The Lord Jesus calls us His friends. If you have accepted Him as your Lord and savior you could not ask for a better, closer friend. Jesus gave His disciples an example of great love and true friendship when He said to them, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn.15:13 esv) History has provided us with stories of people who have sacrificed their lives to save someone from harm or even death. We thank God for their selflessness and remember them for the true heroes they are. They were a true friend when a true friend was in need.
Jesus lived out that example of a true friend while He was on earth right up to the end of His earthly life. Jesus laid down His life for all of us He calls friends, all of us who are in desperate need of saving grace only He can provide by taking our punishment at the cross. No, we couldn’t ask for a better friend. Of all the friends we have in this world, none can compare with Jesus who saved us from eternal damnation and separation from Him and heaven forever. He can help us like no other friend is able with the problems and concerns we have in this world. Jesus is taking care of the here and now and has secured our eternal destiny for those who believe in Him. Jesus has taken care of everything for us. That’s what friends are for!
What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!
What’s in a name? Well, that depends on whose name it is. Reference to someone’s name will bring a visual picture of them to your mind. Names of well-known people will draw up images both good and bad as to their character, and their achievements or non-achievements. Being associated with a name will likely put you in the same boat of the name in question. It’s called ‘guilty by association.’ So, it is wise to keep our name free from scandals and from associations with those whose names recall bad images.
What about the name of Christ? Luke writes in the book of Acts, “God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (4:12 nlt) His name, Jesus Christ, is the only way of salvation and assurance of heaven after this life. Being associated with that name would be a good thing, and I trust that you are. However, there are people who would disagree that the name of Jesus is the only way to heaven, which puts Christians in a bad light being associated with Jesus’ name. Jesus, Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (Jn.14:6 nlt) Being associated with Jesus may tarnish your name a bit if you’re totally committed to Him and His Words.
But where are we to go as Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn.6:68-69 nlt) Peter held fast and stayed true being associated with the name of Jesus as we see in our reading today in Acts 3. It was in the name of Jesus, Peter was able to heal the lame man, and it is the same name of Jesus that is the only name able to heal our sin sick soul unto eternal life through faith in Him. It’s OK to be guilty by association in the name of Jesus Christ. It is the name by which we must be saved.
“Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. So take this seriously. The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 NLT
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How do we serve God with a willing mind? It begins with worshiping Him with our whole heart. King David in his last instructions to his son Solomon, soon to be king, were words of encouragement, “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind.” David knew the task of building God’s Temple was before his son, and he wanted to prepare him to be ready not miss out on what God had chosen him to do.
David also warned his son that if he forgets God and goes his own way, it will have severe consequences. The Lord would reject him forever, including his assignment to build the Temple. But isn’t God a God of mercy, you ask, yes, He is, but the one who rejects God, rejects all that God is, His love, His salvation plan, His grace, and yes, His mercy. David didn’t want his son to reject God. His desire for Solomon was for him to know God intimately through worship and serving. David stressed to Solomon to ‘take this seriously,’ and think about who God is and what He had chosen him to him to do above everyone else, build His Temple. I’m sure it was overwhelming for Solomon, but David wraps up by saying, ‘Be strong and do the work.’ The Lord would be with him.
God has a specific assignment for you and me to do. Will we have a willing mind when He reveals His plan to us? To be willing and ready we need to worship Him with our whole heart. The Lord sees and knows what’s in the deepest crevasses of our hearts, so we can’t fool Him. If we wholeheartedly seek God, we will find Him and won’t miss out what He has for us.
“Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.” Proverbs 29:23 NLT
“He quickly said to his young armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!’ So the young man ran him through with his sword, and he died.” Judges 9:54 NLT
We have all come across people with excess pride, and not in a good way. There are some people who are just full of themselves. Hopefully your contact with them is limited, especially if you run into that one in the mirror. Make sure that contact is extremely limited. I have written about pride in the past, but there are many tentacles that protrude out of pride as in those flexible unjointed organs extending from certain animals particularly invertebrates. They all serve the purpose of stoking one’s pride, but it’s time to start picking them off.
If we fail to address where a tentacle of pride surfaces and leave it alone, it will become part of our character and be hard to shake off. The longer it is left alone the more we tend to confirm its existence as positive, and it will bring other forms of hidden pride above the surface. A life full of pride undealt with will be carried right through until death.
A case in point, Abimelech, who ruled over Israel for three years after having seventy of his brothers killed, couldn’t die thinking he would be remembered as being kill by a woman. You might say he had a problem with women, but pride played a role. God pronounced judgement on Abimelech for his ungodly actions when he attempted to invade the town of Thebez. A woman drops a millstone on his head and crushed his skull. And in his pride, Abimelech, said in his final breath, “to his young armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!’” (Jud.9:54 nlt) Against women perhaps, full of pride until the end, definitely! Don’t let pride hang around, let it go.
