Women of Firm Faith

Verses 1-4, “Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”   The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. I'm sure that watching Jesus pray would make anyone feel inadequate, but rather than not doing it at all, they desired to learn to be more like Him. They asked, and He gave, which is His heart toward us. In this pattern for prayer,  you must first acknowledge who God is and His authority before jumping into your needs or requests.  It is also important to get right with...

Verses 1-12, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to...

Verses 23-27, “Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.' ” Denying self is a foreign concept in a country where everyone indulges their selfish pleasures. Too many people live their lives for what they can see...the here and now...with little to no regard to what their eternal future will look like. Is it really going to matter what you looke...

Verses 9-10, "Then His disciples asked Him, saying, 'What does this parable mean?' And He said, 'To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that "Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand." Jesus often spoke in parables that gave earthly examples of much bigger spiritual truths. Those who are spiritually blind, will only walk away with a story, possibly confused. Spiritual blindness is a choice, and if you choose it long enough, God can confirm your will, just like he did with the Jews. It is not God's heart to hide the truth from certain people.  But hardness of heart will prevent many from receiving the truth and repenting. Many will choose earthy wealth and cares now over spiritual treasures later, because they lack faith that God is who He is. The parable of the sower describes four different types of soil on which the seed may fall. The soil represents the conditi...

A Roman centurion leader demonstrates his understanding of authority to Jesus and causes Him to marvel. Verses 6-9, "Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.'  When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!' ”  For this earthly leader to have greater understanding of spiritual matters than God's chosen people, the Jews, especially consi...

Verses 2-5, "And some of the Pharisees said to them, 'Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?' But Jesus answering them said, 'Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?'  And He said to them, 'The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.' "  The Pharisees had become so stuck in their traditions that they missed the intention of the law in the first place. The Sabbath was created to give man a day of rest, but they find fault with Jesus' disciples plucking grain to eat. Think about how ridiculous their traditions were that would make the disciples guilty of harvesting, threshing, and preparing food when they were just meeting a simple practical need. Our sacrifices to the Lord cannot be at the expense of others, failing to show...

Verses 4-6, “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.' But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.' And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.”  Things don't have to make sense for us to obey Jesus. Certainly Peter didn't understand why Jesus would ask him to put down the nets after a night of unsuccessful fishing, but he yielded to a higher authority anyway.  If things make sense to you, then you aren't walking by faith. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  If God asks you to do something, and you just can't see it and it doesn't make sense to you, good!  Do it anyway, and trust Him with the outcome, finding peace in knowing that you are walking by ...

Verses 1-13, “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall ...

John the Baptist preached a message of repentance.  A message that probably would not be well received today. John speaks the truth and doesn't soften it for the hearer, as many seeker friendly pastors do. Verses 7-9, "Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, 'Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.' "   Our society, including the churches, is teaching tolerance and acceptance and adjusting the lines of right and wrong in order to make people feel better about themselves in their sin. True repentance, however, is a complete change in direction. It is not just sayin...

AVerses 1-7, “ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” The fact that Jesus existed, as well as His earthly parents, is a matter of public record. Combined with the multitudes of people who saw Him while on earth, and hundreds who saw Him after His death and resurrection, should be more than enough to con...

Verses 5-17, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him,  he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and yo...

Verses 1-8, “Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to...

Verses 1-5, “Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?' He answered and said to him, 'It is as you say.' And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, 'Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!' But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.” Someone claiming to be a king would not be so meek and humble which may have been why Pilate marveled. We read in Luke 23 that their accusations against Him were, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” The real problem was that Jesus represented the truth and shed light on their sins, but they had to make Him a threat to the Roman governme...

Verses 1-9, “After two days it was the Passover and the  Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.” And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.  She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to...

Mark 13:6-8, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.” When you consider the enemies of Christ, you often look outside the church, but it's just not the case. Verse 6 says, "many will come in My name," pretending to represent Jesus or even claiming to be Jesus. Our biggest threats to the gospel are from those who call themselves Christians. Islaam, atheism, and secular humanism are not our biggest threats or sources of persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12-15, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you mus...

Verses 1-11, “Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’  But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they took him and killed him and ...

Jesus determined to ride into Jerusalem in a humble way, on a donkey's colt, coming in peace. Probably the Jews were expecting their Messiah to come in power, which is why they didn't recognize Him as such. Verses 7-10, "Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna! "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord !" Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!' ” Here we see Jesus accepting public praise,  when previously He would discourage that. In Luke 19:39-40, we learn that the Pharisees did not like Him being praised, "And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.' But He answered and said to them, ...

Verses 13-16, “ Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. ” Jesus is not very pleased that the disciples would stand in the way of these children coming to Him. Typically, the hearts of children are still soft and untainted from the world, so they are able to receive Him. Therefore, what we do with our own children, whether to encourage them in the way of righteousness or teaching them to do evil, is very much a concern of the Lord and something you should have fear over. The world will receive its punishment for sin, but a...