Mark 15:37-41

It was no small thing that some of Jesus’s most faithful followers were women. In an age where women had little rights Jesus lifted them up and treated them equally with the men who followed him. The veil of the temple was rent in two and along with it the separation of man and God that sin had brought. Jesus died in our place allowing those who choose to believe in His birth, death and resurrection salvation. Male and female, Gentile and Jew, all of creation could come to Him and share in the Wedding Feast God prepared before the beginning of time.

These women were true disciples of Christ. They had ministered to Jesus’ needs and would be the first witnesses of His resurrection. 

Frequently, crucifixion produced a coma or unconsciousness prior to death, but Jesus was in control of all His faculties until the moment when He voluntarily gave up His life. No longer through priests and the blood of bulls and goats do we approach God, but through the torn veil, which also symbolizes Jesus’ broken and torn body. God Himself removed the barrier.

Mark 15:37-41

³⁷ And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 

³⁸ Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” 

⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, ⁴¹ who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. 

Mark 6:4-6

Jesus could accomplish little because of the peoples lack of faith. Did He give up? No, Jesus taught. Jesus didn’t give up when His miracles were rejected... He just went elsewhere to whoever would listen to His message of  hope and salvation. We do the same when we share the gospel with others! It is up to the Holy Spirit to open hearts and minds and Jesus is our example of how to spread the message without violating the free will of others! God loves everyone and wants no one to perish but He desires a mutual relationship where love freely flows by choice. Our job is make others aware of His love given in Christ Jesus :)

A prophet is not without honor except in his own country is a maxim still repeated and still true today. Perhaps others were jealous of Jesus’ popularity and huge following. Their envy even took the form of violence against Christ.

Mark 6:4-6
⁴ But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ⁵ Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. 

Romans 1:16-17
¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” 

Jonah 1:7 - 2:10

God will do whatever it takes to get you back into His will for your life. Our life may not go as we have expected but we need to get this message, deep into our souls, all things work for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose...when we give our life to Him our life is not ours alone, it is His!

The focus in the story of Jonah is on the Lord’s sovereign control over creation to bring about His purpose.

Jonah: A Reluctant Missionary 
Sometimes the prophets of the Lord tried to challenge His wisdom in calling them for divine service. However, Jonah is the only case in the record of Scripture where a true prophet of the Lord  tried hard to thwart the will of God by fleeing from the task that God had given him. Jonah tried to go as far as he could in the opposite direction from where God had commanded him. Jonah hoped that Nineveh would get just what it deserved. He was afraid that if he announced judgment the people of Nineveh might respond in a manner that would prompt God to change His mind. So, in an attempt to restrain God from being merciful to his national enemies, Jonah ran away.

Jonah 1:17 -2:10

¹⁷ Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. ² And he said: 
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, 
And He answered me. 
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, 
And You heard my voice. 
³ For You cast me into the deep, 
Into the heart of the seas, 
And the floods surrounded me; 
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 
⁴ Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; 
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 
⁵ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; 
The deep closed around me; 
Weeds were wrapped around my head. 
⁶ I went down to the moorings of the mountains; 
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; 
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, 
O Lord, my God. 
⁷ “When my soul fainted within me, 
I remembered the Lord; 
And my prayer went up to You, 
Into Your holy temple. 
⁸ “Those who regard worthless idols 
Forsake their own Mercy. 
⁹ But I will sacrifice to You 
With the voice of thanksgiving; 
I will pay what I have vowed. 
Salvation is of the Lord.” 
¹⁰ So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 

Acts 12:1-7

God can and does intervene in the affairs of men and all events are known by Him. Why does He allow some things to transpire but changes the course in others? One day we will understand fully what now we only see dimly....but we do know that the prayers of His people are powerful and that all things work for the good of those who love God with their whole heart and trust in Him alone.

Acts 12:1-7

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. ² Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. ³ And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ⁶ And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. ⁷ Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.

The Book of Matthew

Murdock, a Republican running for the senate made the statement that if a woman conceived a child through rape it was God’s intentions from the start.....Does that mean that God intended for David to lust after Uriah’s wife and  to sin in having Uriah killed in battle so that he could have her as his own?  Remember David was punished for his sin by the loss of the son that he created. Such idiocy is beyond my comprehension... God is all knowing but He never condones sin. He will work things out for the good of the person who loves Him and puts their trust in Him. 

