In the Old Testament, the hero in the Book of Daniel received God’s promise of freedom from Babylonian captivity and had visions of the Father, the Son of Man (Jesus), and heaven. Later, three of the Disciples witnessed the Transfiguration of the Lord, who appeared to them in heavenly glory. Begged by a Canaanite woman to cure her daughter, Jesus mimicked the wrong-hearted opinion that helping her would be like throwing food meant for children (Israelites) to the dogs (Gentiles). She persisted, and Jesus worked the miracle. Peter tried to wal

Martha confirmed her belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who could do whatever she asked. He raised Lazarus, her brother, from the dead. Like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a huge plant or the yeast that raises a whole batch of dough, even a little goodness can grow, but so can a little evil. In a revelation to Jeremiah, God compared His people to clay in the hands of a potter, who sees a project progressing badly and uses the same clay to try again. God persists in helping us! In Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, people knew Him as the son of

Micah, an Old Testament prophet, expressed hope in the compassion and mercy of God, who does not stay angry forever and stamps out guilt. Mary Magdalene mistook the Risen Lord for a gardener until He exclaimed her name. Jesus counts anyone who does the Father’s will as family and knows us by name. In a parable of seed scattered on all kinds of ground, Jesus taught the importance of receptiveness to the Word so that we remain well grounded and able to grow in faith. The mother of James and John wanted Jesus’ assurance that her sons would sit

Jesus worked miracles but said that even the small kindness of giving a cup of cold water to a disciple of His will get rewarded. We can learn from children, wise beyond their years and schooling. Think of a toddler presenting a crayon scribble, saying “It’s for you,” and having no doubt that Grandma or Grandpa will love it. On the other hand, Pharisees made a big deal of Jesus allowing the Disciples to pick and eat heads of grain while walking along on a Sabbath. Burdens in our lives may seem unnecessarily heavy. When we want the Lord to

Despite warnings of the prophet Hosea, God’s people acted as if they could do without Him—never a good idea! In contrast, a woman received healing after touching Jesus’ cloak, and the Lord responded to an official’s faith by bringing his daughter back to life. Crowds seemed like sheep in need of a shepherd, but commissioning the Twelve to preach and heal in His name seemed to Jesus like sending sheep into a wolf pack. For the time being, He told the Apostles to avoid pagan towns, flee when unwelcome, and know that the Holy Spirit would

When the panicked Disciples woke Jesus from a nap during a storm at sea, He pointed out their needless fear before calming the wind and waves. Before curing a paralytic, Jesus healed him spiritually by forgiving his sins—an outrage to scribes on hand. People speculated about the Lord’s identity, but Peter got it right when he called Jesus the Son of God. After the Resurrection, Thomas needed to see Him firsthand in order to believe. Herod had Peter imprisoned for taking up the mantle after Jesus’ Ascension, but an angel freed the Apostle.

Using the image of someone with a beam in his eye offering to remove another person's splinter, Jesus cautioned about judging from the way we see things. Our Lord compared acting upon His words to building a house on a rock-solid foundation. Feeling unworthy to have Jesus under his roof, a centurion asked Jesus to cure his paralyzed servant from a distance. When an angel told Zechariah that he and his wife would have a son in their old age, it seemed impossible. Zechariah lost the power of speech until he got over that widely accepted view. Jes