Verses For The Week

 Isaiah 26:3 -- "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

Psalm 104:34 -- "May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the Lord."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 1:16-20"

      Once again we have come to the time for the Weekend Sermon. I hope that everyone has had a very good week. I am doing some better. 

     As you are probably aware by now, we are in a series of messages where we are going through the Gospel of Mark. This is going to be an extensive study, and I am not going to rush through things. I want us to really see and understand who Jesus was and what He did during His time upon this earth. 

     Our study today finds us looking at how Jesus called His first disciples. After Jesus, was tempted in the wilderness, we saw last week that He began to preach a message about repentance and the coming of the Kingdom of God into the world. Right away, many people were attracted to Jesus' message, and they began to follow Him. 

     Most of Jesus early ministry was centered around the Sea of Galilee. At this time, there were many small towns and villages around the Sea, and it was the center of a thriving fishing industry. 

    One day, as Jesus was walking on the shore, he saw Andrew and Peter fishing. He called to them and asked them to come and follow Him, and He would make them fishers of people." They immediately followed Jesus. Later, Jesus saw John and James fishing. When He called them, they left everything behind and followed Jesus. 

     It doesn't say so in this Gospel. but we know from other accounts that Jesus already knew these men. They were followers of John the Baptist, and Jesus met them when He was in the vicinity of John's ministry during the time that He was baptized. They had presumably gone back home after John was arrested. Now, they had received the call from Jesus to follow Him, and they quickly responded. 

     I want us to focus on three things from this account. First of all, Jesus called them to follow Him, and they did it immediately. When the Lord calls us to do something for Him, that too should be our response. We should not hesitate once we know the Lords will. We should be quick to get about the task that the Lord has called us to do. This demonstrates that we have a heart that is yielded to the call of the Holy Spirit.  This also applies to those who the Lord is calling to salvation. Today is the day of salvation. Do not put off until tomorrow your decision to follow Jesus. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow. 

     The text also shows us that these men whom Jesus called left the old behind and followed Him. They were willing to lay aside everything that was dear to them in order to follow Jesus. Jesus is to be first and foremost in our lives. We are to follow Him as Lord. We do what He tells us to do. We are not to put anything or anyone before our relationship with the Lord. He is always to be number one. We need to be willing to lay everything aside and follow Him. He calls us to be a new creation leaving behind the old as all things have become new. 

    When Jesus called His first disciples, He said that He was going to turn them from being fishers of fish into fishers of people. He was going to train them to become those who would bring people to faith in Him. He would train them and teach them for the next three years, so that when He was gone, they would be able to go to all the world with His message of love and forgiveness. 

    Today, we are called to be fishers of people. Jesus has given us the Great Commission telling us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. We are to be out telling people that Jesus has died and risen from the dead that they might be reconciled to God. It is our mission to be evangelists spreading the good news about Jesus everywhere. 

     One thing that I would like to add. Jesus chose fisherman, tax collectors and ordinary people to be His disciples. That shows us that whosoever will may come to Him. The Lord is not a respecter of persons. He will accept all who come to Him, and He is able and willing to use anyone whose heart is yielded to Him in service. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am doing better with my health, but I still need your prayers. Thank you. 

     Please pray for those in the US who are still without power due to the winter storms. Pray that they will get the aid and the help that they need. 

     Let us continue to pray for peace in the world. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Sudan, Venezuela, Haiti, Myanmar and Congo. Pray for peace wherever you know there is a conflict. 

     We need to pray that the measles outbreak in South Carolina will come under control. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Western Sahara and Turkey. 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

 Galatians 6:2 -- "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

John 15:12 -- "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."

Empathy Is Not A Sin

      Lately, within conservative Christian circles, there has been a lot of talk about what they are calling the sin of empathy. The thinking goes that empathizing with someone who is doing something wrong is a way of condoning their actions. 

     What does the Bible say about empathy and whether or not it is a sin? First of all the Bible tells us in Romans 12:15 that we are to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We are to feel their pain and their joy. We are to enter in to people's heartache and happiness because that is a way of understanding what a person is going through. It is putting ourselves in somebody else's shoes so to speak. Paul will tell us in the book of Galatians that we are to bear one another's burdens. 

