A New Engine

A series on meeting God – Peter
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 5:1-11; John 21:1-17 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Have you ever bought a car that you later concluded was a lemon? I did. It was a green Toyota Celica that I bought from a private seller in the late 70’s. He claimed to be mechanical, and that the car was in good condition.

 

However, when I drove it home, stinky smoke spewed from the exhaust. Even before I could enjoy driving around town in it, I discovered that it needed a new engine. The lure of a flashy sports car resulted in owning a lemon.

 

This is a good metaphor for Peter. His first meeting with Jesus happened one morning after he and his business partners had fished all night but without catching anything. Jesus asked if he could use Peter’s boat as a podium to speak to the crowds on the shore.

 

When finished, he told Peter to put out into the deep water and drop his nets. Peter protested mildly but acquiesced. After dropping his nets in the water, there were so many fish that it was too heavy to pull into the boat. He had to call for help.

 

When Peter understood what had happened, he fell to his knees. Jesus then called Peter to follow him and that “from now on you will fish for men”. Upon hearing this, Peter left everything including his family and fishing business, to follow Jesus.

 

Three years later, during the Last Supper, Peter declared to Jesus and to all the disciples, that he would never deny him. That he would follow Jesus to prison, even to death. But later that night, things changed drastically.

 

Following Jesus’ arrest, Peter denied knowing him three times. On the third time, as the cock crowed, Jesus looked right at Peter. Alone, and in the darkness of his guilt and shame, Peter “went outside and wept bitterly”.

 

Peter was clearly flawed! Had Jesus made a mistake when he called Peter to follow him? Was this macho fisherman with all the brave bravado a bust? Was Peter a flashy sports car that turned out to be a lemon?

 

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Peter and some of the disciples went to the Sea of Galilee. It was a déjà vu experience for Peter as he and the others fished all night but without catching anything.

 

Then from the shore, Jesus called out to tell them to drop their net again. This time there were so many fish that they couldn’t pull the net into the boat. When Peter realized that it was Jesus, he jumped into the water and went to him.

 

After they had all eaten, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. It was the same number of times that Peter had denied Jesus. By the third query, Peter became frustrated. But he consistently and adamantly answered, “Yes”!

 

Like my flashy sports car that needed a new engine, so did Peter. Jesus graciously welcomed Peter back as his friend and the rock upon which he would build his church.

 

Truthfully, we’re all lemons; we all need a new engine. And yet Jesus calls us to follow him. Did he make a mistake with us? No! He calls us and continues to call us to follow him and build his kingdom.

 

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.    ESV   2 Corinthians 5

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Pushing Buttons

A series on meeting God – Elijah
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Kings 19:1-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Pushing buttons… everybody does it. Spouses push each other’s buttons. Bosses push employees’ buttons. Parents push their children’s buttons. Siblings push their brother or sister’s buttons. Coaches push their player’s buttons.

 

In every case, the person pushing the button knows the other person well enough to anticipate how they’ll react. Such was the case for Ahab, the king of Israel. He married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess.

 

Jezebel was the daughter of the king of Sidon, a Phoenician city-state where they worshiped Baal. When she married Ahab, he followed her lead and also worshiped Baal. In fact, he even had a temple of Baal built in Samaria.

 

But Jezebel wasn’t satisfied with just promoting the worship of Baal in Israel. She went to the extreme measure of having the prophets of the Lord killed! In many ways, she was responsible for a three-year draught and famine in Israel which was the result of the judgement of the Lord for worshipping Baal.

 

Following Elijah’s defeat of the prophets of Baal, and their utter destruction, Ahab ran to Jezebel, and told her everything that Elijah had done. He pushed her button. As a result, Jezebel went into a rage and sent Elijah a cryptic message that promised she would have him killed within 24 hours.

 

She pushed his button which drove Elijah into a suicidal depression. He panicked and ran for his life into the wilderness of Beersheba, eventually arriving at Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. It was here that he had an encounter with the Lord even though Elijah was still feeling sorry for himself.

