Desperation
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A Faith Strong Enough to Carry Someone Else
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”– Luke 5:20 There’s something important in this verse that’s easy to miss if we’re not paying attention. Jesus didn’t respond to the faith of the lame man. Scripture never mentions if he had any. What Jesus saw was the faith of his friends.… Continue reading
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The Divine Usefulness of Trouble
“…We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” – 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 As Paul begins his second letter… Continue reading
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Mercy Comes Before Everything
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” — Romans 9:16 There are few statements outside Scripture that pierce the pride of the human heart like Jonathan Edwards’ words: “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” We instinctively want to bring something to… Continue reading
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Lessons From the Prodigal: The Road to Repentance
When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to… Continue reading
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Lessons From the Prodigal: High Life to Sty Life
So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. – Luke 15:15-16 If the Pharisees listening to Jesus’ parable up to this… Continue reading
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Thankful For The Pain
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. – Psalm 119:71 Life has a way of knocking us down sometimes, doesn’t it? When things get tough, it’s easy to feel like we’re stuck in a mess we can’t get out of. But Psalm 119:71 tells us something powerful:… Continue reading
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A Personal Savior
While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” – Luke 8:49-50 As I read this passage this evening, the thought occurred… Continue reading
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Living Water > Stirred Water
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been… Continue reading
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Do We See What He Sees?
“By judging others, we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer This evening as I was reading Luke’s account of Jesus’ anointing by the sinful woman (Luke 7), God’s Word began to really challenge me to think about how… Continue reading
About Me
Welcome! I’m Scott (aka Former Blackout Artist), and I’m so happy you decided to drop in! I hope you find the content here spiritually enlightening and uplifting. Most of all, I hope that my love of Christ is revealed through my writing and that it encourages you in some way today. Thanks for stopping by!
Former Blackout Artist 