WORD up!

  Divisions ( run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s relationship to man; a sin to avoid, promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe ): 1.Jesus went through all the towns and villages then called the Twelve and gave them authority (9:35-10:4) Principle:   Jesus’ disciples participate in the harvest. 2.Jesus gives instructions to the Twelve apostles to go to the lost sheep of Israel (10:5-15) Principle:   Jesus equips His people to serve Him. 3.Jesus sends out the Twelve like sheep among wolves, telling them to be on their guard, not fearing men, but God (10:16-31) Principle:   Jesus’ people are to fear God, not man. 4.Jesus tells the Twelve about those who acknowledge Him (and those who don’t) and those who welcome the disciples in His name (10:32-42) Principle:   Jesus’ people acknowledge Him.   ...

We pick up in Matthew 9, after the deviled ham debacle.  Jesus gets into a boat and crosses over to His own town.  When He arrives, men bring a paralyzed man to Him on a mat to be healed.  Jesus saw THEIR faith and told the paralyzed man to take heart and that his sins were forgiven.  This was met with mixed responses.  The teachers of the law – some translations call them scribes – thought to themselves that Jesus was blaspheming.  Jesus knew their thoughts and addressed them and asked why they were entertaining evil thoughts in their hearts.  I wonder if any of them were brought closer to belief in Jesus as Messiah because He knew their thoughts.  I am also interested in the idea of entertaining a thought in my heart…  Yes, our thoughts can corrupt our heart, and our heart can corrupt our thoughts.  Anyway, Jesus explains that He wants them to know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins.  Yes, Jesus has the authorit...

What does a leper, a centurion, a sick woman, many demon-possessed and sick people, a teacher of the law, a disciple, many disciples, a storm, two demon-possessed men and a whole town have in common?  They all have encounters with Jesus in Matthew 8.  Let’s dive right in. The Sermon on the Mount is over and Jesus comes down the mountainside.  A large crowd follows.  A man with leprosy, who shouldn’t have been in the midst of a crowd, came and knelt before Him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus touched the leper.  Unheard of!  Then He declared His willingness and the leper was immediately made clean!  Boldness, risk, faith, healing.  Jesus is awesome!  Then Jesus tells the cleansed leper NOT to tell anyone, but to show himself to the priests and bring the gift Moses commanded as a testimony to them.  If you’re interested, the sacrifice Moses commanded is spelled out in Leviticus 14:1-7.  What a...

Jesus wraps up His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, leaving the crowd amazed!  Do not judge or you will be judged by the measure you use.  Jesus illustrates this with a word picture of someone with a plank in their eye trying to remove a speck out of someone else’s eye.  (I certainly don’t want someone performing delicate surgery on me with such a major impairment to their vision!)  He goes on to say, “first take the plank out of your own eye so you can see clearly to remove the speck.”  So we can help our brother by removing the speck, but we must remove the plank from our own eye, first.  In other words, live by God’s Word and when you see your brother tripping in his walk, come alongside and help him out.  You will come to know whether that person is your Christian sibling by their reaction to your godly counsel.  The ones who receive what God’s Word says are your brothers and sisters.  The ones who don’t may not be. Several years ag...

"God is My Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom is a wonderful devotional!  This 40-entry devotional is a great way to start the day and get into the mindset of seeing God's goodness in unconventional ways.  Corrie ten Boom shares life experiences as a WWII Ravensbruck Concentration Camp prisoner, pointing the reader to God's goodness in the most horrific circumstances.  Every Christian could stand to spend some time in this book.  It is making me more grateful everyday!  This book is on my Christmas gift list for many loved ones this year! God is My Hiding Place "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest."--Corrie ten Boom Dutch watchmaker Corrie ten Boom, with her courageous, God-fearing family, sheltered Jews from the Nazis during World War II. This led to her arrest and suffering in prison and concentration camps--as told in her bestselling book  The Hidin...