As we are in the midst of voting for  our next President and all the turmoil and angst that surrounds this process I am reminded that the greatest event in the history of creation was filled with chaos and uncertainty. Thousands of years later it still comes only by faith. Trust in the goodness and mercy of God is ultimately  a matter of the heart! In Him alone should we trust.......the world is in His hands to save us OR to teach us the lessons that we need to learn to be whole. His will be done!

The Book of Matthew

Succession to a throne is often a time of conflict and uncertainty. David’s son Absalom tried to usurp the throne (2 Sam. 15:1–18:18). Solomon’s choice of successor lost more than half the kingdom to a traitor (1 Kin. 12:20). Menahem assassinated his predecessor in Israel (2 Kin. 15:14). Royalty is a dangerous business.

This is no less true when the heir is the King of kings. If ever there was a high-stakes succession, this was it. A Man claims to be Israel’s own Messiah; of course all Israel sits up and takes notice. Of course He must prove His credentials: Who wants an impostor? The Book of Matthew presents Jesus’ credentials. It presents Jesus as the King, but King of a totally different kingdom—the kingdom of heaven.

Zephaniah 1:4-6

God would rather you give away your wealth and be poor and humble than puffed with pride, arrogance and  a sense of entitlement to money and the false power it brings.

The world is in a downward spiral. He is the Lord our God and He will not tolerate false gods to come before Him. Pray for our nation and the world that God may have mercy on us for we are small. Perhaps He will relent and give us His wisdom to guide us.....to the day of Christ return.

Jesus seized on Zephaniah’s picture of the day of the Lord. On one occasion He referred to Zephaniah 1:3, when He spoke of His second coming and gathering “out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 13:41). 

On another occasion, Jesus no doubt envisioned Zephaniah’s description of “a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm”.

Although Zephaniah doesn’t specifically name the Messiah as the subject of these scenarios, it is assumed. Who else could, as the prophet foretells, gather His people and reign in victory?

Zephaniah 1:4-6

⁴ “I will stretch out My hand against Judah, 
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 
I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, 
The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 
⁵ Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; 
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, 
But who also swear by Milcom; 
⁶ Those who have turned back from following the Lord, 
And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.” 

John 21:25

Nothing is impossible with God.....nothing! Ask for His will in your life and you will receive His direction....knock and the door of knowledge and wisdom will be opened...seek the truth of The Holy Trinity and you will find it.

Matthew 7:8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

The Gospel of John is truthful, but it is not exhaustive.

John 21:25

²⁵ And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. 

Mark 2:5-12

Faith alone pleases God. Religion may tried to cloud the issue with piety or add works to it’s power but it does not stand true. King David was a sinner and made many mistakes in his life but He  believed in God totally without reservation and was called a “friend of God”.  Jesus went to many cities but the greatest numbers of His miracles happened where faith abounded. In the measure that we believe we can receive His blessings. Place your faith in God and in the unmerited gift He has given us in Jesus Christ and miracles happen! 

Not only did the four men have faith, but the paralytic himself had it too. When Jesus announced to him, your sins are forgiven, He was implicitly acknowledging the paralytic’s trust that He was the Messiah.

The crowd’s reaction showed that they understood the significance of Jesus’ miracle. It is possible that some scribes and Pharisees joined in the acclamation. But permanent, life-changing faith is what Christ sought, not temporary adoration from the crowd.

Mark 2:5-12

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,  “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” 

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them,  “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 

¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹  “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ¹² Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” 

Mark 3:1-5

Sometimes doing what is right contradicts Church doctrine. We must always do the right thing for the right reason whether someone agrees with us or not. Jesus was seldom found in Scripture to be angry....this was one of those times. Compassion and empathy with action are Christian attributes and signs of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Certainly it was more consistent with the intention of the law to restore this man’s afflicted hand, even on the Sabbath, than to destroy his hopes for the sake of keeping human tradition. The Pharisees did not respond, for they knew that they would condemn themselves.

Jesus demonstrated this righteous anger. He was grieved with sin but did not sin Himself by retaliating or losing control of His emotions.

Mark 3:1-5
3 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ³ And He said to the man who had the withered hand,  “Step forward.” ⁴ Then He said to them,  “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man,  “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 

Acts 11:12-18

Sometimes you just have to trust, without understanding, knowing that God is in control! He allows events to  happen to teach all of us......sometimes they are easy lessons and sometimes they are hard. He will teach us one way or the other...we choose!

