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Mark 10

6/29/2013

Mark 10:17-22 “As Jesus was starting out on His way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to Him, knelt down, and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? (18) Why do you call me good? Jesus asked. ‘Only God is truly good. (19) But to answer your question, you know the commandments. You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother. (20) Teacher, the man replied. I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young. (21) Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. ‘There is still one thing you haven’t done, He told him. Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me. (22) At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

Can you see what Jesus is relaying to this man? He is trying to show him that it is not about what we do or just that we know Him, but He wants us to love Him and let our hearts be transformed to needing nothing but Him. Our hearts are so important to our walk with the Lord, when our hearts are opened and we are asking, seeking and knocking we grow because we want to learn. When we think our learning is done and we have arrived we will get caught up in this world again just like the rich man.

The rich man couldn’t let go of his first love, his money and possessions. Jesus is showing us, if you really love me you’ll obey me and your stuff won’t mean anything to you, but living for Christ will be what drives us. Verse 23 goes on to says, “Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” If you can’t let go and let God, something will always be before Jesus and that is what this rich man didn’t understand. Verse 24 says, “This amazed them, but Jesus said again, ‘Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.” We have to go through Jesus and with that said we can’t earn our way but we can surrender and love Him. Verse 25 says, “In fact it is easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

As new creations in Christ we need to open up and continue to let the Spirit who is in us lead us to live our lives like Jesus. The more we relation with Jesus the more we can change to be like Him. I believe that true love is us saying we believe in you and then saying use me for whatever, I am willing. Look what it is going to take for us to change our hearts. Verses 26-27 say, “The disciples were astounded. Then who in the world can be saved? They asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” We must realize that without believing in Jesus we can’t change, and just saying it isn’t enough, our faith is shone in our action. Amen

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Mark 7

6/26/2013

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Mark 7:24-29 “Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house He was staying in, but He couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a women who had heard about Him came and fell at His feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged Him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, ‘First I should feed the children – my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.’ She replied, ‘That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.’ ‘Good answer! He said. Now go home for the demon has left your daughter.”

This story always makes me stop and read it again. Jesus compares this lady to a dog and she, because she believes, didn’t care she still answers out of love for Christ and her daughter. What do we do to show our love and thankfulness? It is not our choosing to earn salvation; it is loving Jesus enough to believe who He is and surrender our will to do anything that He shows us. She didn’t care that she was a Gentile even after Jesus tells her He shouldn’t help the dogs. Her love helps her answer so Jesus sees her pure heart and heals the daughter. This reminds me of what it says in Psalm chapter 37 verse 4, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your hearts desires.” It goes on in verse 5 to add a key step for us to remember. “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.”

It’s not about us living for the world and then asking for help; it’s living for Jesus and knowing He has already helped. I love that Jesus says in verse 29, “Good answer!” then said, “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” The same faith is seen in the solder that asks for his servant to be healed. They didn’t need to see Jesus do anything they believed He could and it happened. The religious leaders and Pharisees always demanded miraculous signs and Jesus rebuked them.

He wants our hearts and our love and He wants us to desire and commit to living like Him. If we are willing to open up and ask He is willing to answer and shine. He is the hope of the world and we should have joy every day because we know Him. As we surrender our lives and trust in Him nothing can take that joy but our own thoughts so we need to fill our thoughts with God’s word and live out all that we learn so people see our pure hearts and our actions show that we love God. Amen

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Mark 5

6/23/2013

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Mark 5:6-8 This is the demon – possessed man that walked the cemetery. “When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw Him, ran to meet Him, and bowed low before Him. With a shriek, he screamed, ‘Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me! For Jesus had already said to the spirit, ‘Come out of this man, you evil spirit.”

I love this because it shows the respect and fear that the demons have for Jesus. He ran to meet Him and bowed low before Him. Could you imagine if we showed that respect and fear as we accepted Him and said we would follow Him? Well the good news is that we can, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and He is our comforter, guide and protector. We can take that respect and go much further than the demons by loving Jesus so much we surrender our will and live by learning from God’s word to transform our hearts.

