Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. - Luke 10:30 (ESV)

One thing that amazes me about Jesus is his ability to see through all the smoke screens that people would put up especially religious people. Religious folk, like us, are great at using our faith as a shield to avoid love and action. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a great example of that kind of deflection.

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, - Romans 3:22 –24 (ESV)

If I was born in a different age I think I would have been either a mad scientist or a crazy inventor. It is fun for me to figure out how things work, take them apart, and put them back together. (Usually, I can get them back together).

That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. - Romans 4:22 –24 (ESV)

Have you ever doubted your faith? What made you doubt? What did you do with those doubts? Have you ever talked about them? Often in the church we treat doubt with disapproving frown and even scold people for asking questions.

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. - Matthew 28:5 –6 (ESV)

The resurrection displays the satisfaction of God in the sacrifice of Christ. It shows His power over Satan, sin, and death. This Sunday we will celebrate that we worship a risen Christ! We will be looking at Matthew's account in Matthew 28:1-10 .

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, - Romans 4:5 (ESV)

Recently, I've had a little bit of "windshield time." During these drives I enjoy listening to podcasts especially those that explore a story. My most recent listen involved an experiment to understand the most complex issue involved in space travel, humans. This case study explored the interactions of six people simulating life on Mars for a full year by being sequestered to a living space no bigger then a two-car garage. Sound fun? These case studies provide data and allow researchers to develop general principles from specific incidents.

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” - Matthew 21:9 –11 (ESV)

Our world and the Biblical world are separated by time, geography, and culture. It's hard for us to read our Bibles and understand them sometimes because of the distance. We have tried at times to bridge that gap with flannel graphs, pictures, and movies, but to be honest often those obscure more than they clarify.