Verses For The Week

 Luke 9:23 -- "Then He said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me."

Ephesians 5:15 -- "be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 6:14-29"

      I want to start the blog today with some good news. I have sold the house. I am thankful to the Lord for this. I am ready for a fresh start. It is time for me to do something else with my life. Thank you for taking the time to read the blog today.

     In our passage for today, a couple of different things are happening. We know from last week that Jesus and His disciples were preaching and teaching and bringing a ministry of healing and deliverance to the people. This caught the attention of Herod. 

     This was not the Herod of the birth narratives of Jesus. It was one of his sons. He was aligned with the Romans. He heard the message of Jesus just as the other people in the region. Many of them felt that Jesus was a great prophet or teacher. However, Herod was convinced that it was John the Baptist risen from the dead. Herod was responsible for his death. 

     Earlier, John had been preaching and telling Herod that it was not right for him to be married to his brother's ex wife. This made Herod's wife angry, and John was thrown into the prison. 

     One night, Herod had a great party. Herodias' daughter came and danced before Herod and his guests. Herod was so pleased that he offered to give her up to half his kingdom. The young woman consulted with her mother who despised John the Baptist. She asked for his head to be brought to her on a platter. John was executed, and his body was taken away by his disciples. 

    So, what are we to get out of this for our lives today? First of all, the reaction of the people to the message of Jesus. They viewed Him as a prophet like one from long ago, or more specifically, Elijah. They were not yet willing, or they did not yet comprehend, that Jesus was the Messiah. He was the one promised by the prophets. He had come to save His people from their sins. They were impressed with His message, but they didn't understand everything about Him. 

    There are still many people like that in our world today. They know about Jesus, and they are impressed by Him, but they will not acknowledge that He is God come in the flesh. They will not acknowledge that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him. One day, everyone will know, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 

     Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist. He was having deep guilt over what he had done, and rightly so. John was a bold preacher of righteousness. He called out the sin of the leader without fear. We need people like John today. Being a bold preacher of good and right cost John his life, but he now has a far better existence with the Lord. 

     Herod is a great example of what a person should not be like. He had no backbone. He was lustful, rash and brash. When caught in an error, he was not able to correct his error because he had to big of an opinion of himself. When he was asked for John's head, he should have refused. It was an over the top request, and he knew it. However, he didn't have the courage to end up doing the right thing. 

    Let us not be those who speak and promise rashly. Let us definitely be those who are willing when we realize that we have made a mistake that we are willing to correct it. Also, let each of us acknowledge the truth about Jesus. He is God and man. He is the Messiah. He is Savior. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that the house deal goes good. Pray that I will know God's will in every step from this point on. Thank you. 

     Let us keep praying for peace. We need peace throughout the Middle East. We need peace in Sudan and Ukraine.  Pray for peace and calm in Haiti. 

    Keep praying for aid and help for the people of Venezuela. 

    Pray for an end to the Ebola outbreak and the cyclospora outbreak in the US. 

    For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Israel and Iraq. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, I will post the verses on Tuesday. We will continue in our current series in Mark. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

      Ecclesiastes 3:1 -- "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."

     Philippians 4:13 -- "For I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 6:7-13"

      This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you for reading the message this week. I hope that everyone is doing well. 

     Last week, we saw that Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth. The people there did not want to listen to Him. A few people did have faith, but not many. Most rejected Him as the carpenter who is just someone who grew up here. 

    Jesus, rejected by His hometown, went out to the other surrounding villages and began to preach and to teach and heal those who came or where brought to Him. He had many who did want to hear His message of love and forgiveness. Many came to be healed in body, mind, soul and spirit. 

     One of Jesus' missions while on this earth was to train up those who would carry on His message when He returned to the Father. He had disciples that He decided to send out two by two into the villages to preach and teach. Jesus told them to go without money and with just the clothes they had on. They should stay in the home of the one who offered and not travel from house to house. He said that if the people didn't want to listen to shake the dust off your feet and go to the next place. 

    The disciples went out and preached a message of repentance. Many were healed of their sicknesses, and demons and evil spirits were cast out. 

     What can we learn from Mark today? First of all, we have all been sent by Jesus to spread His message. Jesus sent out His messengers then, and He is sending us out into the world today. Our job is to tell others of the love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus. We also have the mission of helping to deliver people from those things that are hindering them spiritually and physically. We can help feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We can be the ones that share the love of the Lord in a multitude of ways in a world that is truly in need of His life-changing message. 

    I remember when I was doing a lot of evangelism work that we often went out two by two just as Jesus did. We can go out that way today and tell others about Jesus. In our day and age, I believe that we will be most effective in sharing the message of the Lord by telling those in our circle of influence about what faith in Jesus has meant in our lives. We have a mission field so to speak with our own family, friends and circle of influence. 

