DAILY READING John 19 REFLECTION What we can learn about responding to evil from Jesus’ passion By Todd Marti The dynamics underlying John 19 are distressingly familiar. Leaders lying to maintain their power. Officials who have the power to set things right lacking the courage to do so.  Innocent people being grievously hurt. How are we to respond? Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us to look at how Jesus responded to similar circumstances. Read together, the four gospels give us a lot of information...

DAILY READING John 8:31-32 REFLECTION Staying Connected to Jesus By Todd Marti The last few days’ readings ( John Chapter 7  and most of 8 ) involved a lot of conflict. Jesus was harshly attacked. His followers must have been dismayed and unsure how to respond.  Jesus told them to draw near to Him amid that controversy. More specifically, He told them to believe, follow Him, and hold to His teaching. John 7:38 ; 8:12 ; 8:31-23 . We see similar dynamics in today’s world; Jesus and His gospel...

DAILY READING Matthew 9:27-31 REFLECTION Some Dynamics of Healing By Todd Marti This week’s readings mostly focused on Jesus’ healings. Today’s reading continues that. Read together, they highlight three important dynamics. First, faith is essential . In today’s reading Jesus asked the men seeking healing if they “believe[d] that I am able to do this,” and said that their healing would “be done . . .  according to [their] faith.”   Matthew 9:28, 29 (NASB) . We saw that component earlier this...