Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Jesus and His disciples are going up to Jerusalem. It's not that far as the crow flies, but it is all up mountain. That is part of the reason that Jesus was four days late to Lazarus' death. He tells them that He will be delivered up, condemned to death, delivered to the Gentiles, crucified, and raised on the third day. When He spoke to the disciples before, He said He would be killed not that He would be crucified. James and John's mother comes to Him. She wants her sons to sit on His right and left hands. He wants to know if they are able to drink the cup that He is about to drink. They say yeah man. Of course they don't really know what He's about to go through. He tells them that they will drink the cup He's about to drink, but it is not for Him to determine who sits on His left and right but rather His Father’s. This incident makes the other 10 disciples upset with the two. Others want to exercise authority over people; but that is not the w...

  Good morning. Now we get to the parable I was talking about. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Then Jesus goes through the various times that the landowner hired people. Now it is time to pay them their wages. He pays the last ones first. When he gets to the ones hired first, he gives them the same wages as those hired last. They are very upset. They did all of the hot and hard work, and yet they got the same pay as those that worked for only one hour. The landowner tells them that they got the exact pay they had agreed on. Take what is yours and go your way, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous? Thus the last shall be first, and the first last. Peter was expecting a greater reward for the disciples than for those that came at the last minute. We have to be careful that we are no...

  Good morning. We just talked about who could be saved. Peter then says that “we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” Some people might be outraged that he asked that, but in reality it would be a very natural question. After all we have been through a lot with You and haven't left. Shouldn't there be something great for us? At least we should get more that all of the Johnny-come-lately's. Jesus will shortly tell a parable dealing with that question. “ truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also will sit upon 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left possessions or family for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” There are very few of us in America that have experienced having to leave family or possessions for the sake o...

  Good morning. Jesus then goes into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River. This is most likely the time period in John when people came to tell Jesus that Lazarus was sick. Children were brought to Him that He might lay His hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them. Jesus told the disciples to leave them alone; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Then a young man comes to Him and asks what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? As we know, doing good things does not obtain eternal life for you. 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. The young man wanted to know which ones. Jesus mentions some of them. All of these things I have kept; what am I still lacking? Deep down inside, he knew that that was not enough. People today think that doing good things will get you into heaven. They still feel that God shaped vacuum inside of them. They don't...

  Good morning. So we just talked about the 70×7 forgiving of others. Jesus then tells a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a certain king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. One owed him 10,000 talents. That was a tremendous amount of money. I don't know if it was the same size as the talent in the book of Kings when Naaman was cleansed of his leprosy. Elisha’s servant followed him and asked for a talent of silver. He gave him two. It took two men to carry them. One Bible says that they weighed 75 pounds each. Back to the parable: The slave could not repay his debt. The king was going to sell him and his entire family to help repay the debt. The slave begged for mercy, and the king felt compassion. Later the slave found some other slave who owed him much less money. When that slave could not repay him, he had him thrown in prison. The king was told about it and got angry. I forgave you this huge debt, and you would not forgive your fellow slave’s small debt. He ...

  Good morning. What Jesus had told previously to Peter after Peter said that Jesus was the Son of the living God, He now says to all of the disciples: whatever you bind/loose on earth has been bound/loosed in heaven. If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven. Mathematicians get picky about the difference between any and all. If there were four apples on the table and I told you to take any, how many would you take? Most likely you would take just one. But if I told you to take all, you would take four. It's not like there are a bunch of things to pray about, and all of you agree on only one of them. The word translated anything means all. The word agree means to be in harmony like an orchestra. Jesus continues with: for where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. Then Peter wants to know, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Actually...

  Good morning. Jesus now talks about the man who had 100 sheep and one had gone astray. He leaves the 99 and goes to search for the one that is straying. Too many times we are more concerned about keeping the 99 from straying than we are about retrieving the one that did. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. This would be an example of why I do not like the term “permissive will”. I prefer something like the "permissive boundaries" of God. It is within the boundaries that God will permit, though it may not truly be His will (desire). God permits it, but it is not His will. The word "will” implies desire. There are, however, limits to what God will permit. Just like God permits sin, but it is not His will. And if your brother sins (against you), go and reprove him on Facebook 😡 - no, in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. Actually, a person can only sin against God. If he doesn't listen t...