     What I would like each of us to do is to find some way to tell others about the Lord Jesus. It might be through writing like I do here on the blog. It might be through music or the arts. It might be through conversations that you have that will allow you to bring up the words of the Lord about a given situation. We all need to find some way to get the message out to others. 

    I am convinced that one of the best ways to share the love of Jesus is by being a consistent testimony of the values of Jesus. When we are people of love and goodness in this harsh world, people will see that Jesus and His love and life are in us. People will see that we are acting like Jesus, and they will want to know more about the one who has influenced the course of our life and actions. 

     I also believe that by working to make this world a better place, we are helping to spread the message of Jesus. Jesus cared for everyone. He said that He had come to preach good news to the poor. He wants us to be the ones in His stead who help others and work to change things for the better in His name. When we seek to make a difference in the name of Jesus, we are giving them the message of the power of Jesus for good and right. 

    This week, let each of us tell others about who Jesus is and what He has done. Let us strive in all things to bring glory to His name so that others might know Him and the power of His resurrection. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

    I am about ready to sign the contract to sell my house. Please pray that I will have wisdom in all this. It is hard. Also, please pray for me regarding my deep depression that I am in. I am having a very hard time. Please pray for me. 

     Let us pray for an end to the parasite Cyclospora infection in many parts of the US right now. 

     Pray for an end to the Ebola outbreak. 

     Keep praying for aid and help to reach the people in Venezuela. 

     Pray for peace throughout the Middle East, in Ukraine and in Sudan. 

     For our prayer focus countries, this week we will pray for those in China and Turkey. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday. I am currently working on my new commentary on I John. Hopefully, I can post that in a few week. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Isaiah 43:18-19 -- "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See! I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and springs in the wasteland."

James 1:5 -- "If any of you lacks wisdom. you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 6:1-4"

     Thank you for taking time this week to read the message. I am not feeling at all well, so please pray for me. I am also trying to sell my house and I need wisdom on all this. I hope all of you are doing well. Today, the message will not be that long. 

    As we have been going through the Gospel of Mark, we have now made our way to chapter 6. In our verses this week, we learn that Jesus decided to go back to His hometown of Nazareth to teach and to perform miracles. 

    After Jesus' teaching, the people in the town were upset. They said things like He is the carpenter and we know His family right here. They wondered how Jesus came up with His teachings, and they were offended by Him. 

    This all shocked Jesus. He said that a prophet had honor everyone except in his own hometown and amongst his own people including his family. Jesus was not able to perform many miracles in Nazareth, but He did lay hands on a few sick people and heal them. Jesus then went on to the next place where the people were more receptive to what He had to say. 

    I have a personal connection to what Jesus is saying in this passage. When I became a minister, people that I was closely associated with didn't want to listen to me. They tried to discount anything that I might say about theology and the wrongs in the world from a Biblical perspective. I do not really know why this phenomenon exists, but I experienced it and I am well aware of others who have experienced it as well.

    In my case, the biggest pushback always came whenever I tried to provide a Biblical perspective on war, poverty, or nationalism. What do you know about it would be the general retort. Sometimes, like my folks, they just didn't want to listen and kept on doing their thing in their way. I felt in the early days of my ministry, my only real ally was my friend Toby. However, I knew and know what God has called me to do no matter what others think. Because of this, I have persevered.  

    Jesus couldn't believe that people would not want to listen to Him or His message. However, He did not let it get Him down. Not everyone in the town rejected Him. He found some people who did have faith and came to Him in order to be delivered from their infirmities. If a person keeps on spreading the message of love and goodness and the message of the Lord, there will be some who will listen. 

     I want to encourage you today to always do what God has called you to do know matter what your friends or family or people in your hometown say about it. Keep serving the Lord. Don't let their negativity destroy the positive and good things that God wants to do in and through you. 

    Because I did not let others get me down and ruin my ministry, I have been able to preach, teach, write, evangelize and speak up for God and the things of God. Others didn't think I could do it. I received only discouragement. However, I knew and know what Jesus wanted and wants me to do. That is all I can do is follow Him to the best of my ability. That is what you need to do too. Do not be discouraged. 

    When you go full out for the Lord, He will go with you. He will not leave you. Amen. 

Prayer Request

     Please keep praying that I will get to feeling better. As I write this message, I am not doing well at all. I do thank you for your prayers. 

    Keep praying that Venezuela will get the aid and the help that they need to recover from the devastation of the earthquake. 

    Remember to keep praying for the end of the Ebola outbreak. 

    Pray for peace. Things aren't looking great in the Middle East, and Ukraine and Sudan still need our prayers. 

    For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 I Corinthians 2:9 -- "But, as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him."

Revelation 21:4 -- "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for all the former things have passed away."