BIBLE LIBRARY777

The cost of following Christ according to the scripture Photo by Thanti Riess on Unsplash INTRODUCTION Many of us, we claim to follow Jesus Christ. We go to church on Sundays or Saturdays, we memorize the Bible verses and we try to help each other as the Bible instructs us. But when we read and analyze what Jesus said, we notice something very serious. Following Jesus is not being overly Christian; it is not about donating much in the church. Following Jesus is surrendering all that pull us away from him. Jesus said that following him is not easy. He said following him comes with a cost. Sometimes, at this point we get confused about the cost Jesus is telling us. Some of us, we think that cost as something materialistic. However, Jesus is not asking us for our wealth instead he is asking for our heart, to let him in our hearts. Following Jesus requires us to be committed to him and that commitment sometimes it costs us our ambition, personal relationship or comfort. While we were ...

That story really sits heavy on the chest, doesn’t it.  The Story of Jephthah Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash Jephthah is one of those figures who feels painfully human. Rejected child. Tough survivor. Unexpected hero. And then, in his moment of highest victory, he collides with the consequences of his own mouth. It’s almost like the battle he won outside was easier than the one waiting for him at his own front door. What makes this passage in Judges so haunting is the silence around the final act. The text doesn’t linger. No dramatic description, no divine interruption like with Abraham and Isaac. Just a few spare words, and then the note that Israel’s daughters remembered her every year. That quietness is what makes readers wrestle with it for centuries. Some see it as a literal human sacrifice, showing how far Israel had drifted in those chaotic days when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In that reading, Jephthah isn’t held up as a model to copy but as...