Cross Training

JESUS GRIEVES WHEN PEOPLE PREFER HEALING RATHER THAN RESTORATION OF SOULS. Sayang.

October 4, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

In the words of Jesus, what is the good news that Jesus Himself came to proclaim? This is not a test, but in case you can’t decide which of the many things he said was the good news tagline, here it is. The good news is that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Other than giving that message through powerful preaching and teachings and parables, one of the ways that Jesus used to proclaim and validate the good news about the coming of the Kingdom was through miraculous healings. Of course, Jesus healed many miraculously because of His genuine compassion to those who were suffering. But His miracles were actually His way of giving people a foretaste of the ultimate healing and the blessing of complete restoration that would come when He returns in glory as King of Kings. And just as John the Baptist did, Jesus instructed people to repent and be ready for the kingdom of God. This combination of teachings and miraculous healings was His master plan to get people to repent and be ready for the ultimate victory of His Kingdom.

[Read more…]

IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING ON — Trust that God Knows

September 27, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

There’s a familiar Q&A exchange between Jesus and His disciples in Luke 9:18-22. Jesus asks them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” And then after they answer, He redirects the question to them and asks them “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” And then Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah.

Most commentaries will focus either on this declaration of Peter about the identity of Jesus as the Messiah, or on our response to the question “Who do you say I am?” In fact, I myself have spoken about this question in a previous episode of Pathways of Hope, using the version found in Matthew 16.

For today, I want to focus on something else. Today’s gospel ends with a twist. First it starts with the good news about Jesus confirming that He is the Messiah. But in v21 it says: “Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.“

What’s going on here?

[Read more…]

ARE YOU READY TO EXTEND KINDNESS AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE?

September 9, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

You’ve heard this story before: While Jesus is teaching on a Sabbath in the synagogue, he does something that the Pharisees think is against the rules of the Sabbath. This one is in Luke 6:6-11. As usual, there are Pharisees and teachers of the law overseeing everything that goes on inside the synagogue. And in the middle of his teaching, Jesus is getting ready to heal a man with a crippled hand. But before he does this, he stops and looks at the Pharisees who are waiting for a chance to accuse Him of breaking the rules and regulations according to the Law of Moses.

Jesus, knowing that the Mosaic Law forbids all forms of work on a Sabbath, remembers the several occasions when the Pharisees condemn Him for healing on a Sabbath. So, Jesus flips around and challenges them with a question: “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” (v6)

Basically, he’s asking them, not about the healing per se, but about whether there is a law against doing good.

[Read more…]

THERE IS A COST TO FOLLOWING JESUS: Give up your idols.

August 19, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

There was a rich young man who consulted Jesus about what good he had to do to gain eternal life. The young man was earnest; and he really wanted to be perfect. He was religious in practice, and was interested in finding peace. He knew about Jesus, and believed that he came to the right person to get the best advice, and was even very respectful in addressing Jesus. Read about it in Matt 19:16-22.

But when Jesus spelled out to him the conditions of discipleship, and what he had to do to follow him, the young man got an instruction that he did not expect, was discouraged and walked away.

[Read more…]

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? Maybe you’re lost and you don’t know it.

August 13, 2024 by Eddie Leave a Comment

Jesus asks a rhetorical question, “If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?” (Matt 18:12 NABRE) It’s rhetorical, because the answer is obvious. Of course, he will go and look for the sheep that went astray!

And the lesson Jesus points out is this, He says: “God, your Father in heaven, is like that shepherd. He does not want any of these little people to be lost, not even one of them.” And who do you think Jesus was referring to as the people who are like the lost sheep?

[Read more…]