Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. The disciples of John came to Jesus and asked “why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” ( Remember that we are not supposed to fast to be seen by men, even though the Pharisees did.) Jesus told them that the attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, but days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. John was still alive, but was probably in prison. He then talks about not putting a patch of new cloth on an old garment, nor new wine in old wine skins. As He is talking, a synagogue official comes and says, “my daughter has just died ( In another gospel, it says that she is at the point of death.); but, come lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” While they are going, a woman who had been suffering for 12 years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, “if I only touch His garment, I will get well.” It doesn't say tha...

  Good morning. Picking up where we left off: some of the scribes said to themselves, “this fellow blasphemes.” Just imagine the headlines if the main stream media had been around in those days. Throughout His time of ministry Jesus could do nothing right in some peoples’ eyes. Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “rise, and walk”? If you say “your sins are forgiven”, who will know whether or not that statement is fulfilled? But if you say rise and walk, the man better rise and walk or everyone will know you are a fake. “But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins – rise, take up your bed, and go home.” If Jesus were an evil person, how could He heal the man? The multitudes approved, though the scribes did not. As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office. (remember that Matthew wrote this) Someone has pointed out that Jesus sa...

  Good morning. I hope everything is well with you. After facing the storm going to the other side, of course everything is great, right? Well Jesus meets these two demon possessed men. In another gospel is says just one. They were exceedingly violent, and no one could pass by where they were. They cry out "what do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Notice that they recognized Him as being the Son of God. They recognize that there is going to be a time when they will be subjected to torment. They are concerned that the He has come there specifically to start the torment ahead of time. They asked to be cast into a herd of pigs, and Jesus permits them. The pigs run into the water and die. The men watching the pigs run into the city and tell everything, including the incident of the demoniacs. The people of the city come and beg Him to leave. The owners of the pigs just lost a lot of money. Everyone from the city is afraid of some...

  Good morning. Remember that Jesus had given orders that they should depart to the other side (of the lake). While Jesus was asleep in the boat, there arose a great storm, so that the boat was covered with the waves. This was no afternoon shower; it was one of those “make the palm trees bend over and touch the ground" kind of storms. And Jesus just slept through it! He had confidence in His Father to protect Him. The disciples, however, were not confident. They were focusing on the circumstances and not on the word Jesus had given them. They awoke Jesus saying, “save us, Lord; we are perishing!” Jesus had told them to go to the other side; so they should've been confident that they would make it. They did not even think about all of the miracles that Jesus had just finished doing. But even if they had, they probably would've said “well that was one thing, this is something entirely different”. The same thing happens to us. God tells us to do something, and a storm arise...

  Good morning. Now they come to Peter's house where Peter's mother-in-law is sick with a fever; and Jesus heals her. People bring all of their sick relatives and friends for Jesus to heal. Matthew does not mention this, but Mark says that Jesus came from the synagogue before going to Peter's house. That would mean that the people could do no "work” until evening - they could not carry their sick friends and relatives to Jesus. Jesus healed all that were sick. That was to fulfill the prophecy “He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases.” That means yours, and your family’s. Jesus saw a crowd around Him. Today, if an evangelist saw a crowd, he/she would give a sermon and take up an offering (did you realize that Jesus never took up an offering?). Jesus gave orders to depart to the other side. Who would do that? A scribe comes and says that he will follow Him wherever He goes. Who knows what his motives were? You have the same kind of thing today. S...

  Good morning. After all those wonderful words we've been talking about, Jesus comes down from the mountain. He is met by a leper.” Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” There were different skin diseases back then that were called leprosy, but they were not necessarily the awful thing we are familiar with. The people were still considered unclean. Of course you were considered unclean if you touched someone who had leprosy. Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” He was immediately cleansed. Jesus told him to tell no one but to go follow the law: show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. That would be hard to do – not telling anyone. What would you do? Me, I would run home and tell my family and friends. What would they do? They would probably hug me! That would probably make them unclean, since no offering had been made. I might wind up not even going to the priest...

  Good morning. Now some pretty strong words. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians, but they do not act according to what is written in the Bible. You've heard the old saying – “just because you are in a garage, does not make you a car; and just because you are in a church building does not make you a Christian”. But it gets even stronger. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons; and in Your name perform many miracles?” (One would think that they would certainly enter the kingdom of heaven). Here is why they won't: and then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness. A key thought: everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And you know...

