Blog Posts containing "Presence"

This is Jesus’ War on legalism. The questions must be asked! Why now? Why did He not do it before this? Why not later? Why not just mind His own business? What was the spark that lit the fire leading to calling out the legalists as hypocrites? To grasp this we need to go a back a bit. It is the time that He became thirty years old. He now could be recognized as a rabbi. It was then He was baptized in the River Jordan by John. He was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness for forty days. There He did battle with Satan.  Read more

After Peter’s confession Jesus began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, undergo great suffering, be crucified, and on the third day be raised. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." Jesus turned to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  Read more

This story is a “one shot” miracle. It is for one person for one time only. After he had dismissed the crowds, He went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. He now had His special time to work through the loss of His friend and comrade. The lesson here is about priorities. If he had gone off alone to grieve He would not have had the chance to manifest the Power of God and who He was and why He came. In this way He was able to do both. It is called Wisdom that comes from being in the Presence of God. He is open to all of us when we are willing to be open to Him.  Read more

While the parables are about the value of the Kingdom if read literally; it is their spiritual meanings that yield the real information about the Kingdom. The clue to what it is about is found in the last verse. It is not a matter of the value of the Kingdom; it is a matter of being trained to see it.  Read more

The Kingdom is compared to someone who sows good seed in his field. An enemy sows weeds. The plants came up with the weeds. The decision is to let them grow together until the harvest when the weeds will be burned and the wheat stored in the barn. Rationally this story is quite simple. The Son of man sows the good seed which are the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the devil. The field is the world. The reapers are angels who gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers. The righteous will shine in the Kingdom of their Father at the end times.  Read more

There is a difference between the Greek rational mind and the Hebrew Spiritual mind. The Greek mind comes from a background of rational philosophy, such as Aristotle and Plato. The Hebrew mind comes from a background of spiritual experiences such as Abraham and David. This causes some problems. Jesus spoke to the spiritual mind while the Greek words were written for the rational mind. It is up to the reader to make the transition from the rational to the spiritual.  Read more

John 4:5-42 The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” Here is a woman who is rejected by her peers. She has had four husbands and the man she is living with is not her husband. We must realize what it meant to be a divorced woman in those days. Women did not divorce their husbands. Only husbands could divorce. Women were considered “property”. The tenth Commandment was not to covet a man’s donkey, property, or wife. The woman was among those included as donkeys and other property. All that was needed was a signed piece of scrap paper and saying three times, “I divorce you.” That was it. In other words, she had been rejected by four husbands. They might have married her for the physical reason. When they got through with her they dumped her back to the market.  Read more

This story of the Transfiguration is one of the most significant stories in the Scripture. There was Jesus, Elijah and Moses. What did they all have in common? Much! They were talking to Jesus about their Exodus. Each one was involved in a type of exodus experience. Elijah was caught up in whirlwind and the flaming chariot. Moses led the Exodus of the children of Israel out of the slavery in Egypt. Now Jesus was to have His Exodus being resurrected from the grave. Peter displayed his legalism saying. “Rabbi it is good we are here. Let us make three booths one for you one for Elijah and one for Moses.” Mark adds almost in astonishment, “He did not know what he was saying.”  Read more

It is imperative we do not miss the Epiphany season. Not the Sundays, but the whole season. It starts with the baptism and then it ends with the Transfiguration. The Greek word for “transfiguration” is the familiar “metamorphosis”. It is the plain looking moth turning into the beautiful butterfly. That is the difference. The Epiphany is about a spiritual transformation from the inside-out. Physical changes take place from the outside in.  Read more

The last Sunday in Christmas can be a real bummer for some. All the preparation, hard work, busy malls, traffic and people can really stress a person out. Let us not take away any joy that is left. The embers are still lit. Just a bit smoky but with a few embers left. Here come the resolutions time. Some people make many and others none. By definition a New Year resolution is a commitment to make a life style change that would be advantageous for us. Most of us have made New Year’s resolutions at one time or another. The reason we quit making them is because they do not work. The reason they do not work is because they are symptoms. Until we know the cause they will be a lost cause.  Read more