Matthew chapter 26

Jesus reminded His disciples that the feast was in two days and that He would be betrayed to be crucified. Can you imagine the person you love telling you that they would be politically murdered in a couple of days? I could imagine this was something that the disciples just could not receive. I could imagine that they simply ignored His statements. Everything was in the process of being completed. The woman who poured the oil on Jesus was for His burial. There would be no time for the normal process of burial for Jesus. Judas was out making a deal to be paid to hand Jesus over to the Pharisees.
While they were sitting at the Passover meal Jesus said that one of them would betray Him. What do you think each of them thought? I still wonder why no one said anything to Judas. Jesus said it was Him. Were they not paying attention or were they thinking it just could not be? This taught me that whatever God says will happen, will happen. Jesus' put His mind on what would happen after the resurrection. He told the disciples that they were to meet Him in Galilee. These men did not understand what Jesus was telling them. We see this when the women told the men that Jesus was alive. For whatever reason, they could not understand the plain and simply words Jesus was saying. Peter thought he was loyal to Jesus. After making his statement of standing with Jesus, Jesus told him that he would declare that he did not know Jesus three times before dawn.

Jesus could not find any of His disciples to stay alert and pray with Him. Don't feel bad when it appears so one is standing with you. The arrest of Jesus was over in the night. This was done underhanded. Although angry thoughts might surface, we must remember that this was prophecy. Jesus had to be crucified for you and me. After Jesus was arrested, people began to come to give testimony. There was no one who came in that could get their story together. The Pharisees asked Jesus if He was the Christ. Jesus said, you said it. The soldiers began to mistreat, mock and beat Jesus because they thought He was a no-body, a crazed out of His mind person.

Peter now was afraid. Jesus is arrested. He did not know what would become of him. When faced with the comment, "you were with Him", Peter denied it. At the third denial, Peter broke down and cried. Have you ever denied Jesus? Have you ever did something that you thought you would never do? Well change. Ask God to forgive you then do your best through the help of the Holy Ghost to improve.

Matthew chapter 25

What are you learning from these scriptures? Be ready. Here we see some people who had an understanding of Jesus, but no relationship with Him. When it came time for His return those who knew of Him, received Him and walked with the Holy Spirit were ready to be received by Him. Those who came along after the fact tried to convince Him to receive them, but He said, "I don't know you." Let us not just know about Jesus, let us know Him intimately so that He will receive us when He returns or when we leave this earth whichever comes first.

Are you making any money or are you spending money? Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man giving some servant's some resources and leaves town. Jesus left after He gave instructions to His disciples. When we receive Jesus as our Savior, He gives us abilities or anointings. There is an expectation for us to at least double everything God puts in our possession. Start looking for ways to increase what you have. Get alone with the Holy Spirit and let Him lead you into doubling your life, resources, love, faith, wealth, abilities and more. He is ready and glad to give to you all that you need. This is a most exciting journey.

It's all about how you treat other people. Notice Jesus said the separation of people on the left and the right was based on how they treated other people. Jesus said how we treat others is how we are treating Him. He directly identifies with His people. Jesus commanded us to walk in love. It is not a suggestion. Do you see the importance of that command? Take courage and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love others as Jesus loves us.

Matthew chapter 23

It is a bad thing when you do not have an example to follow. Jesus said make sure you obey those who are teaching you correctly, just don't follow their disobedient ways. This should put to rest all those who say "those Christians are hypocrites." Jesus told us to over look what they do and continue to obey the Word. Jesus encourages us to not seek to be the "greatest" but seek to be the "servant."

Jesus is telling us through the owes to the Scribes and Pharisees that it is more important to love and do good to others. What is more important? Loving people or following every little thing in the law. The law was for those who needed direction in doing right. Once the law showed the need for a Savior, we should listen to the teaching of the Savior to lead us into a more perfect way.

Matthew chapter 24

This chapter is a warning for every man, woman, boy and girl to be ready for the return of Jesus. Apparently Jesus had taught of His return. The disciples asked Him to tell them how they would be able to identify His return as imminent. Jesus gave us a number of instances to identify the time of His return.

Jesus identified wars, earthquakes, famine, the decrease of showing love for others and the desolation of abomination that Daniel spoke of in the temple.
There are two returns of Jesus that we are looking for. The first one is the one that happens as lightening. Jesus said as the lightening that flashes from the east to the west the Son of man will come. This is what we know as the rapture of the church. The Body of Christ will be taken out so quickly others will wonder what happened. We will be missing. We will go to the feast for 3 1/2 years.