  Good morning. Yesterday we talked about having to be converted and become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Want to be great in the kingdom of heaven? Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. That is just the opposite of what men try to do. Whoever receives one such a child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea. That's pretty clear; and yet there are a lot of people who disregard that admonition. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! (Remember Peter and the mouse trap) It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! Then He talks about the hand, foot, eye causing you to stumble – get rid of it! Of course those things cannot cause you to stumble. Stumbling comes from your heart. See th...

  Good morning. After they come down from the mount of Transfiguration, a man comes up to Jesus and falls on his knees. He begs Jesus to heal his son because the disciples were not able to do so. Jesus casts out the demon, and the boy is cured. The disciples want to know why they could not cast it out. It was because of the littleness of their faith. They only needed the faith of a mustard seed to even move a mountain. A mustard seed does not have to do anything special to grow – it just knows that it will! We should be the same way in the exercise of our faith. (some manuscripts add that this kind does not come out by anything except prayer and fasting). Jesus reminds them that He’s going to be delivered up; killed; and raised on the third day. They are deeply grieved. They are expecting Jesus to set up His kingdom here and now. Then we have the fish story – you know, the one where Peter cast the hook into the sea, and the fish has a coin in its mouth. The disciples want to know w...

  Good morning. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain. There He is transfigured. That is the same root word that is used in Romans when it talks about do not be conformed to this world but be transformed. His face and His clothes shone brightly. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. A cloud overshadows them, and a voice comes out of the cloud “ this is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” This is the instance that Peter talks about in one of his letters when he says that we have the prophetic word made more sure. Jesus fit perfectly the description of what the Messiah would be and do. Peter had already earlier declared that Jesus was the Son of God; so he should not have had to have this voice out of heaven saying that Jesus was His – God's – Son. As they are coming down the mountain, Jesus commands them to not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. As we said before, Jesus did not want the m...

  Good morning. Taking up where we left off: Jesus tells Peter that He will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever he shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. The words bound and loosed are in the perfect tense. That means that the actions of binding and loosing had already been accomplished in heaven before Peter did it on earth. Jesus then warns the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. It was not the correct time for that to happen. That would have caused great conflict between the Pharisees and the people. The people would have wanted to make Him king, and the Pharisees would've been afraid of losing their power. Jesus wanted to “fly under the radar”. Jesus then began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and then raised up on the third day. Of course that went contrary to what they were expecting. They were expecting Him t...

  Good morning. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” So the disciples consulted the latest polls 🙃 . Jesus was not ready to declare Himself to be the Messiah. It turns out they believed that He was some special person from the Old Testament or else John the Baptist. Then Jesus asks them who they say He is. It was OK that the people believed He was someone else; but it was crucial that His followers believed that He was the Messiah. If you ever taught a class with Peter in it, you could be sure that he would be one of those who would speak up, and all the time. If you were doing group work, his group would never be one of the silent ones . “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And of course Jesus commended Peter for his great insight – right? No He said “Blessed are you, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall no...

  Good morning. Multitudes come to Jesus, and He heals many people. “I feel compassion for the multitude, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not wish to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” The disciples want to know where are they going to get enough food to satisfy so many people since they are in a desolate place. After all there is no 7-Eleven nearby, and Amazon would take two days for the food to get there 🙄 . Of course they have already forgotten about the feeding of the 5000. Jesus wants to know how many loaves of bread do they have. They replied that they have seven and a few small fish. Jesus takes them; gives thanks; breaks them; and gives to the disciples, who then gives to the multitudes. They have seven large baskets of leftovers. This time there are 4000 that are fed. The Pharisees are again wanting a sign from Him. He tells them that they know how to discern the appearance of the sky and what weather wi...

  Good morning. Jesus goes to the west coast of Israel. A Canaanite woman comes to Him. “have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon possessed.” Notice first of all that she's a woman. Occasionally you will read about women coming to Jesus; most of the time it is a man or men bring someone. Secondly, and most importantly, she is a Gentile. Jesus did not even answer her. The disciples asked Jesus to send her away because she was shouting out after them. She was making a big ruckus, but Jesus was ignoring her. I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus then makes a “loving” statement to her: “It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” Are you feeling the love? Would He ever come under criticism from the PC police! She could have gotten offended and pouted off somewhere; but then her daughter would not have been delivered. “even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their Master’s table.” ”Oh woman, yo...