     Now, what does Jesus have to say about all of this, and how is He our example? The very act of Incarnation is an act of empathy. God became man. He came to be with us and to feel and experience what we go through. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. We are also told that He was tempted in all manners like we are. He understands what we are going through because He went through it Himself. 

     Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross. He became sin for us even though He knew no sin. That, to me, is the ultimate act of identifying with the other. 

     If someone is going through a hard time, they don't need to hear us condemn them. They need our presence. They need us to understand how they feel. And that understanding helps to inform how we respond. Let us remember in everything we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. And we are to do unto others as we would have done to us. 

     Empathy is not a sin. It is feeling what someone else feels so that we can be present and be a help to those in need and to those in pain. 

Thoughts On Romans 13

      Right now with the protests that are going on in the US, there are religious leaders once again using Romans 13 as the basis to say that protesting non-violently against the government is wrong. They are saying that standing up against injustice to immigrants is wrong because of Romans 13 and Christians obeying the governing authorities. With this in mind I want to repost a section of a sermon I posted several years ago dealing with this. 

 Romans 13 is a misunderstood and misapplied teaching. This section of Scripture in verses 1 through 7 has been used by oppressive governments to try to keep people from standing up against governmental injustice. Recently in my country, this passage has been used to justify the excesses of our government.
     In Romans 13:1-7, Paul tells us that God has established governments. Paul says that those who rebel against the government are rebelling against God. We are told that all of the authorities that exist are established by God for the purpose of bringing order. The governing authorities are to provide safety, and they are to punish those who are doing wrong. Paul calls on people to obey the government. Christians are to pay their taxes and give honor to the governing authorities.
     First of all, let us look at what Paul is not saying in this passage. Paul is not saying that every leader has been put in power directly by God.  Some in my country say that God put the current president in office. President Trump, President Obama, President Bush, President Clinton, whatever president was elected by the free will of the voters. The Lord does have the power to immediately remove any world leader if He should so desire, but people elected the leaders. Paul is not saying that God directly put each leader in place by somehow abrogating people's free will.
    Paul is saying that government as an institution for order has been established by God. God has not chosen to let society be in anarchy.
    Paul is not saying that Christians are to obey their governmental authorities in every aspect. We have to interpret Scripture by Scripture, and there are many instances in the Bible where people resisted the evil commandments of rulers. Let's look at a few of these.
    In the book of Exodus, the Pharaoh of Egypt ordered all of the Hebrew babies to be killed. Moses' parents did not follow this order. They hid Moses and preserved him from death.
    When Jezebel ordered the death of the prophets of God, Obadiah took many of the prophets and hid them in a cave so that Jezebel could not find them and kill them.
     In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that every one bow down to the idol that he had made. Shadrach,  Meshach and Abednego would not bow down. Even when threatened with the fiery furnace, they would not obey the edict of the king and bow down to a false god.
    Daniel went ahead with his daily habit of praying to God even though ordered not to pray by the Persian emperor. Daniel was thrown into the lions den, but he would not violate his conscience.
    In the New Testament, Peter and John were boldly preaching the message of Jesus. They were arrested and commanded to no longer preach in the name of Jesus. Peter told the authorities that it is better to obey God than human beings.
     We know that Paul was well aware of these instances, so we know that Paul is not advocating a wholesale obedience to the government even when the government is commanding that evil be done or that Christians stop practicing their faith.
     There are examples from outside of the Bible when Christians stood up for the Lord and stood up against injustice. During the time of the early church, some of the Roman emperors demanded that all people including Christians acknowledge that Caesar was Lord. Many Christians would acknowledge no Lord except Jesus Christ, and they suffered martyrdom.
     During the time of the Nazi atrocities, there were people who would not turn in those who the Nazis were trying to kill. There were people who hid their Jewish friends and neighbors and helped them to escape the clutches of the Nazis.
     In my country, there were Christians who stood up for justice during the Civil Rights movement. They believed that discriminatory laws were wrong. They practiced non-violent civil disobedience in order to bring about change and to bring justice.
     Right now in my country, there are some local communities that have passed laws making it illegal to give food to the homeless people that are out on the streets. Some Christian groups who work with the homeless have chosen to go ahead and provide food to those who are hungry. Some have been ticketed by the local police, but they have chosen to continue to feed the hungry and clothe the naked just as Jesus wants us to do.
     As Christians, we are to first and foremost obey the Word of the Lord. If the government orders us to do something that God has told us in His Word not to do, we must obey God rather than human beings.
     Now, what is Paul actually saying in this passage. Paul is telling us that as Christians, we are to obey the governing authorities. Just because we know that Jesus is the true King and we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God, we still live in this world. We are to be upstanding and law-abiding citizens. We are to pay our taxes and follow the laws. We aren't to be above the law.
    There are some Christians who believe that they are not obligated to follow any law that is not expressly found in the Bible. These people refuse to pay their taxes and they will not follow laws such as the speed limit or local zoning regulations.
    Paul is directly addressing this type of attitude. We are to obey the law as Christians. We are not above the law. However, if the governing authorities act in an evil manner, we as believers must stand in opposition to that. If we are told that we are to violate a direct law of God, we cannot do that. This is what Paul is trying to get across in this passage.
    Unfortunately, this passage of Scripture has been abused by those who want to get Christians to go along with the injustices and wickedness that governments are trying to promote. If we look at this passage in the way that it should be rightly interpreted, we see that it in no way is calling on Christians to remain silent in the midst of injustice.

The Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 1:14-15"

      I am glad to be able to post the sermon this week. The snow and storm in my area turned out not to be as bad as expected. Instead of 12 to 18 inches of snow, we received about six inches. It has been very cold though. There are many people in the US south and southeast that had a lot of ice, and the power is still out. We all need to pray that these folks get the aid and the help that they need. 

     Starting a couple of weeks back, we started a new series where we are going through the Gospel of Mark. I am taking my time with this series so that we can really get into the life and message of the Lord Jesus. 

     Last week, we saw that Jesus was baptized by John. Jesus was affirmed by the voice of the Father, and the Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Him. At that point, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in order to prepare for His time of public ministry. 

     In our text today, we see that when John the Baptist was thrown into prison by Herod, Jesus went up to Galilee to begin His public ministry. The Bible says that Jesus proclaimed the good news of God and that He told the people that the Kingdom or reign of God was near. He called on the people to repent and believe the good news.

     Let's look at the meaning of these first words of the Lord Jesus. He proclaimed the good news of God. The fact that He the Messiah had come into this world was good news. The old ways and the old structures of power based on evil and unrighteousness were coming to an end. People having to be trapped in sinfulness and guilt were coming to an end. Jesus had come to tell people that God loved them and cared about them. 

    Jesus also told people the Kingdom of God had come near. Jesus during the time of His earthly ministry was going to be telling people about God's way of doing things in this world. The values of the Kingdom of God are vastly different from the values of this world system of domination. We don't see it in the Gospel of Mark, but Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount and Luke in the Sermon on the Plain record Jesus' teachings in detail about the values of the Kingdom of God. The overriding values of God's Kingdom are love, peace, goodness and justice. 

     Jesus showed us in His work and through His words what God values and that is what we are to value and strive for as those who are the followers of the Lord. We don't follow the way of the world that teaches might makes right, and that teaches the ways of greed and oppression. In another passage, Jesus said that He had come to preach to the poor. He came to preach release to the captive, and He came to bind the brokenhearted. He came to preach love for one's enemies and to care more about others than we care about ourselves. Jesus came and preached a message of radical forgiveness and mercy. He told us to love God and love our neighbor. And He taught us to care about the least of these. These are the values of the Kingdom of God. 

     Repentance was a key theme in the message of Jesus. He called on people to leave behind their old way of thinking and embrace the Kingdom of God. That is what repentance means. It means to change one's mind. Jesus called on people to change their minds about God and to change their minds about what God wants for them in this world. 

     In His preaching, Jesus called on people to believe in the good news. He called on the people to repent of their sins and accept His love and forgiveness. Since He had come into the world, everything was changed. He was the light that had come into the world, and the darkness did not and will never overcome the glorious light of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

     The Lord Jesus is calling on us to repent and believe the good news today. We need to repent of our ways of oppression and violence. We need to repent of exploitation of the poor, and we need to repent of destruction of all that God has made. There are also many who need to repent of their sins and come to Jesus for salvation. They need to leave sin behind and accept Jesus as the Lord of their lives. Now as then, Jesus is ready to receive all those who come to Him in repentance and faith. I hope that you will come to Him and follow Him and do what He laid out today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please keep praying in regard to my health. I am doing better in some ways and not in others. Thank you. 

