Real Voices

Jesus taught forgiveness and reconciliation in the Lord’s Prayer And forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6.12) He emphasized the importance of forgiveness with further words following this great prayer. He said, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do […]

The Bible passage for today’s blog article continues Jesus’ message about the “little ones,” which is his favorite description of people who follow him. “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18.10). […]

Just because we have an close walk with Jesus we are not immune from the desire to have positions of power. The disciples were no exception to this very human desire. At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18.1). The devil took […]

Matthew records three instances when Jesus predicted what he was about to face in Jerusalem. This is the second of those three predictions. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day […]

The men and women who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem must have had characters of great resilience and strength. They witnessed amazing events, such as the healing of the blind, the lame, and lepers being cleansed, but they also faced tremendous opposition from the religious authorities. Consider this conversation between Jesus and his disciples […]

The account of the transfiguration is sandwiched between several passages that highlight the intense difficulty Jesus would face in Jerusalem. His followers were certainly disturbed by the news of Jesus’ imminent death. They were probably puzzled by the idea that they would see him in his heavenly glory, as he told them that some would […]

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous states that the first requirement of their program is to be convinced that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success. It teaches that we’re always in collision with something or somebody, even though our motives are good. The analogy they use is a person who acts […]