real – Alaska Bible Teacher

Straining at Your Oars

“He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them.”

Mark 6:48

It’s good to know that Jesus sees our labor and effort. He truly understands all that concerns us, and He perceives every issue that matters most to us. Attentive and keenly aware He comes to our boat. It’s quite common for us to think that he isn’t aware, and we may feel that He’ll pass us by without a word. But that is not the case at all.

The Greek word for “against them” is ἐναντίος, and it means “opposed as an adversary, hostile, antagonistic.” I suppose that explains much to a believer who sees the wind doing awful things; that which is savage and difficult and contrary.

But Jesus watches over us, all the time. He is completely aware of you.

He knows all about our battle, the fight we have with our flesh, the difficulty we have with the challenging people in our lives. I often struggle to steer my boat. Jesus knows when and why I labor like I do. And He doesn’t condemn me.

The disciples were straining very hard to keep the boat afloat.

Every oar was being used and every man had his seat. They must work together. Some were frantically bailing, and a couple gripped the tiller. Considerable effort was being expended but to no avail. The wind pushed harder against them. This is perplexing. If you remember, they’re simply trying to obey the command of Jesus to cross the sea.

Why do things have to be so difficult?

I’m intrigued by believers who expect sunshine, blue sky, and red roses because they are doing God’s will. They don’t seem to think through the issues of conflict and challenge, weakness and weariness.

“It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

Acts 14:22

To do God’s will often means that there will be a headwind directly at us.

The seas will become impossible, and we may even be driven back. But special comfort comes when we realize we’re being watched. Jesus is doing constant surveillance on us, and He sees our toil on the oars. He comes to us, walking on the water.

Even in our storm, our hearts can rejoice.

“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”

Matthew 28:20

A Simple Servant

Body piercing has become pretty much acceptable just in the last ten years. Studs are placed in a hole or piercing to make a permanent decoration. I have seen a fair amount of it, and I think that a stud in the tongue has got to be the most intrusive. (I recently read of a young girl who died after her tongue was pierced from an infection).

There is “body piercing” in scripture. In Deuteronomy 15:12-18, slaves who are set free by their master after six years of service, if they loved and were loved by their master, could choose to remain a slave to him.

“But if your slave says to you, “I don’t want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and has a good life with you,¹⁷ stick an awl through his ear into the door; he will be your slave for life. Also do this to a female slave.”

Deuteronomy 15:12-18

This was a decision that required elders to act as witnesses. It was significant as well as completely binding. I like to think of the ceremony to be kind of a cross between a wedding and a circumcision. (Sounds fun, huh?!)

The slave would be led to a doorpost and the master would take an awl, and push it through his ear lobe. This designated the slave to be forever “owned” by a specific master. Herein lies a picture of the Christian.

Many times in the New Testament we are called to be servants (slaves) of Christ.

Peter, Paul, James, and Jude referred to themselves as “bond servants of Jesus Christ” in their epistles. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is awl-piercing-faith-1.jpg This is not a forced servitude. It’s a choice made in love!

There are many believers who have done the same, they have fallen in love with their Savior. They do not plan on a life apart from Him. So spiritually they have gone to the doorpost, the awl is pushed through their ear, and they are marked from that point on.

Although the ear was pierced physically in the Old Testament, a different kind of piercing takes place in the New. In Romans 6:16 we read,

“Surely you know that when you give yourselves like slaves to obey someone, then you are really slaves of that person. The person you obey is your master. You can follow sin, which brings spiritual death, or you can obey God, which makes you right with him.”

Romans 6:16, NCV

When the prodigal son returned home from the far country he fell before his father and humbly ask, “make me your servant.” (Luke 15:19,21) He, in essence, was saying to the father, “pierce my ear.” The father made him a son, but the attitude of the son’s heart had changed to the heart of a servant. So it must be with us. Only then will we live a “pierced ear” life, revealing to all that we are servants of Jesus Christ!

“Savior, I know Thou hast allowed me absolute liberty, to serve Thee, or to go my own way. I would serve Thee forever, for I love my Master. I will not go out free. Mark my ear, Lord, that it might respond only to Thy voice.”

— Jim Elliot, missionary and martyr

The Eight-Cow Wife

A long time ago there lived a young islander named Johnny Lingo. He lived on Nurabandi, not far from the island Kiniwata in the Pacific. Johnny was one of the brightest strongest and richest men in the islands, but people shook their heads and smiled about a business deal he had made with a man on Kiniwata. He had paid the unheard-of-price of eight cows for a wife, who was by any standards unattractive. As one fellow explained, “It would be kindness to call her plain. She was skinny. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head ducked. She was scared of her own shadow.”

