November 3rd, 2015 
Do you ever wonder why tax collectors in the Bible get such a bad rap? Jesus advocates paying taxes, yet even he lumps the tax collector into a category with prostitutes and other undesirables. Why is the tax collector singled out as scum?
In Jesus’ day, Jews live under an oppressive Roman Empire, and they view tax collectors as disloyal Jews who work for the enemy—the hated Romans. Furthermore, most tax collectors live …
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October 27th, 2015 
Disturb us, Lord when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life. Having fallen in love with this life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our …
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October 20th, 2015 
The parables of Jesus often disturb our equilibrium, and stretch the boundaries of our common perceptions. Such is the parable in Matthew 25:14-30. A master goes away on a long journey and entrusts his property to three servants. To one he gives five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to their ability. The first two servants begin to work at once, multiplying what they’ve been given. The …
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October 13th, 2015 
Think of your favorite movie, or your favorite novel. Is it one without struggle, defeat, a mid-course crisis? Not likely. The greatest movies of all time, the blockbusters, fill the screen with nail-biting tension, heart-ripping agony, the devastation of war, a lover’s betrayal, impossible odds, and utter despair. What pulls us into the movie is not the pain, but the overcoming of adversity, the denouement of redemption, the villain conquered, good defeating evil. …
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October 7th, 2015 
In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sends out the twelve disciples on a mission without him. He gives them specific instructions, “take no money or extra tunic, etc.” It’s one thing to follow Jesus around and watch him preach and perform miracles; it’s quite another to go out in his name and do the same. Jesus doesn’t sugar-coat this challenging mission. He warns them that opposition awaits them, “All men will hate you because …
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