1 Timothy 5:8

Those who do not take care of their own family? Worse off than those who do not believe! Scary thought. Love God above all. 

Love is an action word not an emotion. Honor your parents. Care for your family. Take care of those in need. The world will know us by our works done in love. Faith without action is a dead faith!

Paul’s statement here suggests that even unbelievers—those without faith in Christ and the Spirit of God—support those in their household.  Faithlife Bible.

A believer is to provide for his own (his near relatives) and his household (his immediate family). Failure to provide for one’s family is equal to denial of the faith. If a Christian cannot even care for his or her own family, how can that person sincerely love and care for others? Some unbelievers take better care of their families than believers do. NKJ Bible.

1 Timothy 5:8

8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Isaiah 58:7 | Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

2 Corinthians 12:14 | Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

Galatians 6:10 | Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Philippians 1:9-11

There are some messages that I am given that are clearer than others. Holy Spirit has used 9-11 often as a sure way to get my attention. Please help me to clearly hear You and take to heart the importance of the message. 

You will know other believers by the fruit of the Spirit revealed in their life. Love above all!!!!

Galatians 5:22-26

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Thank you for Your faithfulness I am so unworthy. I love you!

As Paul explains, love (agapē) involves putting others before oneself. The knowledge that Paul has in mind is not just intellectual but experiential, acquired through acts of love. The Greek term used here for discernment, aisthēsis, refers to the ability to make decisions for the benefit of others. When love abounds, we will be able to determine what is most valuable or beneficial to the community of believers. Faithlife Bible.

The love that Paul sought for the believers is the highest form of Christian love, based on a lasting, unconditional commitment, not on an unstable emotion. The first of two terms on which a directed love is built, knowledge suggests an intimate understanding based on a relationship with the person. Here the focus of this knowledge is God. Found only here in the NT, discernment, the Greek word means moral or ethical understanding based on both the intellect and the senses. The word implies perception or insight into social situations.

The purpose of increasing in love, controlled by knowledge, is to be able to evaluate people and situations correctly. Christ died to free the church from every blemish. Paul conveys the sense of not striking out at someone. The goal ahead for the believer is the day of Christ in which the believer will stand for evaluation before the Savior, who is the faithful and true witness. NKJ Bible.

Philippians 1: 9-19 

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge (acquired through acts of love)and all discernment (the ability to make decisions for the benefit of others), 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness (The fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-26) which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

John 15:8 | By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Ephesians 2:10 | For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Colossians 1:6 | which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

Matthew 2:12-13

There will always be those in power that desire to use that power to control others. Satan seeks to destroy mankind and his time is short. These people, most times unknowingly, are influenced by him. Even the elect can be deceived. We need to listen very closely to Holy Spirit and His warnings and guidance in times like these.

Be as wise as the serpent who wants to destroy you but as gentle as the Holy Spirit who lives in you. 

Jesus has already overcome the world…it is up to you to hear Him.

Joseph is warned in a dream to flee with his family to Egypt. They hide there until Herod dies, and then return home. This situation also reflects Jeroboam’s flight into Egypt when Solomon wished to kill him. God promised Jeroboam kingship; when Solomon died, Jeroboam returned from Egypt and became king. The ordinary expectations of the Messiah would not have included fleeing into Egypt, but Matthew presents even this as fulfilling prophecy. He sees an analogy between Israel—the children of God—and Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus emerged from Egypt just as Israel had during the exodus. Faithlife Bible.

This is the second fulfillment of prophecy recorded in chapter 2. The first, in verse 6, is a direct fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy about the birthplace of Jesus; this is a typological fulfillment. The prophecy quoted here, from Hosea 11:1, refers to the nation of Israel as God’s son coming out of Egypt in the Exodus. Jesus is the genuine Son of God, and, as Israel’s Messiah, is the true Israel therefore, He gives fuller meaning to the prophecy. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 2:12-13

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

Job 33:15 | In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds,

Job 33:16 | Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction.

Matthew 1:20 | But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

John 8:9-11

Judge not least ye be judged! Sound advice. No one is righteous but God. We need to judge ourself and leave the judgement of others up to God who sees the heart of a person and the whole of the circumstances.

What Jesus wrote on the ground is a matter of conjecture, personally I think it was love!

