LEARN YOUR LESSON AND DO IT! And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. —Luke 4:42-44             Jesus was in a desolate place by Himself, but He was not going to stay there.   He was sent with a purpose and that purpose was to “preach the good news of the kingdom…

OUR HOPE IS IN THE LORD! Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry. The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  “I will give You authority over all these…

SEEK HIS FACE! So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. —Joshua 9:14             The Gibeonites knew they were in trouble and would be destroyed by the Israelites as the Lord commanded. So they deceived the Israelites into thinking they were from a distant land and not one of the nations the Israelites were to destroy.   “And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them” (Joshua 9:3-15). Before doing this they “did not ask counsel of the Lord.”             How about us? Do we ask counsel…

GROWTH And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. —Luke 2:52 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8-lxkTC47g            Wow, to think that the Lord of glory took on a body (Hebrews 10:5) and went through the growth process of any ordinary person.  Yet He was far from being any ordinary man (John 5:18).  Still, we are told that Jesus, just like people do, grew mentally and physically.  But Jesus also grew “in favor with God and man.”             Hopefully we are growing in wisdom.  These days we are in will help us do that if we have the right attitude and desire.  Our world is being affected by this corona…

A MERCIFUL CHOICE In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him…

  JESUS— OUR LIGHT AND PEACE And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:76-79 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZc8fRRBXbM             John was the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was to prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3:4). He would tell of how…

THE LORD IS WITH YOU  It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. —Deuteronomy 31:8 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. —Deuteronomy 32:39             See? Our Lord will not leave us nor forsake us! We do not need to be distressed, distraught, troubled, anxious, disturbed or worried. Are you feeling any of that? As followers of Jesus we are encouraged…

A TEST! For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.   You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God. —Deuteronomy 29:5-6             While The Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years our Lord took care of them. Miraculously He caused their clothes not to wear out. Their sandals also did not wear out either. Think about how our Lord cared for them just in this area!   Wow!             We know that He provided food for them for every day for forty years as…

GOD IS IN CONTROL If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God— the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not…

YOUR ARE TREASURED! And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. —Deuteronomy 26:18             God’s treasured possession! Fellow follower of Jesus that is what we are. We are the “apple of His eye” (Psalm 17:8; Zechariah 2:8). We are “a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). We are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9). “Both the one who makes people…