In the Beginning
Read: Genesis 2:1-9 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished. (v. 1) One of the Bible’s best-known sentences is, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Biblical language scholars point out that the Hebrew word for “heavens” can be translated “sky.” One might read the Genesis creation accounts and […]
Dinner with Jesus
Read: Revelation 3:14-22 If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (v. 20) Recently we had out-of-state relatives make the long trip to come and see us in Michigan, including one cousin I hadn’t seen in 30 years. We had […]
Breakfast on the Beach
Read: John 21:1-14 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” . . . They knew it was the Lord. (v. 12) Can you picture the scene? Sunrise on the beach—the beginning of a beautiful day. There’s breakfast on the grill, and good friends hanging out together. The most surreal aspect of this scene is […]
Known to Them
Read: Luke 24:25-35 He was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (v. 35) When my late father-in-law led us in prayer, he would often add this thought: “Forgive us our sins and our shortcomings.” It was a reminder that we needed patience and forbearance—not just with each other’s sins, but with some […]
A Meal in Emmaus
Read: Luke 24:13-27 He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (v. 27) After his resurrection, Jesus met with his disciples, friends, and family on several occasions. Some of these gatherings involved food! In one instance, Jesus ate some fish to prove it was really him, in his body—not a ghost […]
The Lord’s Supper
Read: Luke 22:14-23 Do this in remembrance of me. (v. 19) There are some passages which are so familiar that we seem to stop reading them closely or stop listening to them with fresh hearing. This passage, when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, may be one of them. Yet there’s so much in these verses […]
Washing the Disciples’ Feet
Read: John 13:1-15 I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. (v. 15) The disciples had shared many meals and many conversations together during Jesus’s ministry on earth, but those times were drawing to a close. There was so much still to be said, and […]
Dinner with Friends
Read: John 12:1-11 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” (v. 7) Dinner with friends is usually a sweet time of fellowship and special remembrances, but it can be especially poignant when you know you’ll soon be parted. Jesus was coming to the end of […]
Dinner with a Tax Collector
Read: Luke 19:1-10 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. (v. 6) We have seen Jesus at a dinner where he was scrutinized, tested, and challenged by those who considered themselves to be irreproachable. But what happened when Jesus was received with joy by someone that everyone knew was a sinner? What […]