Mark 1

I have friends who LOVE to fish. They never get enough of the quest to land another one, whether they want to eat it or not. They have special poles and lures and reels and favorite spots to try to catch a bigger fish. It’s almost an obsession.

Jesus probably recruited fishermen because He knew they understood the principle … always thinking about another fish to catch. The Kingdom of God has and is being built on this multiplication technique … catching fish.

As born-again Christians, this needs to be our mentality. We should be much more aggressive about our strategies and energies aimed at catching fish. We are fishing for men to find their eternal place in God’s Great Big School of Fish.

Matt. 27,28

After Jesus had been crucified and had risen from the dead, He instructed His Disciples to go back to Galilee and meet Him on the mountain. There are many places surrounding the Sea of Galilee that this could have happened on.

We need our mountains to meet with Jesus. It an be a spot away from the hustle and bustle of life, someplace high where we can observe life from a higher perspective. There He gave them the Great Commission, orders for action that would consume their lives for the rest of their days.

Let’s meet Jesus on the mountain.

Matt. 26

During the Passion of Christ, evil resistance to His Lordship rose up in the form of false witnesses … liars presenting arguments supporting His demise. Even Judas was convinced He was a fraud. How hurtful it must have been to be falsely accused of sin and rebellion. His heart remained pure, but His condemners seared their reputations.

Jesus predicted that Christians would experience the same treatment in the last days.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me.”  [Matt. 24:9]

Matt. 25

“The least of these” was the target for Christ’s encouragement on care. The least important, the humblest, the ignored, the overlooked … these seem to be the people group Christ established as the target of our care. The translators imply that they are Christ’s followers, brothers or sisters in the faith. Nevertheless, anyone whom we see with a heart of compassion would be a suitable receiver of our care.

“People don’t care how much you know … they want to know how much you care.”

Matt. 24

The faithful and wise servant of Christ will endure the trials and hardships of the events leading up to His return. Firm in the faith, he will display to the world a witness of God’s keeping power and strength.

While we are waiting for Christ’s return, we should prepare by staying fresh in The Word and abounding in good works which show God’s love to the people around us.

Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Matt. 22,23

We just had our 50th wedding anniversary. The best part was having our family all together for the weekend … all except our grandson Caleb who is attending seminary in Brussels. I’m in hog-heaven when my kids and grand-kids are close-by. It’s always a longing of mine to have them near.

God longs to have His Children near also. He loves “gatherings of the saints.” Jesus expressed this longing when He addressed the inhabitants of Jerusalem by saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, … how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”

It makes our Heavenly Father’s heart glad when we gather together on Sundays for worship, fellowship, and the teaching of The Word.

Matt. 21

Jesus quoted the Psalmist when He stated, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

Clearly, He referred to the praise and acclamation coming from children in the temple as a fulfillment of the prophecy. He commended it. He still wants praise from His children … children of all ages. Many translations call it “Perfect praise.” Children have pure hearts. Their excitement and enthusiasm is from hearts uncluttered by the baggage of life. This is praise that God wants and deserves.

May we all revert to this simple heart of affection and devotion to Christ when we praise Him. Do it all the time!

Matt. 19, 20

I am amused when I see the ambition of some in the church. What are they trying to prove? Do they consider themselves “special” so they keep jockeying for promotion or authority? When they get authority or leadership positions, they always have eyes for a greater position or opportunity to esteem to in the future.

Jesus debunked this aggressive ambition when He said, “He who would be the greatest should humble himself and become everyone’s servant.

Look for those who just want to serve … they are the great ones who will be commended by the Heavenly Father at the judgment.

Matt. 17, 18

Jesus told His disciples to be very careful how they treat children … that their guardian angels always have eye to eye access to the Father in Heaven because of His great care and concern over them. Jesus warned them to never offend the children. They would be better off tied to a heavy millstone and drowned in the sea rather than offend them – cause them to trip and fall into sin.

There is a painful penalty for souls who violate children and get them on the wrong track for life, whether they be parents of exploiters. All the more that we endeavor to love, nurture and train children in God’s ways. Conversely, there should be a notable reward for those who train children in righteousness.

Matt. 14-16

Jesus told His disciples that there was a day coming when they would be rewarded for what they had done, their deeds, their actions, their works.

Good works ARE important. They don’t merit salvation but to a person already saved by the blood of Jesus they will qualify for rewards from God.

What kind of reward do we qualify for? While we still have time, let’s be about our Heavenly Father’s business.

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  Matt. 25:37-40