Category Archives: Religion

Mustard Seed

He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; Matthew 13:31

Most times when we hear this parable of the Mustard Seed, we reflect on our own lives. However what about reflecting on Jesus life? Think about how a carpenters son from a little town could change the world forever! Talk about small beginnings, this is exactly how the Kingdom of God came to Earth

Jesus began his ministry, with basically nothing but a staff and clothes on his back, yet he not only took on the religious establishment, his teachings became a new religion! He planted the seed of truth, which is the Word of God, and over time it grew into what we know as Christianity today!

Think about how one man, who was perceived as a blasphemer and law breaker, was crucified on a cross, saved the entire world from their sins!

and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.” Matthew 13:32

The seed that Jesus planted into the world, grew to become our hope and salvation, that all of us can rest under that tree. The same tree that Jesus bore the penalty of our sins! God in flesh dwelt among us but he was so misunderstood and overlooked, that they mistaken him for a common criminal

Keep planting the seed of God’s Word throughout the entire world and watch Gods Kingdom continue to grow beyond our comprehension in Jesus Name Amen!

Trinity (Ephesians 2)

For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:18

Who can understand The Trinity? A mystery that many theologians try to explain, some who can’t explain The Trinity just end up denying it. The problem with going down this road is you are denying the Deity of Christ. They then need to explain how Jesus forgave sin, raised the dead, and allowed many to worship him.

Paul here reveals about the Trinity

“For through “Jesus” we both have our access in one “Holy Spirit” to the “Father God” (Ephesians 2:18)

We remember that Jesus said he is the only way to God The Father (John 14:6) So those who are trying to cut out “The Son” as part of the Trinity and go directly to The Father will fail. We are not worthy or able to stand before God alone, we need the ransom blood of Jesus Christ to make us worthy.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, Ephesians 2:19

Paul explains this, without Jesus Christ we are strangers and aliens to God. Only by the blood of Jesus Christ  and the baptizing of The Holy Spirit can we then become Children of God

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, Ephesians 2:20

Jesus is the chief cornerstone , to reject the Trinity is to reject Jesus Christ. And when you reject the cornerstone of our faith, your religion crumbles.

in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, Ephesians 2:21

Now we see where the Holy Spirit comes in, we being resurrected with Christ, made a new person are the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16) And when you receive Christ , the Holy Spirit will dwell in you

in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit Ephesians 2:22

Through the Holy Spirit we are connected to God The Father. As Jesus taught us in John 14, he sent The Holy Spirit to live with us forever to comfort, advocate, and guide us in Jesus Name Amen!

And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ Mark 7:6-7

I think one of the interesting things about Christianity, is Jesus came to abolish religion yet man made another religion out of his teachings.  The Pharisees were supposed to be experts of the scriptures, however they couldn’t even identify The Messiah right before their eyes.

See The Pharisees even though they loved God and the concept of  him, their hearts were far from God. Instead of them listening to the teachings of the Son of God, they judged him based on their manmade rules and opinions. They were hypocrites just as Isaiah prophesied they would be. They talked the talk but they didn’t walk the walk. Sadly we see many Christians doing the same thing today

And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ Matthew 22:38

Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. If the Pharisees really loved God they would have given Jesus a chance. Instead of condemning him because he ate with unclean hands, or scolding him because he healed the sick on the Sabbath. Or if they were truly seeking God then they would have recognized Jesus is The Messiah

But their hearts were far away from God even though they talked like holy people. Don’t allow your heart to wander from God, love him with all your heart, soul, and mind in Jesus Name Amen!

Intercede For Us

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; Romans 8:26

What to say to God? Sometimes when we are praying, we can’t find the words to express the sorrow or maybe joy we are feeling. But the Holy Spirit, that dwells in us, will intercede for us to express our feelings to the Father God.

We often here people say I don’t know how to pray or I don’t know what to say to God. We need to remember that God searches our hearts and minds (Jeremiah 17:10) He knows your inner feeling even when we can’t express them. He knows the pain and sorrow we have endured, don’t ever hesitate to pray to the Father, the Holy Spirit will intercede for you and give you the words to speak

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; John 14:16

God said he would never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6) and he hasn’t. The Holy Spirit has been sent to live with us forever, to be our Comforter, Helper , and Advocate. Let the Holy Spirit guide you to speak to our Father.

Whatever your feeling, whether it be sorrow, joy, anxiety, or hope, always pray to your Heavenly Father in Jesus Name Amen!

5 Loaves + 2 Fish

But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” Mark 6:37

Lets set the scene…there is a large crowd composed of men, woman, and children. They have traveled from great distances to see the Son of God speak. Its getting late, everyone is hungry and tired. The location they are at is remote, it would take hours to travel back into town, so the disciples decided to send them all away

But notice what Jesus says “You give them something to eat!”

The disciples are perplexed, they don’t have any food or shelter to give anyone. How are they going to feed a crowd of over 5,000 people?

And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Mark 6:38

Notice how Jesus responds, “How many loaves do you have?”  Meaning instead of saying all the things we don’t have , tell him what we do have to give!”  This is a lesson even today all of us can learn from. We have many reasons and excuses to not help people out, limited money, limited time, limited resources. But God doesn’t want to hear our excuses he wants to know what we have and he will bless it!