     Let us keep praying for those who are suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray that they will get the aid and the help that they need. 

     Remember to keep praying for peace. I looked at a list of all the conflicts going on in the world right now, and it made me sick. Literally. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Syria, Yemen, the Sahel region, Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela. I am sure I left something off the list. Pray for peace. 

     About the situation in Minnesota. What a tragedy. Please pray that these aggressive ICE tactics will come to an end. Pray for the well being of those in this country who haven't hurt anyone and are just trying to make it in this world. Also pray for the families and friends of those who have been so needlessly killed in Minneapolis. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Sierra Leone and Indonesia. Pray that many will hear and respond to the love of Jesus. 

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

Verses For The Week And An Update

 Update: I survived the big snowstorm. Others are having difficulties and need our prayers. Thank you for your prayers on my behalf. 

Here are the verses:

Hebrews 4:16 -- "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Matthew 6:14 -- "If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." 

The Weekend Sermon -- Mark 1:9-13

     It is time for the Weekend Sermon. Thank you all for taking the time to read the message this week. I hope and pray that you are all doing very well.

  

      For the last couple of weeks, we have been engaged in a series on the Gospel of Mark. The plan is to go chapter by chapter and verse by verse through this entire book of the Bible. 

      Last week, we looked at what Mark had to say about the ministry of John the Baptist. He was the one prophesied to be the forerunner of the Messiah. The Messiah was Jesus. John said that Jesus was mightier than he was, and He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. 

     In today's message, we are going to look at what are the beginnings of the ministry of Jesus according to Mark's account. In verse 9, we see that Mark tells us that Jesus went from Nazareth down to where John was baptizing and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 

     Now, there are always those who ask why Jesus was baptized as He had no sin therefore He would not have needed a baptism of repentance as that was what John was performing. I believe that Jesus was baptized as it was His purpose to show us a perfect example of how we are to behave and what we are to do. Jesus was baptized in order to show us that we need to be baptized according to His later commandment that those who come to Him be baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

     Another reason that Jesus was baptized has to do with what we see in verses 10 and 11. When Jesus came up from the water, He saw the Heavens opened. At the same time, the Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Him. The voice of the Father came from Heaven saying, "You are my Son whom I love, with You I am well pleased." 

     The baptism of Jesus was a visible proof with signs from the Father that Jesus was the Messiah. The Spirit came upon Jesus signifying that He was the Anointed One from God. Jesus was the Messiah prophesied of old. He had come to deliver His people. The power of the Holy Spirit was upon Him. Also, the Father signified that Jesus was the Son. This demonstrated that Jesus was divine as well as human. The Father said that the Son was pleasing unto Him. The Father verified the work of the Son. 

     Something else of great importance is shown to us in the baptism of Jesus. This is one of the great demonstrations of the veracity of the doctrine of the Trinity. At the baptism of Jesus we have the voice of the Father from Heaven. We have Jesus declared as the Son by the Father, and we see the Holy Spirit coming down in the form of a dove. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

     Now, after His baptism, the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness. While in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, Jesus prepared Himself for the mission that was ahead. Part of that preparation was the temptation by Satan. Mark doesn't go into detail about the temptations like some other Gospels do. However, we know that Jesus overcame and did not succumb to any temptation. 

     Jesus, by being tempted, demonstrated that He is the one who is without sin. He could truly be the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Also, Jesus by being tempted was able to identify with us. He knew what it was truly like to be a human being. He knew and knows what we are going through that is why the Bible says that He is a great high priest who is touched by the feeling of our infirmities. 

     There is something else that I want to point out in this passage. Mark points out that Jesus was with the wild animals. I do not think that this is just a casual reference. When sin came into this world, all of the natural order was thrown into chaos. By saying that Jesus was with the wild animals, and they were obviously not harming Him, Mark was showing that Jesus is the one who brings redemption to the entire cosmic order. Jesus is the one who has come to set all things right and to return all things to the Edenic state. 

     After His time in the wilderness, Jesus was ready to enter His time of ministry. He set out to do what the Father had sent Him to do. Jesus came to redeem us. He invites you now to come to Him that you might have eternal life. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that the storms won't be bad. I am having a lot of health issues and I am concerned about all this cold and getting to work and just making it through in general to be quite honest. Thank you for your prayers. 

