When Peace Collapsed
Read: Jeremiah 12:1-6 If in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? (v. 6) When I was young, I felt safe in my family, in my hometown and later on, as a student in the capital city of my country, Albania. But in 1997, the […]
The Death of Lazarus
Read: John 11:1-4, 17-27, 38-44 This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God. (v. 4) As a child, I was terrified of death. I was afraid that I might suddenly die, and that thought always left me with deep anguish. And then five years ago, I experienced a profound […]
Who Sinned?
Read: John 9:1-11 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. (v. 1) The miracle in today’s reading is anticipated by a question the disciples ask Jesus regarding this blind man. The disciples implied their answer by the wording of their question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he […]
Limited Obedience
Read: John 6:16-21 O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matt. 14:31) In today’s reading, we turn to the disciples on the boat. In this moment of crisis, the disciples obeyed Jesus without limits—even at risk to their own lives. How about you? What are some of your limits in obeying God? For […]
Where is Your Faith?
Read: John 6:1-15 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (v. 5) Would you be prepared to answer Jesus’s question to Philip? John tells us why Jesus asked Philip: “He said […]
Your House of Mercy
Read: John 5:1-15 I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. (v. 7) Today we read again about the paralyzed man, waiting for the water in the pool of Bethesda to be stirred up, even though he had no one to help him get into it. When […]
Beyond Your Last Chance
Read: John 5:1-15 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6) What would it look like if we all were as willing as the man in today’s reading to be healed spiritually as we […]
When All You Have is God
Read: John 4:43-54 At Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. (v. 46) Imagine for just a second that you are in a very difficult situation, a situation you have tried to solve with everything you have, without success. What do you do? When everything seems to be to your disadvantage, where do […]
Unexpected Surprises
Read: John 2:1-12 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” (v. 3) When you go hiking, it is very important to pay attention to the trail markers. These guides make sure that you are walking in the right direction. It would be really foolish to stand […]