Thoughts From the Bible

Read Mark 12: 1- 12 -   Jesus challenged the religious leaders with a parable about the vinedresser and  how the vinedresser’s representatives and then his son  was  abused or killed. Jesus was making this statement  in order for  the religious leaders to understand He knew their intentions  were not spiritually motivated.  Verse s  ten  and eleven it  says, “ H ave you not even read this scripture,  ‘ (10)  The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. (11) This  was the  Lord’s  doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”   The religious leaders were motivated by fear,  greed,  and hatred. Those three things built upon each other to cause them to  cast themselves against Jesus. They were afraid Jesus would take their influence and positions away which would  impact  their standing in the  community,  and they hated Him for this.  One of t...

Read Matthew 2: 19- 23- Joseph was acquainted with fear.  I know there are those who preach we as Christians should not have a spirit of fear and that Satan is the author of fear.  I am certainly not going to debate that idea, but I read in this passage Joseph was afraid to return to Egypt. In verses 22 and 23 we read, “ But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a c ity called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.” Joseph was leading quite a life. First, he wanted to marry a woman who told him she was pregnant but had never had sex with a man. Then an angel appeared to Joseph telling him Mary was tell ing him the truth, and he would be the father of the Messiah. There was the dream telling Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because of Herod...