  Good Sunday morning. The Pharisees are fussing at Jesus again – big surprise. Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. Now of course they're not talking about the way we wash our hands. This is a ceremonial dipping of the hands into water. Also, it is a tradition, not part of the law of Moses. Jesus wanted to know why did they transgress the commandment of God for the sake of their tradition. If someone used the word corban in a religious vow, he could formally dedicate to God his earnings that otherwise would have gone for the support of his parents. That money did not however have to go for religious purposes. It was a means of circumventing the responsibility of children toward their parents. They did not honor their father or their mother. Jesus said they invalidated the word of God for the sake of their tradition. Getting back to the not ceremonially washing their hands before eating, Jesus said “not...

  Good morning. We just had the feeding of the 5000. It says that Jesus “made” the disciples get into the boat. It wasn't just a simple request – Jesus compelled them to get into the boat without Him. In John it says that the people were going to come and force Him to be their king. He sent the multitudes away. He went up the mountain alone to pray. It was already evening. The boat with the disciples had already gone a long ways on the water. They see Jesus walking on the water, and think that it is a ghost. Jesus tells them to not be afraid “it is I”. Peter says “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. Jesus commanded him to come, and Peter gets down out of the boat. Remember that there are winds and waves. The boat is not sitting still on the water; it's bouncing up-and-down. He walks on the water and comes toward Jesus. Seeing the wind, he becomes afraid, and begins to sink. It's not like the Wiley coyote who runs off the edge of the cliff into nothin...

  Good morning. This chapter starts with King Herod having the head of John the Baptist chopped off. We will skip all of the details. After John's disciples take away his body and bury it, they went and reported to Jesus. Jesus withdraws from there in a boat to a lonely place by Himself. You remember that John was a relative of Jesus. When Jesus gets to the shore, He sees a great multitude. You and I would probably tell them to leave us alone for a little while; but Jesus felt compassion for them, and healed their sick. Time passes, and it is getting dark. The disciples tell Jesus to send the multitudes away because it's getting late, and the multitudes need to get food for themselves. Where they really thinking about the multitude, or were they thinking about their own stomachs growling? Jesus tells them “you give them something to eat”. The disciples go “say what?” “We only have five loaves and two fish.” That's not even enough for the disciples to eat. Jesus gives thanks...

  Good morning. And now another parable about the end times. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This verse again says that they take the wicked out from the righteous and not the other way around. Every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. Then Jesus goes to His hometown and teaches in their synagogue. And of course they said, “isn't He wonderful?” - not! No, they said, “where did this man get this wisdom, and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not...

  Good morning. More parables about the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all the 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. The kingdom of heaven is also like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened. In both cases it only took a little to greatly affect something much greater. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. In both cases the person gave up everything that he had to obtain something of much greater value. What he had was valuable, but could not m...

  Good morning. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. When the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The workers wondered how this could've happened. The owner said that an enemy had done it. Do you want us to go and gather the tares? No; lest while you are gathering the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow until the harvest; and then we will first gather up the tares; bind and burn them; and gather the wheat into the barn. We will now jump down to Jesus’ explanation. The Son of Man sows the good seed, which are the sons of the kingdom. The field is the world; the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. At the end of the age, the Son of Man  will send the forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbl...

  Good morning. Jesus’ mother and brothers were standing outside seeking to speak to Him. He points to His disciples and says behold, My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother. He then gets into a boat while the people stand on the beach. He tells the parable about the sower and the seed. Some seeds beside the road - birds ate; some fell on rocky places with little soil - no root, withered away in the sunshine; some among thorns – thorns choked them; some on good soil – yielded a crop. The disciples wanted to know why Jesus used parables. To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it;  and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Now the disciples did not ge...

  Good morning. OK so Jesus just warned everybody to not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. That's a no-brainer. And of course as Christians we should not be using profanity. But Jesus makes it even stricter. Every careless/idle word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. The scribes and Pharisees were saying – enough of this talk; we want to see a sign from You. He just healed a man who was blind and dumb – just what kind of a sign are you looking for? If He had given them some sign that they were looking for, they would not have believed He was the Christ anyway. And yet in the end times people will marvel when the antichrist and his crew perform signs. An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shal...

  Good morning. Jesus now wraps up the discussion. Any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven man, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the one to come. In Mark it says because they were saying that Jesus had an unclean spirit. Remember that they were saying that He cast out demons by the ruler of the demons. Either make the tree good, and it's fruit good; or make the tree bad, and it's fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. I know you've heard it before that we're not to judge anyone, but we are to be fruit inspectors. Then Jesus says something that is not quite politically correct 🙃 . You brood of vipers, how can you being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. Imagine if you said something like that to someone to...

