Daily Inspirations

  Good Sunday 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, ...

  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. Of course I will be praying for you. 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...

  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. S...

  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...

  Good morning. Jesus then calls His 12 disciples. He gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. He tells them to not go to any place except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They are to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely they have received, and freely they were to give. They were to do exactly the same things that Jesus was doing. God gave to us freely, and we are to give to others freely. People who are not of God charge for their services. That does not mean that we do not support ministries. They were not supposed to take along provisions for their journey – they were to trust God to supply. “ I send you out as sheep in the midst of the wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues.” There will be opposition t...

  Good morning. After raising the little girl from the dead, Jesus passes on from there, and is followed by two blind men. “Have mercy on us, Son of David”, they cry. Son of David is one of the expressions denoting the Messiah. In this version, Jesus does not ask them what they want. He asks if they believe that He is able to do this. They say yes, and He touches their eyes, saying, “be it done to you according to your faith.” So we have the woman and the two blind men healed because of their faith. The little girl was raised from the dead because of Jesus’ faith. “Don't tell anyone”, Jesus says to them. Could you be quiet, if you had been blind and Jesus just healed you? I know I couldn't. Besides, people would notice that they could now see. Then Jesus comes across a demon possessed man. He cast out the demon, and everyone marvels - except the Pharisees. They said that He cast out demons by the ruler of the demons. He could do no right in their eyes. It sounds like the mainst...

  Good morning. Jesus arrives at the synagogue official’s house. Remember that in Matthew the little girl was already dead, but in another gospel she was at the point of death. In that version while on the way to the house, someone came and told the official that his daughter was dead. Imagine that it is your daughter. You have but one hope – and that is Jesus coming and healing your daughter. He is delayed by the healing of the woman. Because of that your daughter is dead. Not only would you be heartbroken because of the death of your daughter, you would probably be angry that Jesus stopped and healed the woman. Two words that can cause someone a lot of anguish – if only. “If only that woman had come at a different time”. “If only Jesus had said wait a little bit until I heal his daughter”. If I only – . That's what Martha and Mary said to Jesus when He came to Lazarus's house. We say that too often. If only we had not done this, or if only God had intervened in time. It's...

 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 wineskins. 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 that sh...

  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 saw ...

  Good morning. 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 someone who has that much power over demon...

  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 arises....

  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, Rani, 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 ...

  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 pr...

  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 a...

  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 onl...

  Good 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 asking and to ...

  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. As ...

  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 yo...

  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 no...

  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 to...

  Good morning.  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 Hagin 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 have the operation despite his prayer. Hagin asked...

  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 cou...

  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 about their st...