Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from a skin disease. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a...
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). A few months before proposing to my wife, Wanda Cantrell, I published a Beatitudes Blog post, “Meek Beauty,” paying tribute to her as an exemplar of meekness. I discussed how her...
Shell Work J. Marshall Jenkins From dark clouds built high on the horizon and breakers marching just below it at low tide, shells inevitably call your gaze down and near between crab holes and a jellyfish beached amid foam. The moon allows brief visits here....
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you...
A needed message for our era of polarization.
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled....
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). My wife knows me pretty well, and overall, she seems to approve. Except for one thing. She finds it perplexing that the proponent of nonviolence she married fondly remembers playing football in his...
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). Pretty faces are a dime a dozen, while beauty is rare. Her meekness makes her beautiful. She is a meek beauty. Yes, her soft blue eyes, milky complexion, and delicately angular face will make any...
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in...
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?...
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). Recently, Charlie Hedges contacted me after he read my post, “Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Petition as Contemplation.” He said, “Marshall, you and I swim in the same pond.” After learning more about him,...
(Suggestion: Read Mark 13) Growing up in the rural South, rapture was in the air. Not the blissful rapture of lovers, but the gravity-defying rapture of fundamentalists and readers of Hal Lindsey’s mega-bestselling book, The Late, Great Planet Earth. This vision of...