“A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” Mark 6:4 NLT
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There have been many hometown heroes throughout the centuries. Famous artists have painted their priceless artwork in familiar surroundings of their neighborhood. Renown composers from Bach and Beethoven to Lennon and McCartney started composing the world’s masterpieces in their small rustic villages and small towns. Many Presidents and foreign leaders have been memorialized in their hometowns. People from all walks of life who made a name for themselves have been recognized and hailed in their communities as achieving great success. Not so with Jesus of Nazareth. He was rejected by those who knew Him best.
Last week in our Biblical Insights in the book of Mark, Jesus was back in Capernaum where He performed two miracles. After raising Jarius’ daughter from the dead, “Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown.” (Mk.6:1 nlt) Jesus was about to begin His third and final tour through the Galilean region. He returns to His hometown of Nazareth 20 miles southwest of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. This is not a planned family visit but a preaching ministry event. It is the start of Jesus’ and the disciples preaching tour through Galilee.
As was Jesus’ custom, He observed the Sabbath by attending worship services in the local synagogue. While there Jesus began to teach, and the on-lookers were astonished. Never did they hear such teaching and from someone who they knew but knew Him as a local carpenter. Even though they heard Him with their own ears, they found it hard to believe. “Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.” (Mk.6:3 nlt) The people took offense that Jesus would elevate Himself to such a high position with no formal religious or academic training. He was on their level, a local layman, ‘how dare He raise Himself above us.’
The peoples’ reference to Him as the ‘son of Mary’ could very well have been an insult to Jesus. It could be possible that Joseph passed away, as he is not mentioned, but it may also be a shot at the legitimacy of His birth. To say that one is the son of the mother is to say we don’t know who the father is. The townspeople in their ignorance and snippy remarks missed an opportunity to get to know the Jesus they thought they knew. Jesus was amazed at their unbelief and did no miracles in Nazareth except for a few people He healed. (Mk.6:5) It was not that He couldn’t perform any miracles, but in an atmosphere of such unbelief Jesus didn’t have many opportunities as most people were offended by Him. John MacArthur notes, “Miracles belong among those who were ready to believe.” There were many who simply would not believe. It must have hurt the Lord Jesus to announce, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” (Mk.6:4 nlt)
Jesus did not let this interrupt His mission or the mission He was about to send the disciples on. Neither should we let the way we are received by those closest to us to influence whether we continue to live the Christian life. Jesus knows what it is like to be rejected by His own family for the sake of the gospel, so He knows how you feel if it happens to you. Jesus continued going from village to village reaching out to people. We shouldn’t allow anything to slow us down, but to continue with the mission He gave us.
“And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits.” (Mk.6:7 nlt) Jesus gets His disciples involved to go out on their own and preach the gospel. He has taught them as they gathered around Him. They have observed His preaching and the miracles He performed on the road, now it was time for them to get some on-the-job training. This was a big step for them, and the Lord emphasized how big a step it was in the instructions He gave them.
Jesus told them to take nothing along with them except the common walking stick in case attack. That alone calls for tremendous faith. Whatever God calls us to do requires faith on our part to be successful for the task. We shouldn’t doubt thinking we can’t do it. If the Lord is sending us out, we can do it. The disciples were also told not to take any food, no overnight bag or extra clothing, and no money. Jesus did allow them to wear sandals for their feet. The Lord Jesus was training them to increase their faith for future days when they would go out preaching the message of salvation after His death, burial, and resurrection. They were to trust God completely to meet their needs.
The disciples were instructed not to be fickle with the accommodation provided for them, but to show appreciation and stay in that one place as long as they were in that city. Jesus gave them one final important instruction, “But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” (Mk.6:11 nlt) Strict Jews in that day shook the dust off their feet whenever they left a pagan territory. Rejecting Jesus’ gospel of salvation is equal to a pagan society who rejects the only true God. Shaking off the dust is certainly in order. It also absolves them from any further responsibility after making known the manner of salvation.
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Jesus did not say following Him would be a cakewalk. There will be hard times, long roads ahead to travel, rejection even from loved ones, but it is a life of tremendous joy when following Him in obedient faith. Jesus guarantees it.
Starting today April 5th, a Mega Millions lottery ticket will cost you $5 instead of $2 here in the U.S… The title of this week’s Christian Perspective, ‘Spending More to Win More’, was a headline last week in our local Sunday newspaper. An article from Kurt Snibbe of the Southern California News Group provided the full-page article including graphs and statistics. Justifying the increase, Snibbe writes, “Officials who run the lottery say there will be bigger prizes won more frequently, along with slightly improved odds. Among the key changes are that the jackpot will start at $50 million instead of $20 million.” (1) The slightly improved odds increase your chances to ‘1 in 290,472,336’ from ‘1 in 302,575,350.’ Sounds like a sure bet to me.
