…your sins are forgiven. —Mark 2:5 Unforgiveness keeps wrongs raw in a relationship. The relationship is superficial at best and at its worst, non-existent. People may still acknowledge others they are in a fall out with or they may ignore them completely. It is sad how neighbors who had been friends for years now hardly talk to each other and when they do it is just superficial because of dome disagreement. What makes this even more grievous is when they profess to follow Jesus. Some relationships will never experience healing because neither person is willing to move to rectify or remedy the breach. They do not see the other person…

Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”—Mark 1:14-15 There we were, 2 miles off-shore stranded in a disabled boat. Noon-time soon gave way to darkness. The ocean waves grew fierce and we had water coming into the boat. We bailed constantly. The bow would rise up on steep waves and then slam down over and over. But, the anchor held. About 1am a floodlight flashed some distance away. Now we believed they would find us…

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” —Matthew28:18-20 I was recently talking with a young man. Not long ago I had heard him respond to a question and I wanted to follow up on that response. An elderly man had asked this young man if he…

Then Judas… went out and hanged himself. —Matthew 27:5 It is a very sad state as we are told that every 65 minutes a vet commits suicide http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/21/us/22-veteran-suicides-a-day/ and it may be even worse than that. Even as grim as it is for vets, we are told that in 2013 “someone in the country died by suicide every 12.8 minutes” https://www.afsp.org/understanding-suicide/facts-and-figures. White males, we are told in this article, accounted for 70% of all suicides in 2013 and people in the 45-64 year old age group had the highest level of suicide and the greatest increase of suicide since 2000 AD and especially since 2006 AD. http://thehill.com/policy/defense/232659-obama-signs-military-suicide-prevention-bill-into-law is a “suicide…

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. —Matthew 26:14-16 What do you value the most? Is there a price you would receive to hand over that which you value the most to those offering you the price? If so, if you are willing to hand over that which you value the most for a price, then you did not value it the most! You valued money more! If we truly…

And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ —Matthew 25:40 And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’—Matthew 25:45 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. —Matthew 25:46 Who are the fellow believers in need that you and I are helping? There is plenty of need in the body of Christ, the church. We are told that “as…

Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! —Matthew 25:21, 23 I am sure all of us who are parents have stories of teaching our children to drive, but in the end they got their license. As they were faithful in their learning in the little things, so then they were able to tackle the larger things. I did not first take any of my children to the interstate highways to learn. No, we started at the National Guard Training Center parking lot. There was plenty of room and in…

What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? —Matthew 24:3 Here’s how Jesus responded to the disciples’ question: -Many will come claiming to be Messiah –Many will be deceived by false Messiahs –You will hear of wars –You will hear of threats of wars –Nation will go against nation –Kingdom will go against kingdom –There will be famines –There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world ***These are only the first of birth pains – You will be arrested because you are my followers –You will be persecuted because you are my followers –You will be killed because you are my followers –You will…

…you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. —Matthew 23:23 I work with inmates at the State Prison and I can safely say that our “justice system” here in the U.S. is not very consistent— probably true in all the world. Some judges hand down heavy sentences and some hand down light sentences for the same crime. Then there’s the recent “justice” handed down by a judge that will find a young Christian couple with 5 children for at least $150,000 for not baking a cake for a “gay wedding.” Read the full article here at http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/02/03/christian-bakers-face-government-wrath-for-refusing-to-make-cake-for-gay/. Justice? No! Mercy? No! The judge judged incorrectly against…

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. “Everything they do is for show. —Matthew 23:1-5 “Practice what you preach” is a saying that is heard from time to time and just means “Do what you say.” It is not enough just to say words. Actions must follow speech. So many people today just say…