  Good morning. They brought to Jesus a demon possessed man who was blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. The multitudes wondered, “this man cannot be the Son of David can He?” In other words, they were wondering if Jesus were the Messiah. Of course this upset the Pharisees. Just like earlier in Matthew, the Pharisees said that Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons. So in essence they were saying that the devil was casting out his own workers. But Jesus said “any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges.” In other words if I do it that way, so do your sons do it that way. “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come up...

  Good morning. Jesus then goes into the synagogue. There is a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees wanted to know, “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” This was so that they could accuse Him. After all this was a much worse breaking of the Sabbath than the disciples picking and eating grain. Jesus asks them, “what man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it, and lift it out? How much more value then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” This would be akin to today saying that you could not get healed on Sunday. Today most Christians think that that is the only day you can get healed; and of course it must be done in church. Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand, and he does. If you think about it, that took faith on the part of the man. He did not have time to talk himself out of it by thinking what would it look like if he tried to and nothing happened....

  Good morning. Jesus and His disciples are walking through the grain fields on the Sabbath and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. The Pharisees say that they are doing something that is not lawful on the Sabbath. The picking and eating the heads of grain was permissible according to the law - they were not stealing. The Pharisees were saying that what they were doing was work on the Sabbath, and therefore not lawful. The Pharisees had a whole list of things you could not do on the Sabbath. They were so afraid of someone breaking the commandment that they went overboard. It's kind of like what Adam did with Eve. God said to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; but Adam added to that to not even touch it. In fact when you read the account of Eve seeing the tree with the serpent, it seems like she has never even seen it before. Adam was probably so afraid she would eat and die that he did not even let her see it. ...

  Good morning. Jesus reproached the cities where He did most of His miracles because they did not repent. It's not surprising when people today reject signs and wonders, since they rejected even Jesus when He did signs and wonders. However in the end times they will follow those not of God who perform signs and wonders. Jesus said, “all things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” This is another place where Jesus points out that you cannot know God apart from Jesus, the Son. Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light. Notice that it says you will find rest for your souls – not for your bodies. This is not so much a physical heavy laden, but an inwar...

  Good morning. Jesus sends off the 12 to preach the word. As a note – Judas is with them. It does not say whether or not he participated in the preaching of the word. John the Baptist is in prison. He hears about the works of Christ. He knows that he himself is the forerunner for the Messiah, and that there are certain signs that the Christ will perform when He comes. Just to be sure, he sends his disciples to determine if Jesus is the Messiah. They are to ask Jesus, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” We do not know how long John's mother lived after he was born. You know that she would have told John about when Mary came to visit while he was still in her womb. Jesus tells John's disciples to go tell him what they heard and saw. Not only were there miracles, but also the poor had the gospel preached to them. This is what would accompany the Messiah. Jesus also said “Blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.” After John's disciples leave, Jes...

  Good morning. So Jesus is the great peacemaker, right? Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Say what? Didn't Jesus say to love everyone, even your enemies? “For I came to set family members against each other; and a man's enemies will be members of his household.” That does not sound right. It is true, however, that when one member of the family is completely dedicated to Jesus, the rest of the members of his family can become quite agitated at him. You might be able to ignore someone at work who is a dedicated Christian; but you cannot ignore a member of your own family who is. You see Jesus in that person every moment you are home. You can escape from someone at work, but not someone who is in your home. It is easy to compromise your beliefs among the members of your family. Jesus says that if you love a member of your family more than Him, you are not worthy of Him. You care more how they feel then you care how H...

  Good morning. Something that is hard to adhere to: do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul. That is just the opposite of the way we act most of the time. If some one or entity can harm us, we fear them greatly, and so order our lives to avoid displeasing them. Rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. God does not automatically and instantly zap us when we do wrong; but those with authority here on earth do. We say to ourselves “I'm sure God will forgive us”; but we don't say that about earthly authorities. They inflict their punishment quickly, while God many times delays His. Jesus then talks about the sparrows. We are of more value than many sparrows. What do we do when it really counts? Everyone who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. The proof is in the pudding. How about an...

  Good morning. Jesus continues with: family members will deliver up each other and cause them to be put to death. That's pretty nasty. Can you imagine a member of your family turning you in to the authorities, and you being put to death? You will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. That is already happening to some extent today. Christians are being hated simply because they are Christians, and not for anything that they have done. Evil doings are projected upon them. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple to become as his teacher and the slave as his master. I told you the other day that Matthew was going to come back to this situation: if they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household? This was because Jesus had cast out demons. He tells them to not fear those people. There is nothing covered that will not be r...