Our most difficult battles in life often mirror Jesus’ struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. Can you picture Him there beneath the olive trees in the moonlight? Can you hear His weeping?
Which of your mistakes haunts you the most? Peter denied he knew Jesus. To some folks, that’s no big deal. Compared to other big sins, giving in to fear seems like small potatoes. But to Peter, it was huge.
What difference can a narrow road make? Whenever I make my way down the Mount of Olives, I can’t help but think about Jesus’ riding down that slope on the back of a donkey early in His Passion Week.
God seldom gives us all we need in order to understand—but He always what we need in order to obey. Jesus’ flight to Egypt as a boy offers a great example of how to take comfort when the future seems unclear.
When we picture ancient Egypt, we think of deserts, camels, the Nile River, and hieroglyphics. But there’s nothing more iconic of Egypt than the Pyramids of Giza.
Often the mundane days of our lives tell us lies. They seem to shout how insignificant we are, because all we do seems so small. Jesus’ childhood days in Galilee, near Sepphoris, turn those lies upside down.
Sometimes a disappointing setback in our lives only serves to propel us forward in God’s sovereign plan. In the meantime, we need God’s help to keep going. David’s days at Ziklag show us how.
God’s program to give the Promised Land to Abraham and his descendants took some strange turns. For instance? A famine upon the land, Joseph’s imprisonment, and bondage in Egypt. Hardly a joyful journey with God.
Sometimes the blessings God gives you seem hard to hold. In some cases, the difficulty urges us to abandon the blessings. Beth Shean gives us a great example.
The ancient world had a bully system that worked in straightforward terms. A nation would conquer a region and demand tribute—annual payment of money and goods. If you didn’t pay tribute, they’d come and kill you. Pretty simple system.