Jesus forgave her. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin. NKJ Bible.

 Jesus makes the case that no one is without sin other than God, and thus no one is permitted to pass judgment by any authority other than what God has given them. Only God has a pure motive. Faithlife Bible.

John 8: 9-11

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.”

Luke 9:56 | For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Luke 12:14 | But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”

John 3:17 | For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 5:14 | Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Titus

The world will know us by the love we show to others and the good works we do in the name of Jesus. 

Faith without works is useless.

Paul was one of the most effective leaders of the early church. He preached the gospel tirelessly, founded a succession of churches throughout Asia Minor and Greece, and grounded these churches in God’s Word and the essentials of the Christian faith. But to be truly effective, Paul had to nurture others to follow in his footsteps and faithfully lead the church into the next century. Titus was one of the young men Paul was training for leadership. He had accompanied Paul early in his ministry, had served as Paul’s representative, and was considered a “fellow worker”. When Paul wrote this letter, he had begun to pass the reins of leadership to this capable young man who was overseeing the churches on the island of Crete.

In his instructions to Titus, Paul reminds him of the traits of a spiritual leader. Paul had chosen Titus as a helper because he had evidenced these qualities. Now he had to model such traits to others, searching for those who could become leaders in the newly planted churches. Paul instructed Titus to place the responsibility of moral leadership on the elders. Older men and women had to lead the way in personal holiness. If their lives demonstrated the transforming power of the gospel, they would leave a lasting impact on following generations. Young men who saw older men diligently maintaining their faith in Christ would do likewise. Young women who heard older women encourage them to “love their husbands, to love their children” would be more likely to take the counsel to heart if they saw their mentors doing that themselves. Titus himself was to exhort “young men”, while making sure that he was consistently following the pattern of life he was teaching.

The degree to which sound training exists in a local church practically determines the health of that church. The pastor may be the designated teacher, but the Bible makes everyone both a trainer and a trainee. Church members should rely on each other for spiritual guidance. The older generation should pass on to the next generation their vital Christian faith by word and example. The character that results from this process of spiritual training truly is an eye-catching advertisement for the gospel.

Titus

Whereas the letters to Timothy emphasize sound doctrine, the letter to Titus emphasizes good works. There were influential people in the church who were motivated by personal interest and selfish gain. In his letter, Paul exposes the ways this was affecting the doctrine and practice of the church and urges Titus to champion purity, service, and kindness toward others. Paul reminds Titus that salvation is not based on our own “works of righteousness” but rather is the result of God’s work of kindness and love toward us. We are unable to do good works in our disobedient and selfish state. Salvation in Christ frees us to do good works, and the “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” enables us.

God wants His people to devote themselves to doing good works. Older men, older women, young women, young men, and servants should “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things”. In his letter, Paul exhorts the believers at Crete to display the testimony of good works to outsiders. While good works are a Christian duty, they are also a gift from God. Through justification in Christ, God declares us righteous. We must have this legal standing in order to qualify before God to do good works. Redemption removes us from the jurisdiction of Satan by paying the debt incurred by our sins. At the same time, it places us in the family of God so that we might be “His own special people, zealous for good works”.

Titus

1:16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

2:11-15 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. 15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

 3:3-7 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

3:9-14 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. 10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.12 When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

John 2:1-12

What are the lessons in these passages for us? 

God honors parents and so should we. He made it the 4th commandment directly following His passages of how we are to honor Him. 

Jesus’s first miracle was in relation to His mother asking and expecting Him to respond. We can ask in His name and expect answers. 

Mary asked this, not for herself, but for the bride and groom. The prayers of believers is powerful for good. God hears our prayers for others.

Jesus could have came to this earth in any way that God chose. He chose family. Jesus loved his mother. He loved his family. You were born into that family for a purpose. The believer who does not take care of his family…is worse than an unbeliever.

Miracles happen when we believe! 

To God be all the glory.

Wine was an essential part of the diet in the ancient world. Drinking wine symbolized peace and prosperity, but excessive drinking and drunkenness were condemned. The Greek text here literally reads, “what is that to me and you?” Jesus is likely petitioning His mother to consider whether the request is really the type of thing He should be addressing with His power; He probably wants her to consider His purpose. Mary did not take Jesus’ refusal as a firm negative response and clearly did not understand it as a rebuke. She knew Jesus was able to take care of the problem. The signs are designed to reveal Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. John declares that his purpose in writing the Gospel was to promote belief through the story of Jesus and the signs He performed. Faithlife Bible.