As we open our hearts and start to learn and seek wisdom from the Lord we can mature and when we mature our attitude changes and we don’t desire to please ourselves but work hard to please God by living like His Son. The more we ask the more we will understand and the more we understand the more we will change or as it says in Romans chapter 12 verse 2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

As we learn to know God’s will for us we will see how perfect it is for us. I don’t know about you but I want my life to be focused on someone perfect. Jesus shows us and gives us that life to follow all we need to do is realize who He is and believe in why He came. Our devotion to studying and learning will help us open our heart to change and that change will keep us following Jesus not trying to lead our own lives. When we can remember that God’s will for us is perfect we can free ourselves to learn and grow, then we can mature and live with peace and joy in this world looking to please God not ourselves. Amen

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Matthew 26

6/20/2013

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Matthew 26:40-41 “Then He returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter. “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give into temptation. For the Spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

Our fleshly desires control us so easily and we fight them all the time. Paul talks about it in Galatians chapter 5 verse 17, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” We must continue to study and ask God to show us in His word how we can use that willing Spirit in us and keep our focus on Christ.

This is the changing of our heart and us realizing we are a new creation in Christ because we have let Him in and have surrendered our will. I heard this this past weekend from Pastor Kevin Goff and I think it is important that we remember it as we seek growth in Christ. “Transformation isn’t just getting better it is becoming like Christ.” Getting back to Galatians, in chapter 5 verse 16 it says, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” I think of the word surrender when I think of the Spirit being willing.

Jesus came to show us and be the way to the Father and we see surrender in His life as He comes in human flesh to be our Lord and Savior. In Matthew chapter 26 verse 39 Jesus says, “He went on a little farther and bowed with His face to the ground, praying, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done not mine.” Jesus is our example and when we open our heart and change we need to surrender our body because it is weak and let God’s word keep us focused on Jesus. We must remember that this will take continual work and dedication, Jesus went back two more times and prayed the same prayer. Our attitude is what helps us drive our lives in Christ. Pastor Kevin Goff, The Rock Church, also added this in his sermon, “The way you can tell a person is growing is they have a changed attitude.” After the disciples bout with sleep they had to have a new attitude and that was evident after Jesus’ resurrection.

I have said this before and believe it fully, our walk is not for ourselves it is for others to see Christ in us so they may choose Him as well. Look at what Jesus says after one of His disciples cuts off the high priest slave’s ear. In verses 53 and 54 it says, “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and He would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” We must work hard to keep our focus and feed our bodies with what is good and pleasing to God. I want to end with Galatians chapter 6 verse 8 which says, “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from their sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” Amen

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Matthew 25

6/18/2013

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Matthew 25:31-33 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, there He will sit upon His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left.”

This really touched my heart today and made me look at love and how Jesus did everything because He loved the Father. In verse 34 Jesus says, “Then the king will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.” The sheep on the right opened their hearts to love, they didn’t feel they had to earn anything; they lived like Christ serving people because they understood how to love God and Love people. They didn’t calculate what they did they didn’t even realize they were doing it because when we love someone it is effortless to do what is right. Don’t get me wrong it’s not easy but when we have a relationship with Jesus by opening the word of God and learning we react to life because our heart is full of the Spirit.

Verse 37 says, “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?” They didn’t think of it because they just lived the way they saw Jesus live. It’s not about works, it’s about believing in whom He is and working hard to understand all He showed us so we not only have salvation but live on earth as it is in heaven.

That is the peace Jesus promises in John chapter 14 verse 27, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” We can’t get caught up in earning our way we need to get caught up in loving our way. God’s word will teach us everything we need to know, when we open it, it is alive and active. When we put it in our hearts we are alive and active and we are like the sheep on the right and our lives show it by our unconditional love for serving and helping all of God’s creation. I challenge you all to read Matthew chapter 25 verses 31-46 and pray. Amen

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Matthew 24

6/16/2013

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Matthew 24:42-44 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

This is a great passage for Jesus showing us the importance in relationship and loving God enough to be ready. As we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we must take the time to get in the Word and know Him. In John chapter 1 verse 1 it says, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So we need to know the word so we can know God and live like Jesus.

If we take the time to know Jesus we will be ready when He returns and nothing that satan does will take our focus off Him and our growing in Him. Our excitement should be that Jesus came to bridge the gap for us to the Father and that should make us want nothing more but to know Him and be ready for His return. In Matthew chapter 24 verse 31 it says, “And He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from all over the world - from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” As I looked up the word chosen or elect in some translations I saw that in the Greek it is eklektos and in this context it means; to obtain salvation through Christ. Christian’s are called “chosen or elect” of God.

We are His chosen or elect and we must be ready to hear the trumpet. We need to get in God’s word and be joyful we are able to talk with a God that loves us and gave His only Son for us. We can’t pick and choose when we want to learn we must open our hearts and seek His wisdom now while we have the chance. Amen

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Matthew 23

6/13/2013

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Matthew 23:25-26 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy – full of greed and self- indulgence! You blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish and then the outside will become clean, too.”