 

¹⁰ Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”                     NLT

 

In response, the Lord told him to “stand before me on the mountain”. As Elijah did this, a strong wind passed him; then an earthquake; followed by a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in any of these. Finally, Elijah heard a “gentle whisper”. It was the Lord.

 

Elijah’s life; his mission; his purpose for living, had been derailed by Ahab who pushed Jezebel’s button who, in turn, pushed Elijah’s button. Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to get us off track. It’s just a matter of the right button being pushed.

 

When that happens, what can we do to get back on track? For Elijah, he needed to meet the Lord in a quiet place far away from the pressures he was feeling. He needed to be someplace where he could listen for the Lord to speak to his heart.

 

It’s hard to find a quiet place in today’s world. Everybody’s busy. Life is lived at a frenetic pace. But the Lord is faithful and is always pursuing us. He’s waiting for us to draw near to him so that we can hear his voice.

 

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.       ESV    Hebrews 4

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

When Opportunity Knocks

A series on meeting God – Rahab
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Joshua 2 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

—Michael Jordan

 

Opportunity knocked for Michael Jordan. His success is well documented. He won six NBA championships while earning five MVP awards. Beyond basketball, Jordan built a business empire through endorsements and savvy business decisions.

 

Opportunity also knocked for Rahab the prostitute. Men who were traveling would stay at her house. As a result, Rahab had heard many reports circulating about the nation of Israel who were camped nearby just east of the Jordan River.

 

She’d heard how the Israelite’s God had miraculously dried up the Red Sea to escape Egypt. How He had destroyed the two Amorite kings. And now the nation was camped nearby. Fear melted the hearts of the citizens of Jericho. Then, opportunity knocked, literally at Rahab’s door.

 

It was two Israelite men who had been sent as spies. As she let them enter her home, she saw an opportunity. She hid them on her roof, and then risking everything, lied to the king’s men. She gave the spies valuable intel that would help Israel to defeat Jericho. Then she helped them escape.

 

But before she sent them away, she asked them not to harm her or her family.

 

^12a “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you.             NIV

 

Rahab had already given them the intel they needed so they easily could have said no and left. Instead, they made a vow for Rahab and her family to be spared, to be shown mercy, to be redeemed.

 

Rahab confessed to the spies that “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below”. Rahab the prostitute; the Canaanite; the heathen; had acted on her faith in the Israelite God. And because of her faith, history was changed.

 

God used her not only to help Joshua to victory in his initial campaign as the new leader. But also, to continue His plan of redemption. She became the great-great-grandmother of King David, making her a direct ancestor of Jesus.

 

Faith results in a changed life. Rahab didn’t let her past define her future. And because of that she was praised for her faith in the “Hall of Faith”. And for her deeds she was compared with Abraham’s faith.

 

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.        NIV    Hebrews 11

 

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?                   NIV    James 2

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

It’s Mine!!!

A series on meeting God – Ruth
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Ruth 1 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

“It’s mine!!!” Children have no qualms about laying claim to a toy that’s theirs, or that they want. Often, it’s not even a matter of whether they want to play with the toy, they just don’t want another child to play with it.

 

Imagine though how you’d feel if the original owner of your home returned after many years and told you that they wanted their property back. You’d think they were crazy! After all, it’s your home, not theirs. They sold it! The name on the deed’s your name. They have no right to what you own. You might respond, “It’s mine!!!”

 

In a way, Ruth the Moabite was like that. She said, “It’s mine!!!”, but about something significantly more important. Her story started when Elimelek took his wife Naomi and two sons to live in Moab to flee a famine in Canaan.

 

While there, Elimelek died. As a result, Naomi was left with her two sons both of whom married Moabite women. One of them was Ruth. After living there for about ten years, tragically, both of Naomi’s sons died.

