Thoughts From the Bible

Luke 9: 43- 45- (43) And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did. He said to His disciples, (44) “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” (45) But they did not understand this saying, and they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.   This stopped the disciples in their tracks. Je sus knew what the future held for Him. He chose this time to reveal part of it to his closest followers. As I think about the whole idea of someone betraying Jesus, I want to make sure I do not betray Jesus today. There are opportunities in this life that I have to speak up about faith in Jesus and I need to make sure I do not let those o pportunities pass. I cannot be guilty of betraying Jesus.    Proverbs 13:19- A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.    

Mark 9: 11- 13-  Jesus was aware of Biblical prophecy and knew how the coming events in His life would be fulfilling pro phecy. The disciples were aware of some of these prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah.  Jesus speaks directly to one of the prophecies. Verses  11, 12 and 13 say,  ‘(11) And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say, that Elijah must come first?” (12) Then He  answered  and told them, “ Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things; and how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? (13) But I say to you that Elijah has also  come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”’   Bible scholars tell us this passage refers to the ministry of John the Baptist where John preached in the spirit of Elijah and announced the soon coming ministry of the Messiah.  Jesus was respectful of the scriptures as they were in His...

Matthew 24: 1- 2-  What kind of lesson can I take away from Jesus telling the disciples the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed? Verses 1 and 2 says,  ‘ Jesus left the temple and was going  away, when  His disciples came to point out to Him the buildings of the temple. But He answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. ”’   The nation of Israel turned away from God and allowed many evil things creep into their country. This w eakened them and allowed their enemies to take them and destroy the temple. I need to stay aware of the things that are happening in the world around me and protect my spiritual life from being comp romised by erosion in culture. Whether it is being someone I am not or using language that  aligns me more with those who do not recognize God, I need to be sensitive to how I live my life and know I have a responsibility to stay focu...

Read Matthew 21:1- 5-   There are those who have talked about spending all their time reading the New Testament rather than reading the Old Te stament. They talk about the practical teachings in the New Testament about how to live a good Christian life. I understand that thinking however, I  do not want to exclude any of the Bible because there are so many Biblical principles to be learned in both Testaments. There are also prophecies that are important to know as we look to  verify our Christian beliefs.  I think Jesus  showed this in this passage to respect the historical accuracy of the scriptures. In verses 4 and 5 Ma tthew writes,  ‘This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”’   I want to continue to learn from both Old and New Testaments as I work to become a better Christian and rep...