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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

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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

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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!

Faith Over Fear

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But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”  Mark 5:36

Fear has a way of controlling our lives. Fear of the unknown, Fear of our health, Fear of our relationships, Fear of our futures. But Jesus said Fear no longer only Believe! Meaning your Faith will lead you over your Fear.

In this chapter of Mark 5, we read of multiple people in need of a miracle. A synagogue official in need for his daughter’s life and a woman who had a medical condition most of her life. These people were desperate, but they put their hope in Jesus , and in an instance he restored them.

There were people who mocked Jesus, because the synagogue official’s daughter had died before Jesus reached her house. But notice what Jesus did, he kicked them all out of the room except  his disciples (Mark 5:40) Why? Because there lack of faith was a stumbling block and not a blessing

What is your fear doing to you today? Is it causing you a stumbling block for your faith? You need to remove the power of fear from your life and allow the power of God in

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Any fear that you feel is not from God, it comes from Satan who uses it as a trap and stumbling block for our faith. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you overcome your fears and anxiety , Do not be afraid any longer, only believe in Jesus Name Amen!

Days of Noah

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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!