Category: Bible Studies

So, what do you think?

Mark 10:1-12
10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Don’t mince words. Don’t try and clean it and try and avoid the fact that it is sin. I married a woman who was divorced. Guess what? I am a sinner. Guess what? Jesus Dies for those too. He forgave me of all of them.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you for cleaning my soul and saving me. You re my God and my Lord and Creator. You saved us all. Sin is sin, and you took them all away. #JesusSaves

Amen
DK

Causing others to stumble…sounds horrible. I wonder if I have ever done that before. The answer is yes I am sure…

Mark 9:42-50
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44] [b] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] [c] 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
    and the fire is not quenched.’[d]
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.

50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

That’s ok though. If you have caused another to stumble I mean. Jesus covered that too when He hung on the cross. He died for thatvsin, and the thousands and millions of other sins.

But now I know. Ignorance is no excuse. Never was. God knows our hearts. He knows everything about us from the moment we are born, to the moment we die. And He loves us anyway.

Preserve each other. Don’t waste yourself or your loved ones. Use what has been given to you to expand and uphold the Kingdom of God. Every single day of our undeserved life we should give Him thanks and praise. #JesusSaves

Amen.
DK

This is truly Faith vs. Sight…

Mark 6:1-6
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life, yet it is the blinding effects of this world that did no allow even those from His hometown to see who He truly was. Perhaps if they acknowledged that He was truly the Messiah, they would feel ashamed for not having known sooner. Whatever the reason, an opportunity for redemption stared them in the face and they did not have the faith to change their own sight.

This earth is blinding. Similar to the way a deer can be caught in headlights and not move, we are stuck in the enemies realm if we rely only on what we see and feel. We must give all to Him who created us. Once we do, He will reveal the way, the truth, and the life. #JesusSaves

Amen.
DK

Word travels fast. God knew our hearts and how we would respond. Many were wanting to just catch a glimpse of Jesus…

Mark 3:6-12
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of  God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

No matter where He went, Jesus was now known. News of His miracles was travelling fast and it was becoming necessary to plan for the many that would come to be healed. It’s a good problem to deal with, but a problem none the less.

Jesus was spreading the New Covenent and the mercy and grace that He poured out was perfect and people knew it and felt it. Jesus, while teaching and preparing the way for our salvation, was teaching His disciples to spread the word after He was no longer on this earth. For that reason we can assume it was necessary that he not let them get overwhelmed. Pressed, but not broken down. He was fulfilling prophecy and teaching those that would continue His work after He was gone. Wow!

He asked that those He healed not spread the word of His miracles for the reason that it was not time. The steps Jesus took were metered by God the Father and He knew that direction was needed in this crucial time. The time would come that the Gospel of Christ would be spread by word of mouth. As it is so today.

It is our calling to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all of those that are in the dark and do not know Him. The liberation of souls and the words of salvation will not be televised. It is spread from believer to believer. Start speaking today! #JesusSaves

Amen. Maranatha.
DK

To make yourselves an offering to others , as this is what Jesus did for us….

Luke 23:26-31
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
    and to the hills, “Cover us!”’[b]
31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Jesus tells us not to cry for Him, but to cry for ourselves. Cry for the dry and useless tree, not the green one. For our sins are the sins that were paid for, and if not accepted, we will become like the dry tree that bears no fruit.

Even as Jesus was on His way to be nailed through His hand and feet to a cross, He was loving and teaching. Correcting. Oh to be like You, Jesus there is no one beside you. Without you, we are dry and fruitless trees. Help us to be like you every day of our lives. This world does not make it easy, but you make it better. We love you. Thank you for your precious gift of salvation. In the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.
DK

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

Luke 21:5-11
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

Feels like it’s happening now. We pray for the will of God to be done. Tonight, ask God to reveal your sin, both seen and unseen, known and unknown, so that we may be cleansed. Made pure by the blood of Jesus.

Amen
DK

Jesus tells us that rebuking is important, but so is forgiveness…

Luke 17:3-6
3 So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

There are many instances in the Gospel where Jesus has to teach in a very stern manner. In this particular verse, he hits straight at our family members. To rebuke, the forgive if they repent. Repentance is an important step. Too many times we think that when we sin we are supposed to walk around in a sorry state of mind and punish ourselves.

Repentance is not about punishing ourselves. It’s about placing the sin at the feet of Jesus, and then asking the Holy Spirit to come into our lives to change our root beliefs to be more like Jesus. Sometimes it happens instantaneously. Many times it takes longer. Don’t despair.  The healing is done, your body just hasn’t gotten the message yet. Ask for help. Ask for prayer. It will happen.

Amen.
DK

Repentance…

Romans 8:6
6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

“Change” (repent) from being sin focused, to being grace focused. Put down that giant weight you have been carrying today. The price was paid.

Amen.
DK

This is a pretty tall order. “To hate your family and love your enemy.”, just doesn’t seem right.

Luke 14:25-33

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will notsit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Renouce all. Give it all to Jesus, then you will be free.

Amen.

 Luke 14:34-

Salt Without Taste Is Worthless

34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

That one is hard. Renounce all that you have. Count it all as loss. After all, life is only temporary, salvation is eternal.

Salt Without Taste Is Worthless

 34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

 Get out of your comfort zone. Let Jesus mold you. Get too comfortable, and you lose your saltiness.

Amen.