 

Sometime later, Naomi learned that the Lord had provided good crops again in Bethlehem, so she decided to return. She told both of her daughters-in-law that they should also return to their families. But Ruth refused by telling Naomi, “It’s mine”.

 

^16b “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.             NIV   

 

Instead of returning to the stability of her own family, Ruth went with Naomi to Bethlehem where they had nothing. They were two women alone without husbands. Making it worse was the fact that Ruth was a Moabite who as a nation, had a contentious history with Israel. Their circumstance was dire.

 

However, the Lord had made provisions for the poor. According to Mosaic law, the Israelites were stewards of the land, not owners. Therefore, besides redeeming the land, Mosaic law provided the means to redeem a relative that was in need or danger. The role of kinsman-redeemer was established to fulfill these outcomes.

 

^23a “The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me (the Lord). ²⁴ “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back (or redeem it). ²⁵ If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him.              NLT            Leviticus 25

 

Ruth began to glean the fields of barley for food. The field belonged to Boaz who was a close relative of Naomi. Realizing Naomi’s situation, Boaz acted as her kinsman-redeemer by purchasing her dead husband’s property. He also acted as Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer by marrying her.

 

The story about Ruth the Moabite is a story about her amazing willpower, loyalty and faith in God. It’s also a story about the redemption, sovereignty and faithfulness of God.

 

Ruth was the great grandmother of David. Which means that she was also a direct ancestor of Jesus… the ultimate kinsman-redeemer.

 

⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.              NLT   Ephesians 1

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Turning Point

A series on meeting God – Moses
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 19-20:2 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Do you remember where you were on 9/11? I was in a meeting when someone’s pager went off. His wife told him that a plane had flown into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York City.

 

I can still remember watching the TV reports as first the south tower crumbled and then the north. Before collapsing, you could see people jumping from the towers to escape their fiery death. The images were horrific, unbelievable and surreal. It was a turning point for the United States, as well as the world.

 

The Israelites also experienced a turning point in the life of their nation. For 430 years, the Egyptians had enslaved them. But then the Lord called Moses to lead them to freedom… to the Promised Land.

Sixty days after they escaped Egypt, the Israelites entered into the wilderness of Sinai where they stopped at the foot of Mount Sinai. This wasn’t by chance. It was providential; a divine appointment orchestrated by the sovereign God.

 

The Lord was about to confirm his covenant and to give the Israelites a new identity and purpose as a nation. Not as slaves, but as free people to serve a holy God. Speaking to Moses, the Lord gave him this message.

 

⁵ Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. ⁶ And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”           NLT

 

Following this, the Lord told Moses that he was going to come to him in a dense cloud so that the Israelites would hear him when he spoke to Moses. But before doing that, Moses needed to consecrate, or prepare, the people for the Lord.

 

On the morning of the third day, “thunder roared, and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain". In fact, Mount Sinai shook violently. 

“As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply”. Although consecrated, the Israelites were terrified!

 

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.   NIV

 

Like 9/11, this was a dramatic turning point not only for Israel, but for the whole world for ALL generations to come. In fact, almost fifteen hundred years later, the Lord sent his Son to establish a new covenant.

 

This new covenant included everyone everywhere. Because of this, God’s word spoken to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, today applies to all who believe and follow Christ. Peter put it like this.

 

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.            NIV    1 Peter 2

 

Like he did with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the Lord has freed us and given us a new identity in Christ. He has chosen us to be his priests, his holy nation and his special people.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Sight Unseen

A series on meeting God – Abraham
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 12:1-9; Genesis 15:1-21 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

As a junior in high school, I planned to go into geological engineering. When I told Mr. Clark, our guidance counselor, he immediately said, “You need to go to Michigan Tech in Houghton”.

 

I didn’t know anything about Tech. Things like their average annual snowfall was 250 inches; or that there were 10 guys for every girl; or that it was about a nine-hour drive to the middle of nowhere. All I knew was that Mr. Clark recommended it; so, I went to Tech… sight unseen. Abram did the same thing!