The amazing fact was in those days, two or three cows could buy an average wife, and four or five a highly satisfactory one. Why would Johnny pay eight? Everyone figured Sarita’s father, Sam Karoo, had taken young Johnny for a ride, and that’s why they smiled whenever they discussed the deal.

The teller of the story finally met Johnny for herself and inquired about his eight-cow purchase of Sarita. She assumed he had done it for his own vanity and reputation—at least she thought that until she saw Sarita: “She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The lift of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin, the sparkle of her eyes all spelled a pride to which no one could deny her the right.” Sarita was not the plain girl she had expected, and the explanation lay with Johnny Lingo.

“Do you ever think,” he asked, “what it must mean to a woman to know that her husband settled on the lowest price for which she can be bought? And then later, when the women talk, they boast of what their husbands paid for them. One says four cows, another maybe six. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happen to my Sarita.”

“Then you did this just to make your wife happy?”

“I wanted Sarita to be happy, yes. But I wanted more than that. This is true. Many things can change a woman. Things that happen inside, things that happen outside. But the thing that matters most is what she thinks about herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. Now she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands.”

“Then you wanted—“

“I wanted to marry Sarita. I loved her and no other woman.”

“But—she said, close to understanding.

“But,” he finished softly, “I wanted an eight-cow wife.”

“She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”

Proverbs 3:15

Listening to Brennan Manning

Here are several quotes written by Brennan Manning. They’re definitely thought-provoking and should be prayed through. I think they’re worth considering. If you like them great, if not that’s ok too.

“The gospel declares that no matter how dutiful or prayerful we are, we can’t save ourselves. What Jesus did was sufficient.”

“When we wallow in guilt, remorse, and shame over real or imagined sins of the past, we are disdaining God’s gift of grace.”

“God loves you unconditionally, as you are, and not as you should be because nobody is as they should be.”

“I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a teacup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God.”

“In my experience, self-hatred is the dominant malaise crippling Christians and stifling their growth in the Holy Spirit.”

“The splendor of a human heart that trusts it is loved unconditionally gives God more pleasure than Westminster Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony”, Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, the sight of 10,000 butterflies in flight, or the scent of a million orchids in bloom. Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it.”

“Those who have the disease called Jesus will never be cured.”

“The men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their own imperfect existence.”

“God loves us as we are…not as we ought to be, because we are never going to be as we ought to be.”

“The ragamuffin gospel reveals that Jesus forgives sins, including the sins of the flesh; that He is comfortable with sinners who remember how to show compassion; but that He cannot and will not have a relationship with pretenders in the Spirit.”

“The North American Church is at a critical juncture. The gospel of grace is being confused and compromised by silence, seduction, and outright subversion. The vitality of the faith is being jeopardized. The lying slogans of the fixers who carry religion like a sword of judgment pile up with impunity. Let ragamuffins everywhere gather as a confessing Church to cry out in protest. Revoke the licenses of religious leaders who falsify the idea of God. Sentence them to three years in solitude with the Bible as their only companion.”

“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.”

alaskabibleteacher.com

A Stone’s Throw Away

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“And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,”

Luke 22:41

WHO KNOWS WHAT JESUS IS THINKING as he entered the Garden? His disciples followed Jesus but scripture states that he proceeded ahead of them. He knew He must find some much-needed strength through prayer— this verse tells us he went “a stone’s throw.”

Often we share in the sorrows of the people closest to us, and Jesus wants His disciples to follow him. And they do, but not all the way. They came very close but didn’t really understand the full nature of the pain that was beginning for Jesus. They slept while he agonized. He was for the first time perhaps, needing someone close.

Some who are reading this will make the same trip to the garden.

Perhaps every believer makes the trip to ‘Gethsemane,’ but not as mere observer or tourist. The garden is a distinct place of testing and of sorrow. And each disciple will experience it for themselves. “The servant is not above his master.” We must follow the Lord Jesus, and it’s not going to be easy.

I’ve gone to the Garden myself, sitting in the dark, waiting for Him to come. And He does. And He is my light.

Jesus is very close. He stands by us. He listens and watches.

He completely understands what it means to be alone with sorrow. The believer can lean on Jesus as the pain continues. He sends his “Comforter” to each, as He personally escorts us through this time in the “garden.” He comes in grace and is completely kind. He truly is just a stone’s throw away.

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

Psalm 46:1

“No physician ever weighed out medicine to his patients with half so much care and exactness as God weighs out to us every trial. Not one grain too much does He ever permit to be put in the scale.”