This seems like the easy thing to do but we struggle because sometimes we want to be two different people. Our heart transformation is vital to our walk with the Lord. If we change only what people see we are fooling ourselves and we will continue to struggle with knowing the peace and joy that comes with our knowing Jesus the Lord and Savior of our lives.

We have been going through a series at The Rock Church called: Hear – Think – Speak – Grow and it has been really pushing that our walk is a growth process and takes that cleaning the inside as well as the outside. As we hear God’s word our mind starts wrestling with what God is telling us and we think about how to process it in our lives. It goes in to our mind and then as it travels to our heart we use it to change and transform who we were because we are new creations after we accept Jesus. As our heart fills with the Spirit we can speak what we are learning because what we put in our hearts is what will come out when we are tested.

Life is so full of information, without trying we get all kinds of negative and false expectations from the world. There is never a time when nothing is going in we have got to make sure we are putting God’s word in so we can renew the mind and fill the heart with truth. Look at what Paul says in Galatians chapter 6 verses 7-8, “Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” As we surrender and we fix our attention on what is good (God’s word) we start to speak what is good and we start to grow and that growth is from the inside and it permeates the entire body and our outside is clean as well. We then live one life honoring God and our actions are seen to be the same as our words.

The entire 23rd chapter in Matthew is written to show the sorrow of no heart change, look at verses 27-28 which say, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs – beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurities. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” We must make sure we are growing internally and letting it grow to shine the outside as well. Amen

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Matthew 20

6/10/2013

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Matthew 20:24-28 “When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this would lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

We get so caught up in titles and status and Jesus is trying to wake us up and open our heart to serve. I have worked for many leaders and the ones that made you feel equal and worthy of what you were doing were always the ones that I respected. As I grow as a leader I want to always remember who I am in Christ and let people see that whatever is being asked of them I will be there with them doing it as well.

A leader must be willing to teach, train and model what they want and they must be able to be trusted and have integrity. Using your title to be bossy our gain power is what Satan wanted in the beginning and it didn’t work out well for him. I am reading a book called “Be a Motivational Leader” by Leroy Eims and he shares in one chapter about being a caring leader. He states, “What do shepherds need to keep the sheep healthy, producing and reproducing? A number of things are profitable, but two are absolute necessities. The first essential is a clear understanding of the basic needs of sheep. Shepherds must diligently study this, then look over the flock, and determine what their sheep need. The second essential is their diligence and drive to do whatever is necessary to meet those needs. Solomon articulated it beautifully: “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.” Proverbs 27:23. In other words, find out what needs to be done and do it.”

I love this because it ties right into what Jesus was talking about with His disciples. We can’t seek to be dictators but we can look at Christ and be a loving, caring shepherd and model the behavior it takes to lead. Amen

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Matthew 18

6/6/2013

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Matthew 18:1-3 “About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. Then He said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Two things stand out to me, first when Jesus said, “…Unless you turn from your sins and become like little children…” It is not that kids are sin free it is that they are innocent and open and there is no pride in them. We easily start doing things for our personal gain and for what pleases us but Jesus is calling us to surrender what we desire and turn to Him. Our humbleness keeps us focused on Christ and our focus on Christ keeps us from doing things for ourselves. This is the first step to transformation and the changing of our heart.

The second thing is when Jesus said, ‘…You will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Without truly believing in Jesus and letting go we will be missing out on what Jesus came for and we will always live for ourselves and never turn to Christ. It seems harsh but Jesus is just reminding us that He came to save us from ourselves and help us see the importance of living for Him. At the end of Chapter 17 Jesus shares with Peter about paying their taxes and in verse 27 Jesus says, “However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” We get caught up in what we think we should do and it leads us to fight fights that don’t need to be fought. Surrender to what we learn from Christ and changing our heart and our focus can help us grow and be different.

Matthew chapter 18 verse 4 goes on to say, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” We can’t worry about our status, we just need to live 100% for Jesus and read God’s word so we can continue to grow and know what to do in all situations. As we read and learn we change and our lives become like children listening to their parents because they love them. We show our love by our surrender and our surrender fills our heart with desire that come from Jesus not our sinful nature and we experience truth. Amen

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Mark 10

Mark 7

Mark 5

Matthew 26

Matthew 25

Matthew 24

Matthew 23

Matthew 20

Matthew 18

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