It is during these 3 1/2 years that Jesus is speaking of when He says pray that your flight is not in winter. The Jews will be gathering because of the battle of Armageddon that will be waging. This is the return that every eye will see. Jesus will return with the saints at the battle of Armageddon.

There are consistent warnings. Please receive Jesus as your Savior today. Just ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Ask Him to live in you. Receive the Holy Spirit that Jesus said all those who receive Him can and should have. Read the Bible and learn of Jesus and our Heavenly Father. God loves you so much He sent His only Son - Jesus- to come and make it possible for us to live eternally with Him. Receive the love of God today.

Matthew chapter 22

Jesus is giving us an example of the King of heaven. He tells of invitations being sent out to the wedding of the King's son. Although many were invited, they took the invitation for granted. This displeased the King. The King ordered his servants to go get anyone they could find that would come to the wedding. While the King was greeting his guest, he notices a friend of his not properly dressed for the wedding. The King asked him why he didn't properly prepare himself, but his friend was speechless. The King had the friend thrown out of the wedding.
The King is our Heavenly Father, the son is Jesus, the servants are the Christians asking people to receive Jesus. Our Father wants us all to be a part of His family and to celebrate together. Notice the person who knew Him but did not properly prepare himself to be in the Father's presence was thrown out. The scripture says for those who know to do right and doesn’t do it, for that person it is sin. All those things you have said you were going to get right, but haven't; get them right immediately. You don't know the day or the hour you will be presented before the Father.

Have you ever had the experience of someone asking you questions, when you knew they really did not want the answer; they just wanted to tangle up your words or find fault in you? This is the case with Jesus and the Sadducees and Pharisees questions. They did not care what the answer was, they were just trying to get some ammunition against Jesus. They were surprised when the answers and questions that Jesus presented to them caused them to wonder concerning the answers. These tactics are used today to discredit a person or the Word of God. The scriptures says do not answer questions that gender strife. Answer why you have faith in the Word of God and leave the rest alone.

It is more important that we know that God is real, heaven is real, Jesus is alive and God is the God of those who put their trust in Him. It is more important to experience the love of God and share that love with others. It is more important to know that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life.

Matthew chapter 21

Jesus was making His entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion. I like to use this example for obtaining transportation. Jesus told the disciples where the donkey was located to get for Him to ride on. He told them to tell the people that "the Lord has need of them" and they would let them have the donkey. Well, I'm not saying just go get a care without paying for it, but I am saying that you must think and say "the Lord has need of it." This will produce transportation coming to you. It is using your faith.
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the people shouted praises, laid down their coats and laid down palm branches for Him to ride over. This was a fulfilling of prophecy. The people who looked on asked, "who is this?" They were told, He is the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.

Jesus went into the temple and put out those who were carrying out business transactions. They were selling animals and birds to the people who came to give sacrifices. Jesus told them the house of the God is to be a place of prayer not merchandise. We must remember this in our churches. It is a place for people to be healed, delivered, born-again and learn of Jesus and God our Father. As soon as Jesus got rid of the business people, He began to heal the people in the temple.

On the next day Jesus was going to get some figs, but the tree did not have any. Mark tells this story better than Matthew. When we get to Mark's gospel we will discuss this more fully. But the point you must remember is that by your faith you can receive whatever you want.

Some people complained about the things Jesus was doing and wanted to know what authority He was operating in. He told them He would tell them if they told Him what authority John the Baptist operated in. Of course, they were too scared to tell the truth so they responded, "we don't know." So Jesus would not tell them what authority He was operating in. It was not that Jesus didn't want them to know. But He taught regularly and told them that the Father had sent Him. The people only wanted to cause strife, they really did not want to know about His authority for a good reason.

Jesus told two additionally parables. He was sharing that the Kingdom of God is available to all who will receive it. Some people want to think they have a handle on the Kingdom of God and others can not come in. Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and received Him can be in the Kingdom of God. He is also warning those who would mistreat those He sends to receive His people back to Himself. God will not overlook the mistreatment of the men and women of God. Let us love one another, because God truly is a just God. He will reward everyman according to his deeds.