Henry Ward Beecher

alaskabibleteacher.com

A Glowing Witness

“The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination.“

Shane Claiborne

I believe in evangelism. Right after Bible college I joined SOS Ministries as a full-time evangelist. I was there for three years living in a ministry house in the Mission district. We did high-visibility street work, preaching and leading teams to various parts of the City. This was in the 1980s and the City was pretty challenging.

I was primarily a street preacher and a team leader.

San Francisco is a city of 800,000 people. The work was intense. I remember once I was leading a Church team on Haight-Ashbury, and I was punched in the face by a backslidden Christian who strenuously objected to the Gospel being preached. I tried to respond in humility and kindness, even though I thought my nose was broken. (It wasn’t.)

Over the years I have come to see that the most powerful witness is a joyful and loving character that’s submitted to Christ.

Walking through the dusty roads and journeying into the small villages of Judea we read of the incredible hold that Jesus had on the hearts of men. They were fascinated by Him. People came face to face with God’s presence and it grabbed them. They traveled great distances to meet Him.

“And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

Matthew 12:23; see also Luke 5:26

As we submit to His Spirit we begin to understand this same amazing dynamic. It’s not us, it’s Him. And it will always be Him. The fruits of His presence are becoming very visible. Jesus is living inside of us!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

I remember visiting a Christian commune in the early 70s. I was a young believer with a ton of questions. I recall the peace, humility, and joy I saw on the faces of these brothers and sisters. I instinctively knew that I was encountering Jesus. And it shook me in a good way, a deeply supernatural way.

Please do not remove the presence of Jesus from your evangelism.

If you ask me, I will tell you. Jesus is still fascinates, and it’s His residence in you that still touches people. Evangelism is far more than the ability to recite facts and good arguments. It’s something far more.

And yet I still believe in high visibility evangelism. God’s word must be proclaimed openly and without compromise. But 40 years have passed now,and I have come to see that our faith spreads best through our example.

Perhaps He must be seen as well as to be heard?

“Soon we shall be up there with Christ. God did not mean us to be happy without Him; but God would first have us to be witnesses for Him down here, to hold out as much light as we can.”

G.V. Wigram

What Jesus Wants Us to Know About God

¹⁴After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. ¹⁵Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. ¹⁷When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. ¹⁹I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.”’

²⁰So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. ²¹The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, ²⁴because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:14-24

Sometimes, when reading this we diminish this parable to a really nice story, but nothing more. It comforts us. It’s so evocative after all, but somehow it never enters our spiritual hearts like it’s meant to. We may mentally assent but we do not absorb what it really says.

Luke 15 is magnificent in the deepest sense of the word.

Now if the Bible was a mountain range, then this would be Mt. Everest.

Our Father runs to us because He sees our desperate hearts. His joy can’t be explained but only received. It’s just the way He is.

Just perhaps it will take an eternity to understand this simple parable? If so, we should get started now.

There are just three characters here in Luke 15:14-24: there’s the Father, the son, and the elder brother–and each plays an integral part. The prodigal is the main character, yet the father is the main focus. The son is a wastrel, a good-for-nothing rascal who blows his father’s inheritance on parties, booze, and prostitutes. He lives for the moment, he seeks pleasure in those things which will come very close to destroying him.

But haven’t we all done that?

The father represents God, who represents the loving patriarch of the parable. He’s the one who has turned over the prodigal’s portion of the inheritance. To a degree I suppose he has funded the prodigal’s descent into depravity, and yet it was the son who decided to go crazy. The father is certainly not to blame.

But nevertheless, in this story, the father is the main character. Not the prodigal.

His actions are very difficult to grasp. God behaves outrageously, and His character is difficult to understand or fathom. (After all, who acts this way?) Granted we think our earthly fathers might do this for us–but even that may be a stretch for some. Yet this parable describes how God feels about sinners.

He is passionately in love with sinners.

The mysteries of this parable explain who God is, and His love for nasty varmints like us. We are His Church, and yet we still need to come home. Again.

And we serve a running God.w

“Jesus wants to make it clear that the God of whom he speaks is a God of compassion who joyously welcomes repentant sinners into his house.”

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Return of the Prodigal Son

(My favorite painting. Rembrandt’s painted this in 1669. I know that that was done long ago, but I enjoy seeing and reacting to what he did. I’m always blessed.)

Sitting on God’s Couch

“The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”

Psalm 25:14

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Deut. 29:29

What I need to share with you is privileged information, profoundly insightful yet delicate in nature. Not every believer will understand or resonate with the depths of this revelation. Some will readily agree with the truths I will unveil, finding comfort and clarity in them, while others might struggle to grasp the significance of the message. This is a secret but not secretive; it is an invitation to explore a deeper relationship with the divine. Every Christian can enter into this profound understanding if they choose to open their hearts and minds. Some will accept this call willingly, embracing the journey of discovery, and some won’t, perhaps choosing to remain within their comfort zones, unaware of the profound impact this knowledge could have on their spiritual walk. Yet, for those who are willing to seek, an incredible path of enlightenment and connection awaits them.

