“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” – Psalm 127:1 Years ago in Ireland, a man named Castlereagh inherited a beautiful but abandoned family castle. To protect it from being dismantled by the locals, he hired a mason to build a protective wall around it. He gave the plans and paid the price, expecting the castle to be preserved. But when he returned years later, the...  Read More

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21 There’s an old story about a man named Castlereagh, heir to a once-great estate in Ireland. After generations of influence and wealth, the family castle sat abandoned, its stones being stolen piece by piece by the locals. Hoping to protect what remained, Castlereagh hired a mason to build a wall around the property. Years ...  Read More

“He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” – Matthew 14:19 Most of us love the idea of being a blessing. We want to be used by God, to make a difference in someone’s life, to offer something that matters. But the part we usually overlook is that our blessings often have to be broken before they can be multiplied. That truth shows up...  Read More

“Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.” – Matthew 14:19-20 It’s one of the most familiar miracles in all of Scripture, but sometimes we’re so used to it that we forget just how staggering it really is. Thousands of people sitting on a hillside, hungry and tired after fol...  Read More

“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’” – Luke 5:4–5 Sometimes God asks you to do something that just doesn’t make sense. In Luke 5, we read about a group of professional fishermen who had spent the entire night do...  Read More

“They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’” – Matthew 14:17 There’s a moment in the Gospels where Jesus feeds thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. You may have heard the story before. It’s one of the most famous miracles in the Bible, and for good reason. But the part that often gets overlooked is how it all started. It didn’t begin with Jesus snap...  Read More

“They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’” – Matthew 14:17 When we hear the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, our attention usually lands on the miracle itself. We marvel at how so little became so much. We talk about Jesus’ compassion or the disciples’ doubts. But today, let’s zoom in on someone else. Someone easy to miss in the crowd. A boy. He was just one among t...  Read More

"Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, he blessed them and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds." - Matthew 14:19 One of the most well-known miracles in Scripture is the feeding of the five thousand. It is the only miracle, outside the resurrection, that is recorded in all four gospels. That tells us something. It mat...  Read More

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18 There is something about the cross that just doesn’t make sense to the world. Always has been. Always will be. Think about it. A sinless Savior dying for sinners who didn’t deserve it. A King giving up His crown to carry a cross. A God who could have cru...  Read More

"Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me.’” – John 7:16 Jesus lived every second of His life for the glory of the Father. That was His focus. That was His motivation. He didn’t seek applause or chase popularity. His message and His methods were shaped entirely by the will of God, not the opinions of people. Even though He lived in perfect obedience, people stil...  Read More

“Jesus replied to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” – Luke 5:31-32 Sometimes obedience to God will confuse people. It did when Jesus walked the earth, and it still does now. His way of reaching people didn’t fit inside the boxes religious leaders had built. He healed at the wrong tim...  Read More

"But the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" – Luke 15:2 Jesus had a habit of doing things that didn’t make sense to the religious crowd. He healed on the Sabbath. He touched lepers. He ate with tax collectors. He welcomed children. He told stories instead of giving lectures. Time after time, His methods were questioned. And they still are. If y...  Read More