Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

The Mother of John and James, disciples of Jesus, requested that her sons be seated at the right and left hand of Jesus in Gods Kingdom. Jesus told her she didn’t understand what she was requesting and that its only God who can make these decisions.

Even though these men were disciples of Christ, their egos got the best of them. They felt that even though we worship one God, that they should be exalted as great disciples of Jesus. Obviously this didn’t please Jesus or his other disciples very much.

Doesn’t this seem to happen to a lot of us also? We start out with good intentions, but once we get some success or credit, we strive for more. This I believe happens to a lot of churches and ministries, where the message of God, has become the least of their priorities.

We need to remember to humble ourselves and live more like Christ. As Jesus, the King of Kings, came to serve us and not be served. The sinless one became the ransom for our sins. Could Jesus have completed his mission without humbling himself?

“GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” James 4:6

God not only hates pride but he opposes it. You can’t be a true disciple of Christ if you don’t humble yourself before others. Remember Jesus washed the feet of his own disciples, humble yourself in Jesus Name Amen

Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” Job 2:10

Job was a righteous and blessed man. So great that God actually bragged about him to Satan. Satan then asked permission to persecute Job and God allowed it. During Jobs trials he brought up a good point, should we accept the blessings from God and not accept his adversity?

It often seems in life when things are going good, we forget about God or doing give him any credit. But as soon things go wrong, were immediately blaming him and praying for a miracle. Is this a fair relationship to have with your Heavenly Father?

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12

Do we really expect life to be full of blessings with no adversity or problems? Notice in this scripture it says “Once we have been approved, we then receive the crown of life”

Can we truly prove we are faithful without being put to the test? Same as can we graduate college without taking a test? Of course not, anyone can say they believe this and that, but until you put your put to the test, then you can prove your faith.

So when we do have trials and adversity, we need to accept them and overcome them by our faith. Just as were willing to accept the blessing from God we should accept his adversity and overcome it in Jesus name Amen

And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” Matthew 19:16

A young rich man asked Jesus what should he do to obtain eternal life. We can learn a lot with this conversation. The first thing Jesus asked him is are you keeping the commandments?

And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17

A lot of times, with the grace and mercy of God that has been given to us through Jesus Christ. We forget about keeping the commandments. You can’t be saved unless you repent. True repentance is to change your ways and become transformed by the renewing of your mind and heart.

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 19:21

The man tells Jesus he has been keeping the commandments his entire life. Then Jesus said if you want to be “complete” then sell your possessions and give to the poor, then he’s ready to follow Jesus.

The Bible tells us this made the man upset, because he was very wealthy and had a lot of possessions. What Jesus told him wasn’t what he expected to hear.  What possessions or masters in your life is effecting your path to eternal life? Remember Jesus said you can’t have two masters, you can love God and money (Matthew 6:24)

Are you willing to give up your possessions to follow Jesus? Are you following the commandments and being transformed by the Holy Spirit? Follow our true Master to eternal life in Jesus Name Amen

“So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. Matthew 18:14

Many people try to paint a picture of God being angry and mean. But as Jesus teaches us its not the will of God our Father for anyone to perish. God has done everything possible to bring us salvation, he sent his only begotten Son to take the wages of our own sins. Who else would be willing or even able to do this?

As Jesus teaches in this parable, when a Shepherd has one hundred sheep and loses one of them, he goes looking for them even though he still has the other ninety nine. This is the same with our Heavenly Father. Even though many are saved, God is still searching for the lost sheep. He doesn’t want anyone to perish, and send the Good Shepherd out to bring them home.

Just as the prodigal son (Luke 15) when we finally come home, our Father rejoices. The angels celebrate in Heaven every time a lost sheep is found. God doesn’t condemn the lost sheep, but forgives them with repentance just as a loving Father does

Are you lost today? Or are you already following our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ? If your lost , you can be found. Jesus has been sent to watch over and save us. Listen to the voice of the Great Shepherd and fulfill the will of our Father in Jesus Name Amen

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”  Matthew 17:19

The disciples were perplexed. They did everything that Jesus did, yet they still couldn’t cast out the demon. Do we ever feel like the disciples do? We tried everything we think God would want us to do, but yet we still can’t cast out that demon, sickness, anxiety, addiction, ect.  The disciples went to Jesus “privately” to ask him why. They were feeling defeated but let’s see Jesus response:

And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.  Matthew 17:20

They didn’t fail because of their lack of trying, they failed due to their lack of faith. Some of us might even be lacking faith reading these scriptures! But Jesus said if your faith is as small as a “Mustard Seed” you can move mountains.

A mustard seed was the smallest known seed in Israel, so if you have just a little true faith you can move your mountain. A lot of us are still in disbelief when we read this, and that’s why we don’t move any mountains. Faith is what activates Gods miracles.

We can never expect to see Gods miracles without faith. So how do we obtain faith? Your faith is like a seed also, the more time you spend with God, praying and reading his word. The stronger the roots of your faith will grow in Jesus Name Amen

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away. Matthew 16:4

What is the sign of Jonah? People are always challenging God to show them a sign, but Jesus explained, we can look at the sky and tell what the weather will be then why can’t we interpret the season we are in right now?  Do people really not see the signs of the immoral collapse of society? Or do people just play dumb to challenge God as the Pharisees did with Jesus.

To understand the “Sign of Jonah” we must first look at what Jonah did. We all know Jonah spent 3 days and nights in the belly of sea monster (whale). The same is what Jesus predicted he would spend 3 days and nights in the heart of the Earth.

Jesus was predicting his crucifixion and resurrection. The crowd he was speaking to didn’t know about these events to come, but they did know the story of Jonah, which is why he referenced him.

Is our generation still looking for a sign? God sent a sign through his only begotten Son. He took the wages of sins and then defeated death and hell. The sign of our salvation has been sent , so are you still looking for a sign? Look no further then the truth, life , and way in Jesus Name Amen