The Final Word

A series on the book of Hebrews:
Christ is greater than the prophets and angels
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 1-2:18 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then life settles in and can push out those feelings. The day-to-day pressures of living can dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

Caitlin Clark has been in the news constantly during the current WNBA season. In case you’re unaware, she’s a 2^nd year phenom basketball player who seemingly is being targeted by other players for hard and flagrant fouls. What makes it worse is that the refs aren’t calling them.

 

The referees are the authority in every game. They have a whistle and a striped shirt. They have access to replay monitors. They’ve been trained and are certified by the WNBA. They have the final word on what gets called… or not called.

 

Jesus, the Son of God, was the final word from God. In the past, God spoke to the nation of Israel through the prophets and his nurturing angels. But now he spoke through his Son who has the authority that goes far beyond a striped shirt.

 

³ The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.          NLT

 

The letter to the Hebrews was written during the first century to Jewish Christians who were struggling possibly because of being persecuted. They had come to a crossroads in their faith where they were considering whether it would be better to return to their old religion of Judaism, or continue to follow Christ.

 

¹ Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.           ESV

 

And what was it that they had heard? Based on the Law and the sacrificial system that God instructed Moses to set up, the High Priest was the only person who could enter into the presence of God in the Temple. He did so to offer sacrifices for the sins of Israel.

 

However, what they had heard was that Jesus changed everything. He was the fulfillment of that ritual. He was the High Priest in the New Covenant. He made the sacrifice for sins so that no further sacrifices were needed.

 

¹⁷ Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.           NLT

 

Jesus did this not just for the Jewish Christians in the first century, but for all of us. It was the only way to provide forgiveness of sins once and for all. Jesus had the final word.

 

¹⁴ Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. ¹⁵ Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.         NLT

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

Overachiever

 

A series on meeting God – Saul
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Acts 9:1-18 

[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.]

  

Growing up, my dad overcame many hurdles. Born in 1902, he grew up poor on a farm in Iowa. When he was eight his dad died suddenly. Since he was the oldest of four kids, he ran the farm. Because all four kids took turns attending college and working on the farm, he didn’t graduate until he was twenty-four

 

After getting his bachelor’s degree, he returned to grad school and went on to get his master’s and then his doctorate in chemistry. At his first job, he rose through the ranks and became the head of research and development. Dad was an overachiever.

 

So was Saul. Shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. It was at this time that the church began to grow by leaps and bounds. They met publicly in the temple to pray, and people came from all over to be healed by the apostles. The religious leaders were extremely jealous.

 

As a result, the apostles were persecuted, including thrown into jail. Then one day, Stephen was dragged in front of the Sanhedrin where they brought false witnesses against him. As mob rule took over, they stoned him to death with Saul’s approved.

 

But Saul wasn’t satisfied. His hatred for the followers of Jesus resulted in further persecution.

 

³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.         NIV    Acts 8

 

He was like a shark that could smell blood in the water. After his conversion, he described his hatred like this.

 

^10b On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.            NIV    Acts 26

 

But on the way to Damascus, Saul was confronted by Jesus when a light from heaven flashed around him and Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

Following this, Saul was blind for three days until Ananias, led by the Lord, opened his eyes. Jesus had greater plans for Saul… the overachiever.

 

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  NIV

 

The spirit led Paul on three missionary trips covering thousands of miles across the Roman Empire. Jews and Gentiles alike were converted to follow Jesus. Paul was an overachiever both before his conversion and after.

 

But it doesn’t matter if you’re an overachiever or an underachiever. Jesus meets us where we are at and will use our gifts for his plan. Even if it means getting knocked off our horse by a blinding flash of light, Jesus is always pursuing us to follow him.

 

¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.                     NLT   1 Peter 4

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Hold on for Dear Life

A series on meeting God – Mary Magdalene
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 20:11-18 

[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.]

  

Hollywood loves scary movies. According to my computer’s AI, it all started in the late 19^th century. Then the “Golden Age of Horror” followed in the 30’s. This included the iconic monsters of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy. In the 60’s, there was a shift to psychological thrillers like Psycho.

 

But in 1973, The Exorcist redefined the genre of horror movies. Based on a true event, it told the story about a young girl who was possessed by a demon and the two priests who attempted to save her by exorcising them. It was the first horror movie ever nominated for the Academy Award of Best Picture.