     Please keep praying for peace. This whole business with Greenland is ridiculous. Pray that there is no military invasion of Greenland. Also, pray for peace in Ukraine and Sudan. Israel and Gaza still need help and prayer. Syria needs our prayers. Keep praying about Venezuela. The world is a real mess right now. Pray that the leaders of this world will seek the ways of peace and the Lord's will. 

     Remember to keep praying that the flu and covid problems in the US will end. Also pray for an end to the measles outbreak in South Carolina. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Mauritius and Kuwait. 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. Keep praying. 

     

Prayer Request

     There is a big winter storm being forecast. Pray that it is not as bad as predicted. For my area, they are calling for cold and 3 or more inches of snow. Please pray that it is not that bad. Thank you. 

Verses For The Week

      Romans 5:5 -- "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which was given to us."

     Psalm 31:24 -- "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 1:2-8"

      Thank you for joining me for the Weekend Sermon. I hope that all of you are having a good week and doing well. 

     Last week, we began a new series of messages on the Gospel of Mark. We just did a basic introduction and focused on verse one that presented Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. 

     In our message for today, we turn our attention to John the Baptist. John was someone who was foretold in the Old Testament. In our text for today, we have one of the places that tells us about John. Isaiah said that there would be someone who would come before the coming of the Messiah. He would be a messenger that would tell the people that they needed to prepare their hearts for the coming of the Messiah. Another place where we see a prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist is in the book of Malachi. We are told that Elijah would come. Jesus said that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophetic word. 

     John, as we know from the Gospel of Luke, was Jesus' cousin. He was the child of Elizabeth who was Mary's cousin. When John was still in his mother's womb, he recognized the mother of the Lord who was herself carrying Jesus in her womb. 

     John the Baptist was an interesting person. He dressed in a camel hair garment with a leather belt. His diet consisted of wild locusts and honey. He appeared on the scene by the Jordan River, and there, he began to proclaim his message. First of all, he preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 

    People came out to hear what this new preacher had to say. John called them to repent of their sins and turn their lives and their thinking around. That is what it means to repent. In essence, it means to change one's thinking about God and what God requires. It means leaving behind the way that seems right to us and embracing the way of the Lord. 

    The people when they heard this message, confessed their sins. Subsequently, they were baptized. This demonstrated the washing away of sin and the beginning of a new life. 

    In order to truly follow the Lord Jesus, we have to be willing to admit that we are sinners and need a Savior. Part of coming to know Jesus is to confess ones sins and ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins. We then ask Him to be our Savior and the Lord and master of our lives. 

    Following conversion, a new believer follows in baptism. Jesus taught that a person should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

    Baptism does not save. It is the outward sign of an inward work. For the Christian, it symbolizes that we are buried with Christ and we arise to newness of life in Him. Our sins our washed away, and we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Baptism is a testimony to the world that we are identifying with Jesus. We are committing ourselves to following Him and His way of life. 

    Now, John the Baptist also told us about Jesus. He said that one was coming after him that was more powerful. When this one would come, He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. 

    As we will see as we continue our study in Mark, Jesus is the one that was the one more powerful. Jesus was the Messiah. He was the one who came to show people the way and to redeem the world from sin. In another Gospel, John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

    Jesus came to tell people that the Kingdom of Heaven had come. He came to show us the way to have life now and eternal life to come. He came to redeem us and to set all of creation back to the way that it existed before the fall. 

    When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, those gathered in the Upper Room received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

    When a person comes to faith and trust in Jesus, that person is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. We receive the Spirit who is our comforter. The Spirit convicts of sin, and the Spirit points us to Jesus. 

    I hope that you have put your faith and trust in the Risen Lord. If you have, I hope you will follow in baptism as the Lord commanded. Then, go and tell others about the Lord. Tell people that Jesus has come and they can be reconciled to God. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am feeling some better, and I thank the Lord for that. Please keep me in your prayers. 

    As you are aware, the situation in Iran is tense. Let us pray for a peaceful transition to a democratic government for that nation. 

    Please continue to pray that the United States, my country, will not try to take over Greenland by force. There is no way that this can be justified. 

    Let us continue to pray for peace in other areas of the world that are in conflict. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Myanmar. Pray that peace and good things will come to Venezuela. 

    Keep praying for those suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray for those in California and Washington affected by flooding. Pray for those affected by winter storms in Europe. 