And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. Mark 6:41

Jesus took what the disciples did have to offer, blessed it, and multiplied it! There was more Bread and Fish , then the disciples knew what to do with. God is our provider, not us. We need to take the gifts that God has given us and use them to serve others, and God will bless and provide for us in Jesus Name Amen!

Days of Noah

But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark– you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. Genesis 6:18

Covenant – A contract between two parties

Throughout history God has made covenants with humanity.

  • The Covenant of Marriage (Genesis 2)
  • Covenant of Abraham (Israel) (Genesis 15)
  • The New Covenant of Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31 , Luke 22)

In the days of Noah, when the world was full of wickedness and evil, God made a covenant with Noah and his family; through the ark he provided salvation for humanity. God made a promise to provide a way even though humanity didn’t deserve it.

While Noah showed obedience to God, the world mocked him. The world continued there sinful ways and didn’t repent or listen to Noah, because of there human pride, they all lost their lives.

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. Matthew 24:37

Just as God provided a means of salvation by a wooden ark, Jesus gave us salavation from a wooden cross. On the cross, Jesus said “It Is Finished”, establishing the “New Covenant” that provides us salvation from sin and death.

Just like in the “days of Noah”, Christians are being mocked and ignored. But just like the “Great Flood” the day of Judgement is coming. Your only hope for salvation is through  Christ, don’t be the wicked and foolish who rejected Gods salvation in Jesus Name Amen!

Who Is Jesus?

They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Mark 4:41

Who is Jesus? This is what the disciples asked as Jesus commanded the wind and sea to obey him. Who can speak to demons and have them shutter and beg to flee in a herd of swine? Who can bring the dead back to life by one touch or command? Who can walk on water or turn water into wine?

Jesus has demonstrated over and over again, that he is more than just a man. He showed that he is more than just a prophet or a teacher. He revealed that he is the beginning and the end. He is Immanual “God is with us”

Still today many people only consider Jesus a great man or teacher. They say he had some good ideas but wasn’t the only way to God. Jesus said he is the way , truth , and the life, nobody comes to the Father God except through him. There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ!

Finally he paid the atonement for our sins, and on the third day he walked out of that grave alive forevermore. Sin and death were defeated forever, no more would they have a stronghold on us as long as we follow Jesus Christ!

Who is Jesus? He’s the answer to every problem you ever had, he gave his life so you could have yours eternally in Jesus Name Amen!

Spirit of Truth

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14

How can we understand God? How can we comprehend the One who created time, space, and matter? How can we explain The Creator who spoke the Heavens and The Earth into existence? There is only one who can help us understand, and it’s the Holy Spirit

As Paul explains here somebody who if not filled with the Holy Spirit will obviously never accept God because they don’t have the understanding that only the Holy Spirit can give us

the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:17

Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit would be coming to his disciples. And notice he describes him as the “Spirit of Truth”. The Holy Spirit reveals the mysteries of God to us, if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit will live inside us , to guide, comfort, and teach us.

Does all the wisdom and understanding happen overnight? No,  but you allow the Holy Spirit to mold you into who God has designed you to be, you will see a transformation over time.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Proverbs 3:5

None of this is possible though without Jesus Christ, once you are redeemed by the blood of Christ, then you will become baptized by The Holy Spirit in Jesus Name Amen!

God In The Flesh

And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:5

Another display of Jesus deity was revealed to us in this story. When a home was so crowded because Jesus was there, these men decided to lower a paralyzed man through the roof so Jesus would heal him.  But Jesus says an interesting thing here, instead of saying you are healed he says to the man “Your sins are forgiven”  Who can forgive sins but God?

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25

God clearly revealed he is the only one who can forgive sin, so then Jesus must be God in the flesh to forgive sin. The religious leaders understood this as they accused Jesus of blasphemy for this (Mark 2:7) If Jesus wasn’t claiming to be God in the flesh, then why would they accuse him of blasphemy?  Jesus  not only healed this man but make him a new man!

“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins “– He said to the paralytic, Mark 2:10

Jesus revealed to everyone that he is God in the flesh, he has authority over sin and death. Son of Man is reference to the title  Daniel described seeing Jesus in his prophecy (Daniel 7) Jesus used this reference because the Religious leaders knew exactly who Jesus was revealing himself to be.

Through Jesus your sins can be forgiven, by your faith you can be healed in Jesus Name Amen!

Message Of The Cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

As we looked back on the life of Billy Graham, one reason his ministry was so effective was because he kept it simple. He preached the message of the cross! This is the place we should all start when preaching the gospel, because without repentance there can’t be any transformation.

In todays world, I believe many modern preachers have abandoned this message to combat the Atheist movement. Instead of us talking about the cross and what Jesus did for all humanity, we talk about fossil records and aging measuring techniques. Don’t get me wrong, I love apologetics , however sometimes it feels like we get tied into endless arguments and never talk about Jesus Christ.

But you say “the message of the cross is foolishness” to all the Atheists, Muslims, Hindu’s, and everyone else that rejected Christ. Yeah that’s precisely the point, we can chase our tails to try and appease non believers, or we can just give them the gospel straight and leave it up to them to decide.

Whether the Earth is old or new, flat or round, doesn’t really matter in the final moments of life. The real moment that matters is did you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, did you repent of your sins?  Is the message of the cross foolish to you or is it the love and power of God in Jesus Name Amen!