The manifestation of the Holy Spirit was the same to the Gentiles at Caesarea as it was to the Jews at Jerusalem. Christ places believers in the care and safekeeping of the Holy Spirit until the day He returns. 

The Samaritans were part Jewish; the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius were Jewish proselytes. Finally the Jewish Christians that made up the early church understood Jesus’ commission to them: they were to bring the gospel message to the Gentile too.

Acts 11:12-18

¹² Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ¹⁴ who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’ 

¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 

¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said,  ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” 

¹⁸ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” 

Amos 8:4-8

Amos 8:4-8

⁴ Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, 
And make the poor of the land fail, 

⁵ Saying: 
“When will the New Moon be past, 
That we may sell grain? 
And the Sabbath, 
That we may trade wheat? 
Making the ephah small and the shekel large, 
Falsifying the scales by deceit, 
⁶ That we may buy the poor for silver, 
And the needy for a pair of sandals— 
Even sell the bad wheat?” 
⁷ The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: 
“Surely I will never forget any of their works. 
⁸ Shall the land not tremble for this, 
And everyone mourn who dwells in it? 
All of it shall swell like the River, 
Heave and subside 
Like the River of Egypt. 

^{I am fearful for the poor and middle class in America. It is hard to rest in my comfort zone knowing that there are those who do not have health care, decent housing or food for their families. Those who make their wealth on the backs of others without fair compensation for their labor are making slaves of the poor and holding the rest of us hostage in our complacency. Our constitution says that the United States belongs to all of its citizens, we the people,  not just a privileged percentage or political group. God help us to be more like You and to show our love for our neighbor in our actions not just in our words.... I ask this in the powerful love of Jesus Christ.} 

The New Moon, the first day of the month on the Hebrew calendar, was a day of special sacrifices, a feast day, and a Sabbath day. Rather than observing the New Moon and the weekly Sabbath with worship, thanksgiving, and rest, these people were impatient to resume their cheating and oppression of the poor.

The rich and powerful of Amos’s day were making slaves of Israel’s poor, the people they had dispossessed of their lands. The form of the Hebrew oath marks its seriousness: God will not forget. Their works refers to the economic injustices Amos spoke against, as well as other sins, including unfaithfulness to God.

Pray for our Nation :)

I am joining in “40 Days of Prayer” for the United States that God will:

Unite us      Strengthen us           Appoint and anoint our next president

God loves all of His creation and the world is in His hands! We need to place our total trust in Him, humble ourselves before Him and pray for our nation.  God is an ever present help in times of trouble.....He is always in control!

Matthew 19:21-26

Money is at the root of all evil. Man is corrupted by his greed and unwillingness to give God credit for everything he is given to use for good. Only by God’s mercy and grace can man be saved.

This verse does not teach salvation by works. Rather Jesus was proving the error of the man’s claim to have fulfilled God’s law. If the young man loved his neighbor to the extent required by the Law of Moses, he would have had no difficulty in giving away his wealth to needy people. 

Jesus’ comment about a rich man’s salvation would have been difficult for some Jewish people in this period to accept because they held to a form of “prosperity theology.” If people prospered, it was evidence of God’s blessing on them. Whereas v. 23 says it is hard for a rich man to become saved, v. 24 implies that it is as impossible as passing a camel through the eye of a needle.

Matthew 19:21-26

²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 

²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

²³ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 

²⁵ When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

The Book Of Matthew

Mathew the tax collector worked with names and numbers as a living and was given an analytical mind. His desire to keep accurate information, prompted by the Holy Spirit, allowed him to put the genealogy of Christ on paper and provide a paper trail to the prophesies of the Messiah.

Matthew traced the lineage of Jesus to show that Jesus alone fulfilled all of the Scriptures concerning Israel's King. He  showed that because God’s chosen people rejected the Messiah the blessing that was theirs would be extended to the Gentiles. The birth, death and resurrection of  Jesus Christ was too great to be only for the Jews and God had already set in place key people who would further His Kingdom. Their task would be to gather together those that would accept God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ and come to the Wedding Feast.