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

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

A Happy Day

     Today is the day all those years ago now when my friend Toby came into my life. I was still a young man when he came to live with me. I will never forget the day when we went out in the snow to look at a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Toby. 

     When we pulled up in the drive, Toby was out running around in the snow. I loved him at first sight. 

     He came to live with me when I was at one of my lowest points. I had been in an abusive religious environment and was very depressed. Jesus knew this, of course. He also knew Toby wasn't being treated the right way. So, the Lord Jesus caused it all to work out just right so that the two of us could be together. 

     Toby changed my life. Because of him, I kept going. I came to realize how much the Lord Jesus loved me. That day when I met Toby was the second best thing that ever happened to me only surpassed by coming to know the Lord Jesus. I thank Jesus every day for my friend Toby. 

     I've told a lot of people that my life is about Jesus, Jazz and a corgi. Don't have any idea what my life would be without them. Thank you Lord. 

Verses For The Week -- Verses Relevant To Our World

 Leviticus 19:33-34 -- "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 27:19 -- "Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow."

Hebrews 13:2 -- Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels."

Matthew 25:38-40 -- "When did we see You a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me."

Matthew 26:52 -- "But Jesus said to him, Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."

I Peter 3:11 -- "Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it."

I John 3:17 -- "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?"

Revelation 7:9-10 -- "After these things, I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!"

Proverbs 22:28 -- "Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set."

Hebrews 13:8 -- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever."

Weekend Sermon -- Beginning In Mark's Gospel -- Mark 1:1"

     It is time once again for the the Weekend Sermon, and it is time to start a new sermon series. I hope that all of you are having a good new year thus far. 

     One of the things that I've wanted to do for a long time here on the blog is to go through one of the Gospels in its entirety. We have studied through a lot of different books of the Bible here on the blog, and I've done several series such as the parables of Jesus and the miracles of Jesus. However, I've never had the chance to go through an entire Gospel from beginning to end. So, that is what we are going to start for this new year. We are going to go chapter by chapter and verse by verse and see what the Lord has to teach us in the Gospel of Mark. 

  

     With that said. let us start today by looking at the Gospel of Mark as a whole. First of all, who wrote this Gospel. There is no reason to believe that anyone other than Mark himself wrote this book. He knew Jesus when He was on this earth. Mark also started out on a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas, but Mark turned back part of the way through. This didn't set well with Paul, and Paul didn't want Mark to go with him on other journeys, but Barnabas did, and they then traveled together. Later on, Mark is associated with the Apostle Peter. 

     Church tradition holds that Mark wrote this Gospel based on information given to him by Peter. Mark would have known some things himself. But, Peter was there all along, and would have been a witness to all of the things that the Lord Jesus taught and did. 

     There is a small debate on when Mark was written. It is certainly the first of the Gospels that was written. Most scholars believe that Luke and Matthew used information from Mark when writing their Gospels. 

     Some believe that Mark was written after 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple. This is important, because Mark records Jesus as predicting the destruction of the Temple. Many scholars say Mark is putting this prediction in after the fact. However, most scholars I know, and I believe this as well, believe that Mark was written about 68 AD. This is before the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple's destruction. This means that what Jesus predicted came to pass. This is important because it is a reason to trust all that Jesus had to say. He was proven definitively to be correct.  Because of this, one can trust the other things that He has to say. 

     Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, but it has so much in it. Some have called it the Gospel of action. Jesus is going about doing things throughout. Often, the disciples don't show much true understanding of what Jesus is saying, but the Gospel reveals that eventually they slowly came around to an understanding of the way of Jesus. 

     Mark starts out in verse one by saying, "The beginning of the good news about Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God." This verse tells us a lot. First off, Mark is bringing us a message of good news. In this book we will see the good news that Jesus brings about life and salvation. Jesus brings us the good news that we are loved by God and that we can have forgiveness and a new life through Him. 

     We are also told that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the anointed one. The Messiah was the one who was foretold of in the Old Testament. He was the one who would come and save His people and redeem them. Jesus was this promised one. He had come to show all of us the way. He had come to redeem creation. He had come to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. 

     Also, Mark tells us that Jesus was and is the Son of God. Jesus is divine. Jesus is fully man and fully God at the same time. He is divine, and Jesus has come to let His divine light shine in to our hearts if we will put our faith and trust in Him. 