The wording of the text, the mother of Jesus was there … Jesus and His disciples were invited, suggests that Jesus and His disciples were invited because of Mary. Her forwardness in asking Jesus to help when the wine ran out may indicate that she was in some way related to the family holding the wedding. Jesus’ response to Mary seems to have been a refusal to do anything about the situation. Yet she seemed to expect Him to do something. Perhaps something in the tone of Jesus’ voice let Mary know that He would grant her request. In the Gospel of John, the miracles of Jesus are called signs, indicating that they pointed to His messiahship. John records seven signs. This sign signified Christ’s glory—that is, His deity. When Jesus transformed water into wine, He demonstrated His power. NKJ Bible.

John 2:1-12

2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

John 4:46 | So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.

Acts 23:3-5

In times like these it is best to remain silent and pray for our leaders and all those who govern. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s will can be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.

The peace of God i is beyond our human capacity of understanding…I am oh so very thankful for it!!!!

Paul proclaims that God’s justice against the high priest will match his disregard for the law. Paul accuses Ananias of failing to uphold the law by presuming Paul’s guilt and punishing him before Paul could make his case. It is possible Paul had never seen Ananias and was not aware he was the high priest. It is also possible that Paul was speaking sarcastically.  Or He did not recognize Ananias because Ananias was not acting the way the high priest was supposed to act. Faithlife Bible.

Whitewash is a thin paint used to make something dirty look clean. Ananias deserved this rebuke. The fact that Ananias had someone else “do his dirty work” did not absolve him from the ordering of the act.

Note that Paul did not defend his behavior, but rather repented of it. There are several possible reasons why Paul did not know Ananias was the high priest. It could be that Paul’s eyesight was poor, and he could not see Ananias clearly. Or perhaps this was not a normal assembly of the Sanhedrin, and the high priest was not wearing his normal robes or sitting in his usual place. NKJ Bible.

Acts 23:3-5

 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

4 And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

5 Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

Exodus 22:28 | “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Commentary:

3, 4. God shall smite thee—as indeed He did; for he was killed by an assassin during the Jewish war [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 2.17.9].

thou whited wall—that is, hypocrite (Mt 23:27). This epithet, however correctly describing the man, must not be defended as addressed to a judge, though the remonstrance which follows—“for sittest thou,” &c.—ought to have put him to shame.

5. I wist not … that he was the high priest—All sorts of explanations of this have been given. The high priesthood was in a state of great confusion and constant change at this time (as appears from Josephus), and the apostle’s long absence from Jerusalem, and perhaps the manner in which he was habited or the seat he occupied, with other circumstances to us unknown, may account for such a speech. But if he was thrown off his guard by an insult which touched him to the quick, “what can surpass the grace with which he recovered his self-possession, and the frankness with which he acknowledged his error? If his conduct in yielding to the momentary impulse was not that of Christ Himself under a similar provocation (Jn 18:22, 23), certainly the manner in which he atoned for his fault was Christ-like” [Hacket].

Christ is the great leveler. 

Black, white or purple; rich, middle income or poor; Jew, catholic or protestant we are all created in the image of God. We cannot take our wealth with us but we can take the good deeds that we do in the name of Christ. likewise, we are to care for others in the same way that we care for yourselves. Love God above all and others as much as we do our own family and be humble. Micah 6:8 once again!

In Luke, these beatitudes focus on the socioeconomic conditions of first-century Palestine. In Matthew, they suggest a more spiritualized application. Those who mourn over the brokenness of the present world and the suffering it causes will rejoice when Jesus returns.  Jesus praises both those who suffer for the sake of doing what is right, and also those who experience persecution because of their allegiance to Himself. Unlike Matthew, Luke includes woes to accompany the beatitudes—these are commonly called antitheses to the beatitudes. Using a common apocalyptic motif, Jesus declares that the present circumstances of the rich and poor will be reversed in the future. Jesus emphasizes love, charity, and goodness—traits that should characterize the people of God as residents of His kingdom.