Matthew chapter 20

Jesus gave us an example of the Kingdom of Heaven being like a person who hires employees. The employer paid everyone the same amount regardless of how long they worked. In God's Kingdom it doesn't matter how long you are working, God will give you a just reward. The employer in the story asked the person who complained about his pay "is your eye evil because I am good?" Let us learn from this. We will give praise to God for our reward and the reward of others. Let us become very busy about our Father's business and trust that He will always do what is right. Notice another aspect of the employer. He was looking for those who were not working. Our Father is constantly in search by His Holy Spirit of those who are idle. He wants to put everyone to work in the Kingdom of God. I suggest we assist Him in His endeavor by sharing the message of His love to all we can.

Now Jesus said so plainly that He would be arrested, mocked, beaten, crucified and rise to life on the third day. There is no account that any disciple responded. This was plainly spoken to them. How many times have the Word of God, a preacher or the Holy Spirit plainly spoken to you and you did not understand or respond? The Lord is not mysterious as some want to claim. He is plain and simple. Sometimes people just don't listen.

Position or the desire of it can bring destruction into any assembly. Two of the disciples James and John, Zebedee's children, desired to have position on the right and left of Jesus. In one regard this is a good thing. They wanted to be next to Him because they thought they were worthy. It certainly is better to think yourself worthy rather than unworthy. On the other hand it could have been the mother's plan and the men were innocent in the request. Additionally, the other disciples were upset about the request. Maybe each of them thought they should be given such a position, but they were not bold enough to ask for it. Jesus explained that they would partake of the call and anointing that He would partake of, but He had no authority to tell them who would sit where in the Kingdom. He explained that was Father's authority alone. Let us remember that it is the Father who sets up or bring down. Let us not get too involved in seeking man's recognition that we miss our Father's recognition.

As Jesus and His disciples walked along, two blind men found out it was Jesus passing by. They cried out with a loud voice for Him to have mercy on them. These men did not keep quiet when others told them they were too loud. They did not care about what others thought of them. They had a request and they wanted their request to be heard. Jesus asked them what they wanted and they knew. It was not an unspoken request, it was not a silent prayer, it was not a remember me, it was "to receive my sight"; a definite request. Make definite request to the Lord. You have His attention tell Him exactly what you want. It will be done for you. Jesus healed these men, and they followed Him. They became disciples of Jesus.

Matthew chahpter 19

Everybody wants to know if they are committing adultery if they marry a divorcee. I say no. Why do I say that? I say it because of the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sin. I also say it because Paul stated that if one in a marriage wants to leave, then let them leave, the other one is not under bondage to them. Listen, why do we swallow a camel and strain on gnats? Our Father in Heaven wants to forgive us, can you not see that? We just read in the last chapter how strong He is on forgiveness. If you are divorced, forgive the other person and let them go. They may have been the cause of you having some challenging moments in your life. You may be the cause of them having some challenging moments in their life. Forgive yourself and forgive them. Ask God to help you to heal and keep on living. There is so much more of God to experience. There are other people to meet. You have a lot of love to give. Give love with all your strength. It makes a better you. I am speaking from experience. You can forgive. You will heal. You can live a healthy, happy spirit filled life.
I have been asked by people when they should tell their children about Jesus. When they are in the womb they should be told about Jesus. Talk to them before they are ever born of the goodness of God. Share the gospel message with them. As they grow they grow in the strength of the Holy Ghost. Once your child is born, don't stop. Continue to talk to them and teach them the ways of God. Teach them that Jesus is their Saviour. Teach them to obey the Word of God as you teach them to obey man's laws. Your child will grow up spiritually rather than just grow up. Children should be made a part of every aspect of the gospel at home, at church and in the community. Children can reach children. They are their own best teachers.

Works do not produce eternal life. Receiving the finished work of Jesus produces eternal life. Jesus instructed this man to add one thing to his list of obedience - giving. Money can not be your master. It makes a terrible god. This man did not understand the law of giving and receiving. Jesus was launching this man into a whole new way of living, but the man only saw the releasing of his possessions. Possessions can come and go, but love is eternal. Giving of yourself for the sake of someone else is far more important than obtaining possessions. Well this got the disciples attention when Jesus declared that it is hard for some rich people to get into the Kingdom of God. It appears they were rich themselves. They wanted to know what would become of them. They said, now wait a minute we have given up quite a bit to follow you, what will we get? Jesus promised them that they would sit with Him judging Israel. He also said they would receive while they were on earth a hundred fold return on whatever they gave for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Notice this last promise is for anyone not just the disciples. That includes you and me.

