Love God, love neighbor, make disciples. doug@pastordougolson.com
“When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.” (Luke 9:36) Why would the disciples keep this miraculous event to themselves? Were they afraid that no one would believe them or were they afraid of …
Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. (Luke 9:33) Our human understanding is incapable of grasping the reality of Jesus in His glory. Peter …
And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. (Luke 9:29) When Jesus was transfigured, the disciples there saw His glory, and God declared Him “my beloved Son”. God calls each of us His beloved children, and while we may not see each other transfigured in this …
God’s grace and mercy is given to us freely, but we must acknowledge our sins and accept His gift in order to be saved. We are weak and broken, but God’s love can mend us and bring us back together as His children. We need God and each other in order to be complete. When …
Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35) Jesus came to be with us and one of us, but we must never forget who He is in eternity – the Son of God. We are broken and lost, but Jesus came to save …
“We shall see Jesus, just as He is.” To those who followed Him, Jesus was teacher and friend. Yes, they’d seen Him walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead and feed the multitudes, but He was still the carpenter from Nazareth who had called them to follow Him. Even so, they believed in …
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” (Luke 6:35) Jesus gives us a hard instruction – expect nothing in return. He teaches that because we have …
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36) Jesus tells us that we should forgive and love as God does, a tough thing for humans to do. We expect apologies, hold grudges and try to “get back” at those we feel have wronged us. God doesn’t work like that – thankfully! Without God’s …
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them”. Luke 6:32 We are quite good at loving those with whom we agree for the most part. It’s fairly easy to get along with them. But Jesus tells us even sinners do that! We …
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Luke 6:31) The Golden Rule Jesus taught us was to treat people the way we want to be treated. It means acting in ways that show our love for Christ in our daily interactions with others, giving what we’d like to receive. What if …