people who were there for Him.But today I want us to focus not on the miracle itself, but on a specific word in this story. The bible says Jesus saw th...  Read More

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves... Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows." The Great Contradiction:In Matthew 10, Jesus commissions His dis...  Read More

In Mark chapter 4, we see several well known parables. This devotional is going to focus on the story of Jesus calming the storm at the end of the chapter. After a long day of teaching by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus tells His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” They take Him in the boat, and other boats follow. As they sail, a fierce storm arises — strong winds and waves begin to swamp th...  Read More

When we have a message or point, we are trying to share, we use illustrations or examples to do our best to communicate that message.  Jesus does this with parables.  He understands each of us.  All of us.   Some say parables are earthly stories with a heavenly message.   Matthew chapter 13 is all about Parables.  The heavenly Message – The Kingdom of Heaven, mentioned 13 times in this chapter.  T...  Read More

There must have been something special about watching Jesus pray that made the apostles want to learn how to pray as Jesus prayed.The disciples saw Jesus heal people, turn water into wine, among other miracles. But never asked to learn those things, only “teach us to pray”. Earthly fathers are not perfectly good. They’re not perfectly wise. God is.When we ask for strength, Jesus doesn’t just give ...  Read More