The Church founded on faith alone would encompass the world fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples of all the nations. Matthew’s goal to open the eyes of his fellow Jews to the Messiah will be fulfilled and Israel will be restored to her place of blessing. Jesus will rule the world God created with Him and through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew Outline from the New King James Study Bible

I. Jesus’ birth and preparation 1:1–4:11

A. Jesus’ birth and childhood 1:1–2:23

B. Jesus’ preparation 3:1–4:11

II. The declaration of Jesus’ principles 4:12–7:29

A. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry 4:12–25

B. Jesus’ principles: the Sermon on the Mount 5:1–7:29

III. The manifestation of Jesus: His miracles and commissioning 8:1–11:1

A. Demonstration of Jesus’ power: a collection of miracles 8:1–9:34

B. Declaration of Jesus’ presence: the commissioning of the disciples 9:35–11:1

IV. Opposition to Jesus 11:2–13:53

A. Evidence of the rejection of Jesus 11:2–30

B. Illustrations of opposition to Jesus 12:1–50

C. Jesus’ adaptation to His opposition: parables of the kingdom 13:1–53

V. Jesus’ reaction to opposition 13:54–19:2

A. Jesus’ withdrawal 13:54–16:12

B. Jesus’ instruction to His disciples 16:13–19:2

VI. Formal presentation and rejection of the King 19:3–25:46

A. Continued instruction of the disciples 19:3–20:34

B. Formal presentation of the King: the Triumphal Entry 21:1–7

Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.” (1 Timothy 2:1-3 MSG)

Acts 8:1-3

Now Saul was consenting to his death. 

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 

³ As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 


Saul threw Christians into prison and watched while at least one was stoned for his beliefs, Saul was wrong. He turned his life around through the intervention of Jesus Christ but many were persecuted in the wake of his early life. We are fallible humans and we need to have laws that protect freedom of religion for all people. God alone is the judge and He has the power to bring about His will without us.  The battles we fight are spiritual not physical battles and we fight them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God’s hand in our life, the life of our Nation and in the world! You either trust Him or you don’t...choose who you will serve!

The church father Augustine wrote that the church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen. Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, never forgot the way Stephen died—he also did not conceal that he was in full agreement with the killing. 

Saul had all the legal papers he needed to direct this persecution, and he had the authority to put people to death. Saul was arresting the Christians, men and women, and taking them to prison. After Saul was converted to Christ, the Lord appeared to Ananias, instructing him to go minister to Saul. However, because Ananias had heard about the tremendous pain and suffering Saul had afflicted upon the Jewish believers, he was afraid to go.

John 8:7-11

Jesus is merciful, understanding the faults of humanity, and He gives us grace. Caught in the act of adultery, judged according to the law of Moses to be stoned, surrounded by the self righteous....she was shown compassion by Christ and given forgiveness! 

Shouldn’t we do the same? How many times must we forgive?.. as many times as someone asks for forgiveness.

Sin no more implies that Jesus forgave her. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin or the sins of those accusing her.

John 8:7-11

⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. 

And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,  “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” 
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” 

I am joining in “40 Days of Prayer” for the United States that God will:

Unite us      Strengthen us           Appoint and anoint our next president

God loves all of His creation and the world is in His hands! We need to place our total trust in Him, humble ourselves before Him and pray for our nation.  God is an ever present help in times of trouble.....He is always in control!

Nahum 1:7-8

⁷ The Lord is good, 
A stronghold in the day of trouble; 
And He knows those who trust in Him. 
⁸ But with an overflowing flood 
He will make an utter end of its place, 
And darkness will pursue His enemies. 

Nahum 1:15

¹⁵ Behold, on the mountains 
The feet of him who brings good tidings, 
Who proclaims peace! 
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, 
Perform your vows. 
For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; 
He is utterly cut off. 

For the righteous, this is the best news of all. Because we know that the Lord is good, we can endure the tribulations of life. 

With the promise of future deliverance from oppression, the prophet called for the people to live in righteousness and expectation. There is nothing better for the people of God in any age than to live in obedience to Him and in anticipation of His coming deliverance.

John 15:9-10

⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 

The love of God the Father for God the Son is the measure of the love of the Son for believers. Christ loves believers unconditionally. But as believers obey Christ’s Word and abide in His love, they come to experience and understand His love for them more and more.

What were the commands given by Jesus Christ to us? Love God above any person, place or thing and love others as much as we love ourself. Love alone conquers evil.. Love and our acts done in love will be the only things that stay with us for eternity. We need to be doers, not just hearers, of His word.