Jesus and the Poor “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” A consummate communicator, Jesus began His sermon with a sentence that certainly must have riveted His audience. Probably most of them were poor. Their lives were far from easy; their rough, worn hands attested to that fact. The difficulties and hardships of their lives drove them to travel the hot and dusty roads of Judea to listen to this prophet Jesus. Perhaps He would tell them more about the kingdom of God. Most of them had placed their hopes on the coming of this glorious kingdom. They longed for the day when the righteous Messiah, not the cruel Roman governor, would rule their lives. Faithlife Bible.

Jesus began His sermon with an attention-grabbing, irony-filled series of blessings that have intrigued and puzzled Bible scholars and laymen for centuries. Often referred to as the Beatitudes, these statements contrast worldly goods and values with a heavenly estimation of people’s affairs. The Beatitudes provide us with a heavenly perspective, evaluating the present in the light of eternity. 

They remind us that things are not always what they seem, and certainly not what they will one day be.

At face value, it appears that Jesus was making a blanket promise of salvation and blessing to anyone and everyone below the poverty line. Some have adopted just such an interpretation and have felt a special call to aim their ministries at the downtrodden. In this view, the poor are seen as God’s chosen people. Though they suffer in this world, and perhaps because they suffer now, they can expect glorious blessing in the world to come. And the adherents of this view believe that while in this world the people of God should do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the poor. In this way the kingdom of God is extended.

Many interpret the word poor as referring to the “poverty of spirit” that Jesus talks about in a very similar sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. In other words, Jesus was offering hope and joy to those who freely recognize their spiritual poverty before God. These individuals are blessed because they come to God with nothing to offer Him except their great need. Thus Christ’s offer of the kingdom of God is not a promise to every poor person. Rather it is a statement about the future condition of those who humbly choose to follow Him. When a person rejects worldly values and embraces the godly teachings of Jesus, then that individual begins to experience the reign of Christ in his or her life. This is how we enjoy the kingdom of God now in this fallen world. One day we will experience the joys of this kingdom in a fuller, more glorious way.

To summarize, anyone, rich or poor (and in a spiritual sense we are all poor), can taste the deep joy of God’s rule and the blessing of His kingdom. But doing so requires that we renounce the ways of the world and humbly submit our ways to God. This kind of poverty, an emptying of ourselves of our self-centered desires, is what God expects from everyone. NKJ Bible.

Luke 6:20-26

20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you poor,

For yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now,

For you shall be filled. 

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you,

And when they exclude you,

And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,

For the Son of Man’s sake.

23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!

For indeed your reward is great in heaven,

For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich,

For you have received your consolation.

25 Woe to you who are full,

For you shall hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now,

For you shall mourn and weep.

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Isaiah 65:13 | Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:“Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed;

Matthew 5:6 | Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Luke 12:21 | “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Matthew 24:29-31

The Holy Spirit warned me of 911, He let me know that something life changing would happen two years prior to my son’s death and now He has led me to this passage four times since August. Could he have been warning me of the pandemic? I would say yes. 

Although no one knows the exact time or date of the coming of Christ the signs are all here. I don’t always see clearly what He is showing me until it happens…but I trust God and the scriptures.

Pray for the people of earth that their eyes will be opened to see Jesus and the salvation that only comes through Him.

The sound of the trumpet is also a motif signaling the day of God’s judgment. Faithlife Bible.

This verse moves chronologically to the close of the tribulation, a period that will be marked by monumental cosmic disturbances. We will know the end is coming when we see the signs Jesus described in this passage. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 24:29-31

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Isaiah 13:10 | For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Isaiah 24:23 | Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.

Ezekiel 32:7 | When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light.

Daniel 7:13 | “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.

Joel 2:10 | The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.

Mark 1:14-15

B.E.L.I.E.V.E. 

The battle has been won we just need to repent and accept the gift of God in the birth, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We anxiously await the return of our King. The glory belongs to our God!

Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. It was the subject of much Old Testament prophecy, and the theme was familiar to Jesus’ listeners. Repent, and believe are both acts of faith. When a person accepts the only true and worthy object of faith, that person readily turns from inferior substitutes. NKJ Bible.

