Coffee Cup

While working on a fishing boat in Alaska I had a coffee drinking coworker named Dave. Dave never washed his coffee cup. The cup had a thick, encrusted layer of coffee residue throughout the inside. Finally the cook, who was a neat freak (gotta like him), washed the cup when Dave wasn't looking. Consequently for the next month Dave complained about tasting soap in his coffee!

Jesus writes about the Pharisee's in Matthew 23:26, "You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too." (NLT) Like Dave, we are uncomfortable washing some areas of our "cup." Sure we want to be like Jesus, but it can be a challenge to our pride to make a necessary change, and the needed repentance that goes along with it. Ask the Holy Spirit to search the inside of your cup. SWC

Children

Last night was the first night of our 2008-2009 AWANA year. It's great to see so many children interested in learning about God! Jesus gives an interesting instruction to adults regarding children in Matthew 18:10:

Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. (NLT)

It looks like children have an angelic advocate that speaks to the Father in their behalf! Are we upset, uptight, inconvenienced when children are in our way? Or are we demonstrating the love of Christ? SWC

Theology Blog

For those interested, I'm journaling my thoughts on another blog at http://bible08.blogspot.com/. This will focus more on theology as I explore different topics in detail. It will have more of a "note" design to it rather than a "paragraph" design like this page.

If your looking for a good online Bible with multiple versions, check out this great resource:

http://bible.logos.com/

Light in the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-7)

There are five Greek words in Matthew chapter 17 indicating light: Matthew 17:2 (shown, sun, white, light) and Matthew 17:5 (bright). This is a major theme in the New Testament, particularly in the book of John (John 1:5,John 3:19, John 8:12, John 12:35, John 12:46). What an amazing opportunity for Peter, James and John to to see Jesus in the brightness of his glory! We look forward to the same experience one day in heaven. Just remember that according to Jesus we can walk in his light TODAY by following his lead. SWC

John 8:12 (NLT)
I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.