  Good morning. So if we ask God for something, should we be concerned that He might give us something bogus? If our children ask us for something, we do not dare give them something harmful or useless. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! However you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the law and the prophets. And that of course is known as the golden rule. Most people live their lives as: do unto others first before they do it unto you. And now a verse that goes against the philosophy that there are many paths to God. Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Many say that they are searching for a path to God. You don't have to search for a path. There is o...

  Good Sunday morning. Uh Oh – here's one that we tend to fail in observing. Do not judge lest you be judged. It is easy to find the faults in others. Sometimes we look for them so that we don't feel so badly about the ones that we have. He/she is terrible for doing thus and so! We can pick out the tiniest detail where they have failed to meet the mark. Sometimes though, it is the mark that we ourselves and not God have instituted. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. We use a strict “ruler” to measure other people by; but we use a lax one to measure ourselves by. He then goes on to talk about the speck and the log in eyes. Do you need something – then do the following. Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. The margin notes that it means to keep askin...

  Good morning. OK so we are to not seek the things that the Gentiles eagerly seek. What do we seek? Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. I'm getting ready to throw a little mathematical logic at you. The way this is translated can be interpreted to have His kingdom and His righteousness as two separate items. In other words, you have to seek both. That would mean that you could seek one and not the other. In reality, that is not possible. The word translated “and” occasionally is translated as “even” or “namely”. So I believe that it should be translated seek first His kingdom, namely (or even) His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. This would be backed up by Romans 14:17. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Who knows, perhaps one of those “ands” could be translated namely or even). So part of what the kingdom is, is righteousness. A...

  Good morning. The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear (or healthy), your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches). Too many Christians try to serve both – but it won't work. There will always be a conflict between riches and God. God wants you to use any riches that you have to promote His kingdom. That does not mean He wants you to live on barely get along street. However, it is too easy for great wealth to become what you put your faith in, instead of in Him. It will then become your master. It seems like you never have enough of it and will do anything to obtain more. Whatever your eye sees, you will want (lust of the eyes). For this reason I say to ...

  Good morning. Jesus then gives us what is known as the Lord’s Prayer. It ends with: forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Notice that our forgiving others is in the past tense. We do it first, and then He does it. For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. Remember that those words are not equivalent to: if we don't forgive, then God won't forgive us. However Jesus then adds those very words. If you do not forgive men, then you're Heavenly Father will not forgive your transgressions. He then talks about not fasting to be seen by men, but by God. Then some verses that a lot of Christians do not follow. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Too many Christians are trying to get things and money here on earth. The problem is that those things and money become what you put your faith in. You trust them for your security and ...

  Good morning. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. Back then they were probably more ostentatious than today. Now it is a little bit more subtle. We probably do it more on Facebook than in public. We say that this thing or that thing is evil, and we don't do that! When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. We would not dare do anything like that. There may be some people who would put an envelope in the special offering with flare so that people would notice that they had contributed. Jesus said to give them in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. He then says to not be like the hypocrites when you pray - they do it in public to be seen by men. We should go to our prayer closet; and our Father who sees in secret will repay us. We don't need ...

  Good morning. I hope you have a great time with your family today. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Many times Christians and non-Christians ask: “how can a loving God allow bad things to happen to good people?” They should also ask the companion question: “how can a just God allow good things to happen to evil people?” Good or bad things happening to you does not depend on whether you are a good or a bad person. Good happens to both; and bad happens to both. Sometimes, however, God intervenes in the situation. He either prevents the bad or at least helps a good person in a bad situation. He can also turn a good thing into a bad situation for a bad person. Why doesn't He do it all the time? There is no universal one size fits all answer. I remember a tape of Kenneth Hagan that I listened to. He had prayed for a relative to be healed so that he would not have to have an operation. In the end the man had to h...

  Good morning. You have heard that it was said “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for tooth”. But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Sometimes I like to imagine scenes in the Bible. Perhaps you have imagined this one yourself. Imagine that you are standing face-to-face with someone and they slap you on the right cheek. I read somewhere that this means slapping with the back of the hand. This actually makes sense. In order for them to slap you with the palm of their hand, they would have to slap you with their left hand (Picture that in your mind). That's not impossible, but only 10% of the world is left-handed – so it's not very likely. So let's assume they slap you with the back of their right hand (Picture that). Now imagine turning your head slightly to the right so that your left cheek is facing them. It is now impossible for them to slap you with the back of the right-hand (of course they c...

