Dave's Blog - Entries from January 2010Invalidating the Word of God1/31/10 Mark 7 Invalidating the Word of God (Mk 7:13) 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.” Unfortunately, this is charge sticks to many who are in churches today.... More Rest a While1/30/10 Mark 6 Rest a While Mk 6:31 Jesus tells his disciples that it is time to go to a secluded place and rest a while. Ministry can be exhausting and it is important to take time to get away. This can be a hard thing to do unless getting away is... More Jesus the Great Healer1/29/10 Mark 5 Jesus the Great Healer In Mark 5 we read about three different occasions where Jesus heals individuals. One of the great lessons that we can all learn from these healings is that Jesus handles each one personally. Jesus does not give... More Sometimes We are Slow1/28/10 Mark 4 Sometimes We are Slow Jesus shows a great deal of patience with His disciples with respect to his teaching and personhood. In Mk 4:10 His disciples and followers ask Jesus about the parables that He was teaching. He responds with a... More Doing the Will of God1/27/10 Mark 3 Doing the Will of God Mark 3:35 (NASB95) 35 “For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” Today, a small group will meet to discuss the first week of the Experiencing God bible study. The study focuses on... More Mark 1-21/26/10 Mark 1-2 Fast Moving I know that our schedule had Mt 28 and Mk 1 together yesterday, but I decided to begin Mark today and to combine Mk 1 & 2. Mark’s gospel is the shortest of all the gospels with only 16 chapters. Some have referred to it... More The Sin Continues1/25/10 Matthew 28 The Sin Continues In the face of all the miraculous events surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection the chief priests and elders remain in their sin. This is how paralyzing sin can be in anyone’s life. When a person does not... More The Blindness1/24/10 Matthew 27 The Blindness I saw today the blinding effect of sin again that can be in an individual’s life. It is really easy to see the sin of others, but much more difficult to see our own sin. Here the chief priests in verse 6 say; “It is... More The Betrayal1/23/10 Matthew 26 The Betrayal As I read this portion of scripture today I was captivated by the betrayal of Judas. It astounds those of us who know Jesus that such a thing could happen. The betrayal is clear evidence of the hardening and blinding... More The Olivet Discourse Part 21/22/10 Matthew 25 The Olivet Discourse Part 2 In chapter 25 we read two parables and a third passage that is not technically a parable. This first parable stresses the point for everyone to be ready for the return of Jesus. We know from chapter 24... More The Olivet Discourse1/21/10 Matthew 24 The Olivet Discourse Matthew 24 and 25 are referred to as the Olivet Discourse, because Mt 24:3 states that Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives when he gives his discourse (speech, talk, sermon) on the two questions the... More Exalting Oneself1/20/10 Matthew 23 Exalting Oneself (Mt 23:12) 12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. In this chapter eight woes are spoken against the scribes and Pharisees. The woes in this section are used as... More Another Question1/19/10 Matthew 22 Another Question (Mt 22:42) 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” We have noticed that Jesus asked Peter specifically and those who were present in Mt 16:13, “Who do people... More The King is Rejected1/18/10 Matthew 21 The King is Rejected Matthew 21 is referred to as the Triumphal entry when Matthew records for us the events that surrounded Jesus entering Jerusalem as the rightful King. He instructs two of his disciples to go and get a donkey... More What do you want me to do?1/17/09 Matthew 20 What do you want me to do? (Mt 20:32) 32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” This is a question that Jesus asked two blind men upon leaving Jericho. Now I find myself asking Jesus the... More One Thing1/16/09 Matthew 19 One Thing (Mt 19:16) 16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” This verse and those that follow remind believers and declare to unbelievers that there is nothing... More The Greatest People I Know1/15/09 Matthew 18 The Greatest People I Know Today our world idolizes people who are strong and independent. We can look on individuals who possess these characteristics and desire that our children would become like them. Many times these... More Do Not Look for Miracles1/14/09 Matthew 16 & 17 Do not Look for Miracles From Mt 16:1-4 we can be at rest in our souls that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. There is no reason for further evidence or miracles to authenticate who Jesus is. The sign of Jonah... More Discerning Sin vs Tradition1/13/09 Matthew 15 Discerning Sin vs Tradition Mt 15:11 “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” Some sincerely religious people show up in the beginning of chapter 15 and... More Jesus is God’s Son1/12/09 Matthew 14 Jesus is God’s Son Mt 14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. There are times in our lives that when we are following Jesus it appears that... More Parables1/11/10 Matthew 13 Parables As we read Mt 13 we noticed that it is this chapter that Matthew groups 8 different parables. A parable is an extended, metaphor, aphorism, or simile. Some ground rules for interpreting parables are; · They are designed... More Matthew 12:30-32 BONUS BLOG1/10/19 Matthew 12:30-32 BONUS BLOG There have been many Christians that have struggled with what actually is the sin “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” Many have even feared that they may have committed this sin. If you or someone you know is... More Something Greater1/10/10 Matthew 12 – Something Greater I relish in the fact that the “something greater” in Mt 12:6, 41, 42 is Jesus. The Pharisees questioned Jesus and the disciples for not doing what is lawful on the Sabbath. What they were saying is that you and... More Different Methods - Same Message1/9/10 Matthew 11 – Different Methods - Same Message In this chapter Jesus teaches us the significance of John the Baptist ministry. I would like to focus particularly on Mt 11:18-19. Today, there are numerous discussions, debates, and even damaging... More Do not Fear1/8/10 Matthew 10 – Do not Fear There are a number of things that cause us to fear. The greatest of all fears is probably the fear of death. Without an assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ there is nothing but fear. That assurance is not based on... More Slight Mix-up1/7/09 I will not be posting anything new today, because I posted chapters 8 and 9 together yesterday, since chapter 8 and 9 are a better match than 7 and 8. I commented on 8 and 9 together although the computer schedule I was following had Jan 5 th... More His Authority is One Reason I am His Disciple1/6/10 Matthew 9 I did not make any comments on chapter 8 yesterday because there is a distinct division from chapter 7 to chapter 8. Chapter 8 and 9 are a better match. In chapter 8 I noticed again that Jesus has “all authority on earth” Mt 28:18.... More Hearts turned toward HeavenMatthew 6 As I read this chapter my heart was turned toward heaven. Let me show you why as we move through this chapter. The first item addressed is that we do not practice our righteousness before men. In other words, we should not just be... More Grace & Mercy are PerfectMatthew 5 Chapter 5 is certainly filled with a ton of good stuff and there is week’s worth of items to meditate upon. Mattthew 5:45b is what caused me to consider grace and mercy that should be shown toward any enemy. The Lord makes the sun rise and... More The Importance of PreachingMatthew 3-4 In chapters 3 and 4 of Matthew the childhood narratives are left and we are introduced to John the Baptist and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Something of interest that stood out to me as I read through and thought on this portion of... More Obedience amidst FearMatthew 1-2 Good Morning and Happy New Year! I am going to be doing my devotions in the ESV as I continue to analyze and pray about using this version in the future, so if I quote something it may be a bit different from the NASB or a version that... More |
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