FAITH ACTS! Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.  Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it…

BE LIKE JESUS—- SERVE! But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:25-28             It used to be said of government officials that they were “public servants.”   I cannot remember the last time that I heard that…

BE NOT A GRUMBLER! Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD. —Exodus 16:9 Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD? …the people grumbled against Moses —Exodus 17:2-3 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not? —Exodus 17:7 And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel. —I Corinthians 10:10 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!…

LEADING AND FOLLOWING And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. —Exodus 13:21-22 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud…

LISTEN AND PERSEVERE! He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” —Matthew 17:5             Our Father spoke, bearing testimony to His Son and the disciples heard. The disciples were told to “listen to Him.”   So also it is with us. We are to listen to Him. Are we? If so, what is He saying?             In Egypt Moses listened to the Lord to bring plagues on the land of Egypt.   Each time Pharaoh would not let the people go because of his hard heart.…

ATTENTION FOCUS Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies. —Exodus 5:8             This is what Pharaoh said to his slave drivers to try to keep the Israelites from listening to Moses and Aaron and the message our Lord God Almighty had given to them.  The people were not given straw anymore, but had to go out and collect their own.  In doing so they were still required to make the same about of bricks.  More work was required, but they were expected to turn out the same amount of “product.”  Pharaoh’s desire was to keep them busier than ever…

GATHERED TO OUR PEOPLE AT DEATH When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. —Genesis 49:50             We also will breath our last one day and then we will “be gathered” to our people! This is the great hope that we have. After death we will be with Jesus and all who love Him. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather…

TWO TYPES OF SEEDS, TWO DIFFERENT SOWERS “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his…

FRUIT-BEARING EVIDENCE OF THE FOLLOWER OF JESUS “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but…

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