  Good morning. Now Jesus says: you have heard “you shall not commit murder” and “whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court”. That makes sense – everyone can agree with that. But then: everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. Whoa - wait a minute! I'm not so sure about that. (He goes on from there). He says we are to be reconciled with our brother, especially before presenting our offering to God. If some part of your body makes you stumble, get rid of it. He did not mean that literally. Of course no part of your body can make you stumble. It's what's inside of you that makes you stumble. He talks about making vows. Let your statement be, “yes, yes" or “no, no”; and anything beyond these is of evil (He did not say is evil). When we say yes or no, that should be the end of it. That word alone should be good enough. People think that if they are more emphatic than a simple yes or no, that it will seem like they are more sincere...

  Good morning. Continuing with the thought of a light: nor do men light a lamp, and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. God did not “light” us, and then hide us. We are not secret agents. We are to – let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. We are to lead people to Christ by our actions. The people of the world are watching us. A part of each person in the world wants us to succeed. They want to believe that Christianity really works – and will work for them. A part also wants us to fail. They want to say “see it doesn't work” so that they won't feel badly about the way they act. Our light reveals the darkness that is in them, and they try to hide from it. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets – He came to fulfill them. Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest part shall pass away from the Law until all is ...

  Good morning. Happy pi Day, 3/14 ! You are the salt of the earth! The following is not true of you: if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? That is so true with Christians today. They are supposed to add flavor to the world around them; but they need to have flavor added to them. They could just not show up, and the world would be no different. That kind of salt is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. That's a very bad destiny for someone who is a Christian. Not only are you salt: you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. The world is very dark and needs our light. Remember: it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. There are a lot of Christians though who do just the opposite. They decry all of the bad things that they see in the world; but they don't let their light shine before men. We are a city set on a hill. We are not supposed to be hidden; we a...

  Good morning. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (contrary to the logic that some preachers use on other scriptures, that does not mean that if you have not been persecuted for the sake of righteousness that the kingdom of heaven is not yours. That is called the inverse and is not equivalent to the original statement.) That does not mean that if you have been persecuted for political reasons or other things that the kingdom of heaven is yours. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. All of those things usually go along with being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. And what are we supposed to do? Rejoice and be glad – are you nuts? The reason we should rejoice – Your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In other words, you are in good company. There are some peop...

  Good morning. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. I'm sure you have experienced people who are not merciful to others – they don't cut them any slack. I see it with professors concerning their students. They of course give perfect assignments and grade them perfectly; so 69.9999999 is a D. I sometimes wonder how they feel when some entity judges them that way. Do they accept that without complaint, or do they beg for mercy? Of course this is talking about much more serious things. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. In John it says that no man has seen God. The only begotten God has explained Him. There are two main words in Greek that mean clean/pure. This is the stronger of the two. In the other you could have two pure things mixed together, and it would still be considered pure. Sometimes it is translated holy. In this one you can have only one pure item. You have heard of being single minded; this would mean being single “hearted”....

  Good morning. John the Baptist has been taken into custody, and now Jesus comes preaching the same thing that he did “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He then calls Peter and Andrew his bro telling them to “follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He then gets James and John. He preaches and heals, and multitudes follow. He then gives the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Of course, poor in spirit does not mean “oh woe is me”. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Our strength and power is in Christ, not in ourselves. We cannot do it on our own – we need His help. There are too many Christians who think that it is up to them to live the Christian life. But if it were, then they could brag about it. It is all His doing. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Think of a time when you most d...

  Good morning. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. You must be careful about taking translations literally; but the way it reads the whole purpose was to be tempted by the devil. After He had fasted 40 days and nights, then He became hungry. I don't know if the 40 nights was included to show that He did not break the fast with an evening meal like the Muslims during Ramadan. Then the tempter came to Him and said “ if You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Lust of the flesh) 40 days prior a voice from heaven said that He was God's beloved Son. Did the devil visually appear to Jesus or was it just a voice in His head? In all three cases that occurred, Jesus answered with the word. Man does not live on just bread but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil takes Him into Jerusalem and has Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. Again the questioning of who He is, only this time the d...