Give and it shall be given unto you. That is the message Jesus taught us. Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. These are not nice sayings. They are principles the children of God must live by.

Matthew chapter 18

Why do people want to know who is the best? There is one best - God. Comparing yourself with others can lead to depression, lack of success, low morale and a life of unhappiness. There is no need to compare ourselves to anyone but Jesus. He is our example. We all are striving to be more like Him. Keep Jesus in the forefront of your vision.

Jesus pointed out a child and spoke of faith. Jesus' answer dealt with faith. He did not say our prayer time, our giving, our community service, He said our faith. If you come to God in full faith and assurance the way a child comes - completely dependent on God, then you can begin to measure greatness. Jesus continued that it is vitally important not to bring harm, offense, confusion or false leading to a child - one of innocent faith. When we know the truth, let us lead others to that truth. When we are not sure, let us keep quiet until we know. Jesus said somebody is going to offend, but it does not have to be you.

Father is seeking the lost. You remember that Jesus said He came to seek and save that which was lost. We were lost to God. Jesus comes to find us and bring us back to God. He gives us the commission to do the same. Heaven rejoices when a person is brought back to God. Let us keep Heaven in a constant uproar of praise and jubilation because of our continual work of bringing people to Him.

Jesus said tell it for the purpose of reconciliation. These instructions have gotten twisted to tell it. When someone offends you tell that person only. Work it out with them. You make the decision to forgive them whether or not they are reconciled to you. If it can't be worked out between the two of you get two more people involved with the two of you. You don't get others involved and leave out the person you need to be reconciled with. If reconciliation is not accomplished, then give the church the opportunity to help with the reconciliation. If that does not work then stay away from the person. You continue to love them. You walk in forgiveness at all times. That is the instruction. Let us not try to hurt the person who hurt us. That is not walking in love. Leave them out of your mouth. Let us spread good tidings not bad. We are children of God. We walk by faith and not by sight. Jesus said if two would agree He would be in the midst of them to bring to pass what they agree upon. When you agree you must say the same thing, think the same thing and expect the same thing. Let us agree to love. Keep on forgiving. Forgiveness is for you not the other person. You living a life of forgiveness will bring a healthier happier you.

Jesus wanted to make sure we understood forgive, He gave another example. There was a person who could not pay their bill and begged the King for time to pay it. The King forgave the debt of the man. Then the same man turned around and threw another man in jail that owed him a significantly less amount of money than what he was forgiven of by the King. When the King found out about this, the King was not pleased. The King asked the man, why didn't you have mercy on this man the way I had mercy on you. You should have been willing to do the same for someone else that was done for you. Then the King gave the man over to the tormentors. Now this man will be tormented while he is trying to pay the debt in full. Jesus said the same will happen to those who refuse to forgive. The Father will allow the tormentors to harass you as you attempt to pay your own debt.

Listen, forgiveness if vital to your new life in Christ. Your prayers are hindered when you don't forgive.

Matthew chapter 17

Jesus stood with Elijah and Moses. This is most interesting to me. It appears that Elijah and Moses are a part of the Heavenly Sanhedrin. Since we do not know what they were talking about, I will make some assumptions. They may have been talking about the soon coming punishment of sin, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and/or things that were going on in heaven. The scripture states that Jesus shined. I will say, He superseded the confines of His natural body and His glory began to shine. We saw this slightly with Moses. His face shined after being in the presence of God. The disciples did not know exactly what to do, but it is clear that they not only saw Elijah and Moses, but they knew who they were. There is no place that states Jesus made introduction of them. How did the disciples just know who they were? They were not alive to personally meet Moses and Elijah when they were on earth. We -spirit- knows more than our minds.
Father covered Himself in a cloud and spoke to the disciples. Father was in the cloud because the scripture says the cloud shined. Clouds do not have the capacity to shine on their own. Something made them shine. God was shielding the disciples from Himself in that cloud. When He spoke the disciples fell to the ground. They were shook by the sound of His voice. What a mighty God we serve. Father said that Jesus is His beloved Son and the disciples were to hear Him or obey Him. Again, we see Jesus asking the disciples not to tell anyone about the experience. He said wait until He is raised from the dead, and then tell what they saw. Everything has a time. It just was not time yet. We must learn not to tell everything we know or experience. Wait on the leading of the Holy Spirit to share some experiences and information. The disciples questioned about the coming of Elijah before the Son of Man. Jesus said Elijah did come (John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah) but he was not recognized by the people. Jesus again told them that He would die and be resurrected. They just were not catching on to what Jesus was telling them.

