Eddie

“THIS IS ME!” — Have You Made Up Your Mind About Jesus?

January 26, 2025 by Eddie Leave a Comment

When the prophet Isaiah described the event of the coming of the Messiah, he actually composed the script of what the Messiah would say when he would finally arrive. And that speech would go something like this: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. … (and so on).” (Luke 4:14-21)

However, it was only after approximately 700 long years later, when a man stood in a synagogue in Nazareth, thumbed through the scrolls of Isaiah, and when he found this passage, He read it aloud, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME because he has anointed ME to bring good news to the poor.” He closed the scroll, and said to everyone: “THIS IS ME.” His name? JESUS.

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SELF-CONTROL AND SELF-DISCIPLINE — You need both to become more like Jesus

January 2, 2025 by Eddie Leave a Comment

This is the last reflection in the Pathways of Hope Special Series on the “Fruit of the Spirit”. Throughout each of these last 8 days, we have been listening to reflections on each of the 9 fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” For today, let us reflect on that last item on the list which is SELF-CONTROL.

I’m sure you’re familiar with what self-control means, and what it involves; and I’m almost certain that you exercise a large degree of self-control in your day to day living. Having said that, I think that if we’re being honest, we still have a long way to go in growing in self-control.

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GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES — Even if it seems impossible

December 12, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

We are all familiar with the story of the Annunciation, as found in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel. It begins with the Angel surprising Mary with the greeting, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Then the angel calms her down and proclaims God’s plan, about her giving birth to God’s Son, and then assures her that even though she’s a virgin, the Holy Spirit will come upon her and make the impossible virgin birth happen. Finally, the story concludes with Mary accepting and saying, “I am the servant of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”

There’s a particular verse in this passage that has brought hope to me personally in my ministry, in my role as a father, in my work, and in even in my prayers for others people’s well-being. And I pray that this verse today brings hope to all of us all year long.

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WHAT IF FRIENDS REJECT YOUR INVITATION?

November 21, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

I want you to picture the scene when Jesus is about to enter into Jerusalem for the last time. This is found in Luke 19:41-44.

Jesus is not going into Jerusalem alone. He is with His disciples and many other pilgrims who have taken the long journey from Galilee to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. Nearing the city, their route descends the west slope of the Mount of Olives, and they will cross the Kidron Valley and then climb into the city, to the temple. As they approach the city, Jesus instructs His disciples to borrow a donkey for Him to ride on. And this is not because He is tired from the long journey. But they all see the symbolic meaning of this, recalling what was written in Zechariah 9:9, which says “See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey.” So they set the stage for the triumphal return of a victorious king. The road is lined with cloaks and palm fronds, and people greet Jesus as He passes by with their Hosanna chorus, as if celebrating the arrival of the Messiah.(https://www.bibleref.com/Luke/19/Luke-19-41.html)

But wait, as the walls of Jerusalem come into view, Jesus stops, takes in the view of the city and He is overcome with emotion, and cannot hold back his tears. He knows that in a few days, He shall meet His executioners and be crucified. But He is saddened not because of this pending crucifixion, but He is sad for Jerusalem, because though they had an opportunity to recognize the Messiah in Him, they refused to acknowledge this and would not believe.

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GOD SEES AND SOLVES REAL PROBLEMS WE DIDN’T EVEN THINK WE HAD

November 14, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

On two separate occasions, Jesus is asked about the coming of the Kingdom of God, and in both cases, Jesus gives an answer that surprises the people who want to know. You can find this story in Luke 17:20-25.

First. In vv 20-21, it is the Pharisees who ask Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus gives them an answer they didn’t expect, saying “the Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Basically, Jesus is saying, “Surprise!! you’re looking at him.” Of course, the Pharisees don’t react to that, because of their narrow-minded bias for an answer to what they think is the problem that the Messiah will solve. They think that the problem is the Romans; and all they want is for the Romans to be driven out, and Israel returned to the Jews.

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