…they were immediately overcome with amazement. —Mark 5:42 Have you ever been overcome with amazement? Maybe it was the wonder of flowers that you were marveling at or the beauty of a sunset or sunrise. Possibly it was when you were standing on a mountaintop and an awesome sensation of awe rushed over you. Or it could have been as you watched your children being born into this world with indescribable joy. What is it that has amazed you? In the context of the verse above these two parents along with three of Jesus’ disciples were “overcome with amazement.” They had just watch Jesus raise their 12 year old daughter…

“Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” —Mark 5:7 Hidden among any populace are those who would seek to destroy people. But once they are out in the open they are seen for who they really are. They are known by the acts they commit. So it is with Satan and the fallen angels. They like to remain hidden and not be known. But once their work is out in the open they are also seen for who they really are. The man in the context of the verse above was tormented by…

…those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted! —Mark 4:8 As children we used to run all over the mountain behind our house with no need to worry about child predators. In the fall we loved to go to our favorite apple trees to pick and eat. Some years we would approach a tree that had borne great apples the year before and there would not be any apples on it. It was a sad feeling to think it did not produced any fruit for us to enjoy. But other trees would be…

Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother. —Mark 3:35 Family works together for what is best for the family. Teams work together for what is best for their sports family. The military works for what is best for their military family. Social groups work together for what is good for their particular social club. All these groups have structure or common will that was developed by someone. So it is with the church. The church should work together for what is best for the church family, but also for those outside the church family (I am speaking of the universal church and not just a…

…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…