     In the weeks to come, we will see more about the good news brought to us by the Lord Jesus. I hope that you will journey along with me in coming to know more about Jesus through Mark's Gospel. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray for me. I have not been feeling well at all. I really need your prayers. Thank you. 

     Let us keep praying for peace. Sometimes I know that we look around at the world's situation and it is discouraging. But, the Lord told us to not give up and lose heart. So let us keep praying for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti and Myanmar. And let us pray that there is not some crazy invasion of Greenland. 

     Remember to pray for those suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray for those in California, Washington, the Caribbean and Wales. Pray that people will get the aid and the help that they need. 

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

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

     

Thoughts On The Current World Situation

      As I know you are aware, the US took military action in Venezuela. Since that time, the US president has threatened possible action against Colombia and Cuba. He has also been very vocal about taking over Greenland.  

      Here is my reaction. As believers in Jesus, we are called to follow His path of peace and non-violence. We are not to support aggressive military actions. Warfare and violence should be for self-defense only, and it should be proportional and as a last resort. 

     The action in Venezuela is over. There is nothing that can be done about that. We must now pray for peace and stability in that nation. We must also pray that no further unwarranted military actions be taken especially in regard to Greenland which is part of Denmark one of the United States' NATO allies. 

     As Christians we have to be mindful that Jesus is Lord. We follow Jesus and His ways and not a political entity or political leader. Jesus has called us to the way of peace and non-violence. He has called us to bring life, light and healing to the world. 

Verses For The Week

 II Corinthians 5:17 -- "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"

Proverbs 23:18 -- "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."

Weekend Sermon -- "Spending More Time With The Lord"

      It is a new year, and I hope that it has started out well with you all. I am ready to start a new year here on the blog. After our message this week, we will be starting a new series of messages, and I am looking forward for that. I want to thank the Lord for letting me post these messages, and other posts, for the past year. 

     Today, I want to challenge you and me to spend more time with the Lord in 2026. I have been reading three different passages of Scripture lately that all speak about time spent with the Lord or waiting on the Lord. 

     In Luke's Gospel, there are a couple of different passages that speak about Jesus' mother Mary pondering the things that were happening concerning Jesus in her heart. She was taking the time to think about and consider all that was happening to her and how these might play out in the life of her son the Lord Jesus. 

     In the Gospels, when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asks His disciples to come and watch and pray with Him. He comes back and finds that they have fallen asleep. Jesus asks them why they were not able to watch and pray with Him for even one hour. 

     Let us also consider that when Jesus was about to leave this earth and return to Heaven, He instructed His followers to tarry in the city of Jerusalem and wait for the power of the Holy Spirit that was to come upon them. That is what they were doing when the Spirit of the Lord descended upon them in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. 

     In my mind, one of the ways that we grow in our walk with the Lord and make it through this world is by spending time with the Lord. I think that there are at least four ways to do this. 

     First of all, we spend time with the Lord in prayer. We go to Him and relate to Him our needs and the needs of others. We ask for wisdom and give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for us. 

     We also spend time with the Lord through the study of His Word. When we take the time to read the Scriptures and attempt to understand how they apply to our lives, we are spending time with the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring enlightenment and understanding to our hearts. 

     Worship is another way that we spend time with Jesus. We give all of our heart and soul to Him and pour out our praise to Him. We spend time honoring Him for who He is and for what He has done. 

     Also, we spend time with the Lord when we serve Him because we can do nothing for Him apart from Him being with us and giving us the power to accomplish what it is that He has directed us to do. 

    I know that in 2026, I want to spend more time with the Lord especially through prayer and study. I want to urge you to make the commitment to spend more time with the Lord in 2026. Let His light and His love fill your life. Through spending time with the Lord, we will be equipped to withstand the challenges that beset us in this world. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please keep praying for my health. Thank you. 

    Let us pray for all of those affected by natural disasters. Those in Washington and California need our prayers. Let us keep praying for those affected by flooding in Wales and those affected by the hurricane in the Caribbean. 

    Keep praying for peace. I want us to really focus our attention on praying for peace in Ukraine. Sudan also really needs our prayers. Pray that there will not be war in Venezuela.

    For our prayer focus countries this week, pray for those in the nations of Ivory Coast and South Korea. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, we will begin our new sermon series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.