 

There are a number of stories in the Gospels about Jesus driving out demons. One of the most dramatic is about a demon possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. It reads like a Hollywood movie script.

 

The man was homeless and naked, living in burial caves. Even when the local people tried to bind him in chains and shackles, he simply broke them a part. Day and night he wandered in the caves howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

 

But when the man saw Jesus approaching, he ran up to him, fell to his knees and shrieked, “In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” There were many demons inside of him, so Jesus drove them out and into a nearby herd of pigs who promptly ran into the lake and drowned.

 

However, not all of Jesus’ exorcisms were this dramatic.

 

^1b Jesus took his twelve disciples with him, ² along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons…      NLT   Luke 8

 

The number ‘seven’ signifies completeness, so we can assume that Mary Magdalene was completely possessed and controlled by demons. Beyond that, we don’t have any details such as how the demons manifested themselves through her behavior, or how Jesus drove the demons out.

 

But we do know that she became a dedicated follower of Jesus. Not only was she traveling with Jesus, but she also financially supported his ministry. And when Jesus was crucified, she was there; when he was buried in a tomb, she was there; and the morning following his death, she was there and discovered that his body was gone.

 

She assumed that someone had taken it. As she stood by the opening of the tomb, crying in her grief, she saw who she thought was the gardener and asked if he knew where Jesus’ body was. To her surprise, it was Jesus himself. He was alive!

 

She must have spontaneously run to him and wrapped her arms around him so tight that Jesus said, “Do not cling to me”. He then told her to return to the other disciples and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 

Like Mary, there are times when we don’t realize that Jesus is at work in our lives. We don’t recognize him. But, also like Mary, we need to stay close to him and when we do see him… run to him and hold on for dear life.

 

⁴ You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life!                 MSG   Deuteronomy 13

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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The Chosen

This fictional scene shows Jesus' healing of Mary Magdalene.

 

 

 

“Follow Me”

A series on meeting God – Matthew/Levi
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 5:27-32 

[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.]

 

In 1978, my wife and I went to San Francisco for a conference. While there, we got to see many of the iconic sights including the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf. But one of the most memorable sights was something we saw on Fisherman’s Wharf.

 

A street musician used a “decorated” cardboard box as his stage. Initially, he was hidden inside of the box. However, when someone dropped some money into the designated slot, the musician opened a flap and played a song on his trumpet. It was an ingenious form of marketing in a very busy, touristy area.

 

One day in Capernaum, Jesus went down to the lake where a large crowd gathered around him, so he began to teach them. As he was walking, he noticed Levi, later known as Matthew, who was sitting in his tax collector’s booth.

 

Capernaum was at the crossroads of a major international highway. Like the street musician, Levi’s booth was strategically located to maximize the collection of taxes from merchants who traveled through the city.

 

Tax collectors were unregulated and unethical yet operated with the authority of Rome. They were notorious for collecting not only the required taxes, but as much extra as they could extract for themselves.

 

Also, the taxes they collected supported the oppressive Roman government. As a result, they were outcasts and hated by most Jews so much so that they were expelled from the synagogue.

 

Despite this, or maybe because of it, Jesus said to Levi “Follow me”. “So, Levi got up, left everything, and followed him”. This was no small decision. If Levi ever changed his mind, it was highly unlikely that he’d be able to get his job back.

 

To honor Jesus, Levi hosted a great banquet at his house. And he invited all his friends who also happened to be tax collectors and other “sinners”. Needless to say, the Pharisees were not happy and questioned Jesus about this.

 

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. ³² I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”           NLT

 

Think about it, in the middle of teaching a crowd of people Jesus saw Levi, a despised tax collector and an outsider. There must have been something that prompted Jesus to say to him, “Follow me”. As a result, Levi’s life was changed forever.

 

From his encounter with Jesus, Levi went on to use the same God-given skills that he had used as a tax collector. That is, he made keen observations and kept detailed notes. Ultimately, this led to writing the Gospel of Matthew.

 

It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that Jesus had Levi in mind when he told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. This is where the Pharisee was self-righteous and the tax collector self-deprecating. Jesus concluded:

 

¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”        NLT   Luke 18

 

Like Levi, Jesus sees us and is calling us saying, “Follow me”?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

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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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