  Good Sunday morning. So Joseph awakens and does what the angel told him to do. Jesus is born in Bethlehem and the magi come looking for him. Herod tries to trick them into finding out where the baby is and telling him. The star that they had seen in the east shows them the way. They come into the house and see the baby with His mother. (I'm sure you've heard this before – they did not come to the manger.) They give Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. You may or may not know that myrrh is part of the holy anointing oil. Frankincense is part of the holy incense burned to the Lord. God warned them in a dream to go home a different way. Joseph has another dream with an angel telling him to take Jesus and His mother and go to Egypt. He does so immediately. Herod kills the babies. Joseph has another dream and the angel tells him to go home. Joseph hears that Herod’s son is ruling in Judea and is afraid. God warns him in a dream – and he goes to Nazareth. John the Baptist ...

  Good morning. The book of Revelation is the one that follows third John. Some Christians spend all of their time in it, but most probably hardly ever, if ever have looked at it. Some people “know” everything that's going to happen; however I am not one of those. I would go through it, but there is not a lot that is uplifting and applicable to you for today. Therefore I am going back to the book of Matthew. Now I'm sure you remember that Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus. That can be kind of boring, so most people skip it. There are a couple of interesting things, one of which is that Boaz’s (The dude that married Ruth) mother was Rahab. She was from Jericho not Israel, so it is not surprising that he married a foreigner also. It also shows that Jesus’ ancestors included people who were not descendants of Abraham - they were Gentiles. It then talks about Mary being with child by the Holy Spirit and Joseph wanting to put her away secretly. He was told by an angel to ...

  Good morning. Yesterday we were building ourselves up on our most holy faith praying in the Holy Spirit. We are to keep ourselves in the love of God waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting. You probably have seen examples in the past of believers who put down those who are having trouble with their beliefs. They treat them worse than nonbelievers. And now a super favorite verse: to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy. Isn't that awesome - to not stumble and to be blameless? Of course it takes our cooperation. And notice – it is with great joy that it happens. The way some sour faced Christians go around, you would think that it is sorrowful to not sin - in fact it is a pain. Jude ends by saying: to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time now and fo...

  Good morning. We are now in the book of Jude. What happened then sometimes happens now. Certain persons have crept in unnoticed, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. This does happen today, but it is usually very subtle. They don't want to be discovered. A little here and a little there eventually turns into people revolting against the leadership. These men are those who are hidden reefs caring for themselves; clouds without water. Some of the signs that go with these people: these are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. They tell people how great they are so that those people will believe anything. Eventually they become: in the last time there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit. They do exist, but I...

  Good morning. John to the one to whom he was writing: I was very glad when brethren came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. It wasn't something that person did once in a while; it was a common every day thing that he was walking in truth. You are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers. It's hard enough when they are friends that you know. It's nearly impossible when you don't know them. Apparently these were people who were preaching the gospel. You have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit though. I remember this friend of mine telling me about when he was new in the Lord. These two guys came knocking at his door. They were “evangelists”. They would go around hitchhiking and share the gospel as the rode. They would return to his apartment to eat and sleep. They would say “what is ours is yours, and what is yours is ours”. Of course they had nothing, and he had everythin...

  Good morning. I hope that everything goes well for you today. This is second John. He is again talking about Gnosticism: many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. In those days if someone came to you saying they were Christians, it was expected of you that you would invite them into your house – perhaps even to stay. But of these people John says: if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. That sounds kind of harsh. Remember: bad company corrupts good morals...

  Good morning. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. That's sounds pretty powerful. There is a sin to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. There is no big list saying – these things are sins. If it is unrighteousness, it is sin. We know that no one who is born of God sins. Of course that does not mean that you never sin, but it is not a practice with you. He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. That's comforting. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. That's frightening – that the whole world is in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Chri...

  Good Sunday morning. So why did John write all of that stuff we talked about yesterday? These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. That's why. Gnosticism and the world were telling them they did not have eternal life. The fact that they sinned was telling them they did not have eternal life. But John was telling them yes you do. And because you have that eternal life through Jesus indwelling you: this is the confidence which you have before Him, that if you ask anything according to His will, He hears you. And if you know that He hears you in whatever you ask, you know that you have the requests which you have asked from Him. You have them. It's a done deal! He hears you, though it may not look like it to you. And because He hears you, you can know that you have the requests you have asked from Him. But how do I know it is His will? One of the ways is His word. If you don't read Hi...

  Good morning. We're going to compact the next few verses. This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is the truth. There are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son. In the Gospels, God spoke audibly about Jesus being His Son. Later He bore witness by signs and wonders following those that believed. But what about us? The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son. Do you have the witness in yourself – then you have believed in the witness that God has borne. And the witness is this that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Sometimes C...