“Then Jesus strictly warned them not to tell anyone about Him.” Mark 8:30

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3

Learning His secrets–

Intimacy with God: Seeking Him personally, not just intellectually.
Fear & Awe: Having reverence and respect for God (Psalm 25:14).
Dependence on the Spirit: Relying on the Holy Spirit for understanding, as humans cannot know these things on their own (1 Corinthians 2:10-12).
Faith & Surrender: Trusting God’s revealed truths and surrendering to His will, even when answers are withheld.

To understand His special things is not automatic. I encourage you to come and sit, read and pray. And listen. It will come to you by grace through His blood.

When God Became a Man

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that God became man.”

C.S. Lewis

Incarnation, the central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity.

Christ was completely God and fully man at the same time. This teaching is clear and I honestly can’t wrap my mind around it. Becoming man did not diminish God–if anything it was an addition and not a subtraction.

Now it’s true that Jesus voluntary set aside all of the prerogative of being God–He chose to lay His deity aside. Please think these verses through–let them sink deeply into your hearts. It really is an awesome passage.

Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:6-8, ESV

Have a blessed Christmas. Know deep down that He has come for you, He holds you and cares for you. He will never, ever leave you!

Never, ever.

He Came for Us!

by Pastor David Taylor

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that God became man.”

CS Lewis

John 1:1-5

One of my favorite places to fish in Alaska is Kodiak Island, where I tried to catch silver salmon with some friends. Just as we were setting up camp, the sun disappeared, and the temperature dropped quickly. While we struggled with our tents, the wind joined in. Then, it started pouring rain—like someone dumped a bucket of water on us! I woke up at midnight to strong winds flattening my tent, making me wonder if fishing Kodiak was really worth it. 😁

But in the morning, the storm had moved on. The sky transformed into something gold! The sun shone brightly, making the world come alive. The night gracefully stepped aside, allowing the darkness to fade away and make room for a new, vibrant day.

I realized then that’s the way of Christmas.

We have an Advent hope. The light doesn’t negotiate with darkness; there’s no struggle. The darkness retreats when the light arrives. Plain and simple.

Advent hope seems slow, but honestly, it’s unstoppable.

When Jesus came into the world, nothing could stop Him. His birth is recognized during Advent. His arrival was predicted in the scriptures. Jesus came to take away our sins and offer us eternal life.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus is God in the flesh, fully divine and fully man, who came to save us from our sin. This is basic Christianity.

One: The Word Who Always Was, (vv. 1-2)

“In the beginning” reminds us of Genesis, where God created everything (Genesis 1:1). Through the Spirit, he shows that he has taken an important step towards us with the arrival of Jesus. He is dedicated to saving us.

God created us to know and enjoy him (Gen 3:8). We must understand that sin entered the world and screwed everything up. Jesus came to sacrifice Himself to secure our salvation, restoring his image in those who trust him.

Jesus Christ restores all that we lost because of our sin.

In the beginning was the Word. The Word did not come into existence in Mary’s womb but He always was. The Word is eternal. Before it all began, he was there, and he was coming for us.

The phrase “the word was also with God” indicates that the Word is from God but is closely connected to Him (Mk 6:3; 11:4; 2 Cor 5:8; 1 John 1:2). The Word is also God and represents the eternal Son of God, who is both with God and is God. He is the Word and the Son, distinct yet unified with God.

Two: The Word Who is the Creator, (v. 3)

Everything we see was made through Jesus, and nothing exists without him (see Col 1:16-17). The Old Testament says that God created the heavens and the earth, while the New Testament shows that the Word is the true Creator. This highlights Christ’s key role in creation and his divine nature. Both Testaments emphasize the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, confirming that all existence is intentional and meaningful.

Recognizing Jesus as the Creator enhances our understanding of his authority, showing us that all things were created through him and find their purpose in him.

Three: The Word Who is the Light, (vs. 4-5).

We must understand that we’re born spiritually dead and blind. But that can change.

Jesus is the light and every one of us is spiritually blind to truth and beauty and glory (John 17:24). Jesus overcomes our darkness and now gives life. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. His love is seeking us.

The word, the gospel, brings forth life and light so that we are born again, literally born from above, and so we see (John 3:3). The light shines into our darkness and the darkness leaves us.

From a sermon given at Community Christian Church, December 7, 2025

David Taylor has been a follower of Christ since 1983 and a pastor since 1988. He moved from Los Angeles to Homer, Alaska in 2004.