 

Abram was born in Ur of the Chaldeans in Mesopotamia. He lived there with his father, Terah - who worshiped the moon god, his wife Sarai - who was barren and his nephew Lot – whose father had died.

 

While in Mesopotamia, the Lord appeared to Abram telling him to leave his home and his people, and to go to the land that the Lord would show him. Based solely on the word of the Lord, Abram uprooted his life to go there… sight unseen.

 

Abram took with him Terah, Sarai and Lot. However, on the way they settled in Harran, a city also known for worshipping the moon god. Although we don’t know why they settled there, you could speculate that it had to do with Terah. Because when he died Abram once again set out for the land the Lord would show him.

 

Despite Sarai being barren, the Lord made this startling promise to Abram.

 

² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.       NIV              Genesis 12

 

At the age of seventy-five, Abram arrived in Canaan with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, along with all their possessions and people that they had acquired in Harran. But they weren’t alone. The Canaanites lived there.

 

Even though Abram was old, Sarai was still barren, and the Canaanites were there, the Lord again appeared to Abram and promised that he would give Abram’s descendants the land. Therefore, he built an altar to the Lord.

 

However, over the following decade, Abram experienced many adversities, not the least of which was that he still had no children. Afraid and discouraged, the Lord appeared to Abram again. This time, Abram complained about being childless.

 

⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.  NLT   Genesis 15

 

Based on God’s word and promise, Abram went to the ends of the earth… sight unseen. The Lord had made a covenant with Abram that he would fulfill his promise. The Lord also made a new covenant with you and me. A covenant to forgive our sins and restore us to him.

 

²⁰ After supper Jesus took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.  NLT   Luke 22

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Our Day of Atonement

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Jesus on Mount Calvary (Golgotha)
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Mark 15:21-41 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

  

In 2004, Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ was released. It was an epic drama about the final twelve hours of Jesus’ life focusing on his suffering and crucifixion. 

If you saw the movie, you know how graphic and violent it was. But living it for real must have been horrific.

 

Following Jesus’ arrest at Gethsemane, he was subjected to a kangaroo court, both from the Jewish religious leaders and the Romans. The result was a conviction that condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. There was no death worse than this, and the Romans had become experts at it.

 

After being slapped, spat upon, scourged and ridiculed, Jesus carried his crossbar to Golgotha, which means “Place of the Skull”. It was a site known for crucifixions, with skulls possibly laying on the ground as a reminder. In a macabre scene, the Roman guards drove nails through his hands and feet and placed him on the cross.

 

From 9am until noon, Jesus hung there, possibly naked, or at best with only a loin cloth covering him. He was outside the city gates by a highway where passersby would taunt him. The sign that Pilate had insisted on placing above him mockingly read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews”.

 

Other than John, and a group of women who had helped during his ministry, Jesus had been abandoned by all of his disciples - his closest friends. The crowds who had welcomed him into Jerusalem as the Messiah had now deserted him. From noon until three, “darkness fell across the whole land”.

 

³⁴ Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”     NLT

 

According to scholars, it was at this point that Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world; our sins; yours and mine. His Heavenly Father, who was “holy, holy, holy”, abandoned his only Son, who he loved, because he had become sin. Both Father and Son must have experienced deep despair and heartache.

 

³⁷ Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.        NLT

 

The curtain in the Temple hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was considered the dwelling place of God. Because of that, only the High Priest could enter once a year, and then, only on the Day of Atonement to offer a sacrifice for the people’s sins.

 

Jesus’ death was our Day of Atonement. He entered the Holy of Holies, not only as our high priest, but also as the sacrifice for our sins once and for all. Nobody else could have done this. Only Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God.

 

¹² With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.                                   NLT    Hebrews 9

 

²¹ And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, ^22a let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.                NLT   Hebrews 10

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com