A man approached Jesus for help in getting his son delivered from a spirit. The disciples tried and were unsuccessful. Jesus said their unbelief prohibited them from casting out the devil. We must believe. No matter what the external world says, the Word of God is always right. Believe. All things are possible to him that believes. Jesus did explain further that fasting and prayer is required to accomplish some acts of faith. Believe…fast…pray. That is the combination that Jesus spoke of in this passage to be successful at overcoming the power of the enemy. You can cast the devil out of yourself and your life. You have the authority to do it. When you spend time in fasting and prayers you will overcome the enemy every time.

It is getting close to the time of the sacrifice of the Lamb. Jesus tells his disciples again, that He will be crucified and on the third day, He will rise from the dead. Sometimes the truth is so simple and plain that we overlook it. These men and possibly women simply overlooked Jesus directly telling them what would happen to Him. They did not understand that He was the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. They did not understand the Passover that they regularly kept. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.

Jesus told Peter that the children are free from paying taxes. This is very interesting to me. Jesus said, "so that we will not offend the tax collectors, go to the sea, throw in your line, the first fish that comes up will have some money in its mouth, pay both of our taxes." "So that we will not offend them…" That is amazing to me. We don't have to abide by some rules of man, but to avoid getting them flustered, we pay the bill. Jesus does not seem to be the least bit annoyed or aggravated with paying the tax bill. He takes it very lightly. He gives Peter instructions to pay the bill. Just pay the bill. All of your bills are paid by your source. Take God as your only source of supply and He will pay the bill. He has no problem in paying it. Now there are many avenues through which God can get the supply to you, but He must become your only source. It is from Him that everything flows to you. There are various channels that the supply may take on its way to you. The best news… it's coming. Glory to God!

Matthew chapter 16

There is a state in the United States called the "show me" state. The people in this area are known for not believing anything except it be shown to them. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were like this. They wanted Jesus to do specific acts for them to prove who He was. Jesus told them that adulterous and wicked generations seek signs. This is the second time that Jesus told them that He would be in the grave three days and night. Jesus said the sign that they would have is that of Jonah the prophet. Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the fish. Jesus showed that He is the Son of God, the Messiah by being dead three days and three nights, and then God raised Him from hell. The blood of Jesus was accepted by God the Father and His blood cleanses us from sin.

Jesus spoke to His disciples to be aware of the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. There are teachings that would try to twist, pervert or bring doubt to the reliability of the Word of God. These are the teachings we are to be aware of. Do not let anyone convince you that Jesus is not the Son of God. Stay close to the Word of God. Study it and meditate on it, the Holy Spirit will reveal truth to you.

By revelation the Father told Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. When a person does not know Jesus, they may think He is a prophet, a teacher or a great man. When a person has a revelation of Jesus they know He is the Christ. If you think that Jesus is a good man, a prophet or just a person then that proves you have no revelation of Him. I encourage you to seek a revelation of Jesus as the Son of God, the Christ. Jesus told Peter that through revelation of who He is entitles us to the authority to speak and make changes in this world. Jesus said what we say whether to stop something or start something will be done. We must get the revelation of who we are in Christ. We have authority to change this world through the power of God in us. Jesus did not want the disciples to tell who He was at that time because it was not yet time for Him to be revealed. God had a time for His revealing.

Peter yielded to his emotions and tried to convince Jesus not to be crucified. Jesus responded to him with "get behind me satan for you are not concerned with the things of God, but the things of men." The same man who received a revelation from Father of who Jesus is was used to attempt to interfere with the plan of God. Things happen so quickly a person may be used by the enemy before they realize it. This lets us see that we are not to judge others. Jesus jerked Peter back to reality by His statement. Sometimes you may need to be jerked back to reality of your loyalty to Jesus. Again, our most valuable safety net is to stay close to Jesus. We stay close to Him through prayer, meditation on the Word of God, praying in the spirit and worship. Do not give the devil any place.

Jesus said those who will follow Him will have to deny themselves. When we give our lives to Jesus, He will instruct us by the Holy Spirit in making good decisions in our life. When we continue to try to make all our decisions without the help of God that is trying to save your own life. Receive the salvation that Jesus has already provided for you.