As soon as John the Baptist is arrested, Jesus emerges from the wilderness to declare the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth. The Greek word for kingdom used here, basileia, can denote a geographical territory or the reign of a particular monarch. The kingdom of God refers to God’s reign over all of creation and humanity. Jesus’ teaching in Mark reveals that members of the kingdom of God are marked by childlike humility, concern for the poor, sacrificial service, and love for God and neighbor. The language Mark uses to describe God’s rule demonstrates its dynamic character. The kingdom comes, it grows like a seed, and people can enter it, but only by responding to God’s will. 

Yahweh is described as enthroned in heaven and in His temple in Jerusalem. It is this reign that Mark’s Gospel affiliates with Jesus. Jesus’ ministry involves the cleansing of Yahweh’s temple (the symbol of His earthly presence), and Jesus Himself is the epitome of that presence, His body is described as God’s temple. God’s full reign—as seen in the garden of Eden shortly after creation—had not existed since sin entered the world. Jesus’ proclamation suggests that the time of God’s full reign on earth is near. God’s presence on earth has arrived in the flesh in Jesus. Jesus is saying that since that has occurred, it is only a matter of time until the justice and order that mark God’s reign are in place over all the earth. The kingdom of God is described as near (present) but not fully arrived because its full arrival on earth takes place upon Jesus’ second coming. Since Jesus announces the advent of a new kingdom, belief in the gospel entails allegiance to the new king, Jesus. Faithlife Bible.

Mark 1:14-15

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying,  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Daniel 9:25 | “Know therefore and understand,That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince,There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

Matthew 3:2 | and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Matthew 4:12 | Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.

Matthew 4:17 | From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:23 | And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

In these times we need to listen closely to Holy Spirit. He will guide and protect those who place their trust in Him!

Jesus died for ALL of mankind…God alone knows the parameters of the salvation that He provided. Through His selfless act of obedience Jesus provided the only way to God…who are we to judge the wisdom of God? The fight is not against humans but against the temporary power of Satan.  

Jesus has already won the battle!

God’s wisdom—which is revealed in Christ’s death, resurrection, and the saving of humanity—is not bound by time; it is eternal. The Greek word used here, archōn, can refer either to humans or to divine beings. It could refer to evil spiritual entities. Paul emphasizes that Christ is eternal.  Meaning, it is not plain to the person looking for understanding of the world, themselves, and others. Rather, it can be understood only through revelation from God’s Spirit. Paul asserts that people cannot understand the things of God through human faculties they must rely on the Spirit graciously given to believers by God. God grants insight regarding His work to those who follow Him and do His will. Paul argues that people desiring to know more or have greater wisdom should seek to walk more closely with Christ, as God reveals His eternal work to people this way. The Spirit (pneuma in Greek) knows the things of God. God’s Spirit is not like the spirit of people or anything that can be comprehended, computed, or reasoned in this world. While God’s work is eternal, everything of this world is temporal—including current rulers and evil spiritual beings. Without God’s help through the Spirit, people lack the ability to understand His plans or work. 

The Spirit (pneuma) is the one who truly explains and reveals the ways of God to people—believers are just messengers and instruments of the Spirit’s message. Those who belong to the Spirit do not need to subject themselves to human condemnation or approval; they recognize that God is their only judge. The presence of the Spirit grants believers the ability to discern God’s will and works within them to make them more like Christ. Faithlife Bible.

People look at beauty, wealth, and power as greatly desirable. But all earthly splendor will be rendered meaningless and worthless by death and the coming of God’s judgment. Though Jesus emptied Himself of His majesty when He became human, He remained fully equal with the Father. Only the Holy Spirit could reveal the truths of God. We could never have discovered the mysteries of God or the benefits of Christ’s death by ourselves. But we can know them by experience because they have been freely given to us by God. Paul emphasized that the intellectuals of this world could not teach the knowledge he was giving to the Corinthian believers. Note that the Spirit did not simply dictate words to Paul and the other apostles; He taught them. The apostles related with their own vocabulary and style what they had learned from the Spirit. The natural person does not have the Spirit of God, in contrast to the Believer who does have the Spirit. NKJ Bible.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 

8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Job 15:8 | Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

Job 32:8 | But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

Psalm 24:7 | Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

Psalm 24:8 | Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.