Jesus will come in the glory that the Father has given Him. He will reward us when He comes.

Matthew chapter 15

God gave us commandments. Men gave us traditions. We are to live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The Pharisees were complaining that the disciples were not following the traditions. Jesus spoke to them that it is more important to follow the commandment of God. Jesus said you are so concerned about following traditions that you are making the Word of God of no affect. The example Jesus gave was honoring our parents. That is the first commandment of God with a reward. The tradition says people can tell their parents whatever you get from me is a gift and they don't have to show them any honor. The tradition destroyed the reward God set in place to those who honor their parents.

Placing so much attention on what is eaten and not on what is spoken is another example of placing more emphasis on tradition than the Word of God. The things we say is what we will be judged by. The things that are spoken come from the heart. What is in your heart? Judge what comes out of your mouth and correct your heart.

Call on the Lord and do not give up. That is what the woman of Canaan taught us. Jesus straight ignored her as she cried out to Him for mercy. This is most interesting. Jesus said, my assignment is to go to the house of Israel. The woman did not get offended. I have seen people get so offended they miss out on receiving from God. This woman did not get sad. She became more assertive. She said the owners of dogs will feed the dogs after the children are satisfied. She was asking, "are you not as good as a dog's master?" Wow! She put a demand on the power of God. She put a demand on the grace of God. Jesus was quite impressed. He said this woman is operating in faith. Her faith pulled out of Him exactly what she wanted. Her daughter was healed. We must learn this wonderful lesson. Don't stop until you get exactly what you want. Do not get offended. Do not get sad by circumstances. Just continue to call out to the Lord and receive what you want. Praise the Lord!

I have been on the mountain at the Sea of Galilee. I have a good imagination of the people coming from the town bringing the sick people. The scripture says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Notice the type of healings that occurred: people who did not have legs or arms were made whole - they grew back, the blind became sighted, those who could not speak began to speak, everybody was healed. Listen, Jesus still heals. He will heal you. There is no such thing as incurable. You and anyone you know can be healed. Don't stop until you get it.

The people stayed with Jesus for three days. There were 4,000 men plus women and children. Jesus took seven loaves of bread and some fish and fed them all. I'm telling you again, God is your source. Give to God and He will keep you in supply of everything you need. The tithe is the blessing connector. You must remember that God has the plan to keep you healthy, wealthy, happy and at peace. Agree with His plan and obey it. Jesus cared for the people. He would not send them away empty. When you get in the presence of the Lord, you can be sure that He will not send you away empty. Receive from the Lord and be filled.

Matthew chapter 14

John the Baptist was in prison for telling the King what was right. Do you have enough courage to "speak the truth in love" as the scripture says? The King knew John was right, he even listened to John preach, but he cared more to be popular. When he was seduced by his wife's daughter, he was asked to cut off John the Baptist head. This is where we see he cared more for popularity. The officials looked on to see what his response would be. He ordered John to be beheaded. Jesus, being John's first cousin, was grieved at the news.

Jesus made an attempt to go and be alone. People saw Him leaving and followed Him. Sometimes people are not sensitive to the feelings or the needs of others. They did not consider for one moment that Jesus' relative was just murdered. The people had themselves in mind. Maybe some did not know of the death of John or possibly the relationship between John and Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus served them. He taught them the Word of God. I am assuming that part because the scripture said "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." The scripture says Jesus healed the sick. I am saying that they obtained faith to be healed by the hearing of the Word of God taught to them.

Then He fed them. He took five loaves of bread and two fish and thanked God for them. It is better to thank God for what you have rather than complain about what you don't have. Jesus blessed the food and began distributing it. The supply did not stop until everyone had eaten and was full. The number of people was 5,000 men plus women and children. The supply was so great that there were twelve baskets of food left over. Where did the twelve baskets come from? Possibly from the same place the food came from.

What have you learned so far? Remain faithful to speak the Word of God and God is our never ending source of supply.

After such a great meeting Jesus sent everyone away. Once He was alone, He again began to pray. This is what He went there to do from the beginning, but the people delayed Him. Have you ever been delayed in doing something you wanted to do? Has it ever been a time that you felt your answer or request from God was delayed? Just maybe He was healing the sick or feeding the hunger. This is not to say that God can not do more than one thing at a time, but I am saying that those He uses may be on another assignment; but they are coming to us. Jesus never forgets what He was planning to do. You may recall this happened when He was on His way to heal Jairus' daughter. The woman with the issue of blood delayed Him. She interrupted their journey by releasing her faith and obtaining her healing. Jesus is so loving that a faith delay is really not a problem at all.

Well, Jesus spent His time in prayer, then He left to join the disciples on the boat. It appears that the water was not a concern to Him. Jesus walked from land to water, apparently not missing a step. It appears He did not have the thought, "how am I going to get to the other side?" He knew what He had to do and He did not allow natural situations to deter Him. Notice, natural situations will not pull Him off His course, only people situations. The disciples saw Him walking on the water. Peter asked if he could join Him. Jesus allowed him to come and walk with Him. Peter walked on the water. Peter walked on the water long enough to reach Jesus. Jesus only had to reach out His hand to keep Peter from sinking. They were pretty close. Peter did not sink. The scripture said, "he began to sink." Additionally, Peter walked back to the boat with Jesus. Remember to look at the things you are accomplishing. Praise God for the accomplishments and He will help you where you need it. Now, Jesus did ask Peter why he doubted. We can hear Jesus say, "there is absolutely no reason why you can not walk on the water, just believe it." We can say to ourselves from this passage, believe and you can do whatever the Lord instructs, the Word commands and your heart desires.

When they got to the other side, many people brought the sick to Jesus. They asked permission to just touch the fringe of His clothes. All the people who touched His clothes were healed. Faith - the currency of the spirit. Use your faith to obtain your healing from the Lord. He is not here for you to touch His clothes or for Him to place His hands on you, but through the Spirit you can receive your healing if you will believe. All things are possible to the person who believes.

Matthew chapter 13

Jesus is teaching how the Word of God produces in our life. The Word of God that is sown into our hearts must be meditated on. Notice some people hear the Word of God and do not receive it. The enemy takes the Word that was sown. These are the people who say, "I read the Bible but I don't get nothing out of it", "I go to church but I don't get nothing out of it." Listen, pay close attention when you read the Word of God or when the gospel is being preached to you. Make up in your mind before hand that you are going to receive something from the Word. Next are the ones who get excited about hearing the preached gospel, but can't tell you anything that was said. They get excited about reading the Bible, but can't tell you anything they read. They don't have depth. That Word, which was sown in their heart, will be stolen form them. I encourage you to keep the Word that is sown in your heart. How do you do that? Keep reading. Next are the people who go to church for a while, read the Bible for a while, tithe for a while, see some victories in their life for a while, then comes the trouble. Something happens at work, at home, in their body, with their finances or in their relationships. They begin to question whether the Word is working or not for them. At that point the Word is being stolen from them. Nothing will be produced in their life. Last of all and most important are the ones who hear the Word of God preached or read the Bible themselves. They receive what they hear and read. They believe what they read and hear. They obey what they read and hear. They do not stop because someone makes fun of their faith. They do not stop when something happens negatively in their body, at home, at work or at church. They continue to meditate on what they have read and heard. They do not let go of it and they do not let anyone talk them out of it. They continue when things are good and when things are not good. They walk continually by faith in the Word of God. These people will see results in their life. The results will progressively get bigger.


I have heard some say that they do not want to go to church because the people do not do what they preach. So what! That can be found anywhere. Jesus said the enemy has put the false among the true. The false act like the true in some ways, they look like the true in some ways. You can not tell the difference except by the Spirit of God. Jesus said to pay them no attention. At the appointed time God will root them out. You continue to believe God and obey Him. That is what is important for you. Amen.

Jesus taught us the most important treasure is the Kingdom of God. We are to seek it, desire it and give all we have for the Kingdom of God. All we really have is ourselves. Money and possessions can leave, but we will always have ourselves. Give yourself to the Lord today. Work for the Kingdom of God.

Something Jesus said was very interesting. Teachers teach things that are familiar and things that are new to the student. Some of the things may be new to you, search them out and become familiar with the Word of God.

Sadly enough, even Jesus could not help some people. He went to His home town to teach and heal. They would not receive Him because they thought they knew who He was. Let us not get so familiar with those the Lord sends to us that we can not receive from them. Let us continually keep our hearts open to the Lord and receive from the Holy Spirit through whomever He chooses to use. The Lord bless you and keep you. Amen.