This isn’t a piece endorsing state run lotteries that help create revenue for needed programs, nor is it a reprimand to Christians who place a few dollars in the state’s coffers each week. It is a piece to help us re-evaluate and think through where we spend our money. Are we investing it wisely? How can it be used more wisely to help others? Is God please where it is going? Do we care more about those in need than we do ourselves? Granted state lotteries fund a major portion of education and other needy programs. California for example provided $2.1 billion for education in 2024 from $9.2 billion in lottery sales. From a Christian perspective would it not be better to invest the entire $9.2 billion in education and other much needed services. This would be more beneficial not only in California but in every state in the country. That’s a hard sell but think about it.
The idea we take a vice as gambling and defend its use by giving some of the proceeds to the poor, the very people who are buying most of the tickets and can least afford it needs to be re-evaluated. The ‘Focus for Health Foundation’ reports, “The lottery preys on vulnerable people. The people most likely to habitually play the lottery are typically poor, largely minorities, and often addicts. The Journal of Gambling studies found that lowest fifth in terms of socio-economic status has the highest rate of playing the lottery. Despite the terrible odds of winning money through the lottery, people in financial trouble think the lottery is the only way to accumulate money.” (2)
Christians today need more discernment concerning this issue than in years past. Gambling has been increasing dramatically as almost every state in America has a state lottery and recently added legalized sports betting. This is not only an American problem, but many countries around the world are experiencing the same trends. The poorest among us are being taken advantage of and then there are those who never have enough. Both want to get rich quick. Both are willing to spend more to win big. May we be wise and good stewards with what the Lord has blessed us and help those in need directly rather than through a lottery ticket.
“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem.” Daniel 6:10 NLT
Christians struggle today as to when is it appropriate to disobey the government. What would be a legitimate reason to ignore certain laws and encourage others to do the same. I’m sorry, I’m not about to give you an approved list which enables you to defy the government, but I will give us all an example of what is right when the time is right.
The prophet Daniel lived his entire adult life in captivity. Captured as a teenager and brought to Babylon during the destruction of Jerusalem, Daniel proved to be an example of one who completely trusted and obeyed God whatever the circumstances. He never wavered, and the Lord used Daniel to work out and reveal His purposes. Now in his eighties, and still well respected by those who now held him captive, Daniel was about to put his faith and obedience on display.
Daniel was one of the top officials in the new kingdom of Medo-Persia serving Darius the king. Darius’ favoritism of his highly regarded official brough envy among his colleagues so much they concocted a plan to get rid of him. They convinced the king to sign a law stating that “for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human— (except Darius the king)—will be thrown into the den of lions.” (Dan.6:7 nlt) They knew Daniel would not comply, seeing him three times a day praying towards Jerusalem, they got him, well, sort of.
If you’re familiar with the story of ‘Daniel in the lions’ den’ you know it has a happy ending. Daniel knew that if he obeyed the king’s law, he would be disobeying God. So, he did what he always did, he reached out to God for help in his daily prayers. Daniel had no assurance that God would deliver him, but he knew that He could, and he was not going to disobey the Lord God who had blessed him all his life. Let the same be said of us.
“He said: ‘In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.’” Jonah 2:2 NIV
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A ‘distress call’, also known as a distress signal, is an internationally recognized call for help. The calls are communicated through radio signals over medium to high frequencies across land or sea. The signals alert emergency units that a watercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle is in imminent danger and in need of rescue. Other forms of distress signals include an emergency aerial or handheld flare, sending morse code S.O.S., showing flames on a vessel, a continuing sound of fog-signaling devices, and firing a gun at one-minute intervals. All are forms of communication with the sole purpose of crying out for help in a desperate situation.
The prophet Jonah sent out his own distress call from the belly of a great fish. He no doubt needed a rescue. Although he was in that desperate spot due to his own disobedience to God, he cried out to the only one who could save him. Jonah had a change of heart after God kept him alive after his attempt to take his own life by having his crew mates throw him overboard. Jonah refused to follow where God told him to go and what he was to do. In fact, he went in the opposite direction.
You may find yourself in a similar situation today. You’re not where God was leading you and told you go. You’ve been running in the opposite direction doing your own thing, and it’s not working out for you. You may not be far away from danger, or perhaps you are already there needing to send out that distress call. Jonah said the Lord listened to his cry; He will listen to yours. It’s never too late to turn around and go where God is calling you and do what He has planned for you. Don’t hesitate, send out that distress call!
“Every word of God proves true…. Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6 NLT
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Those who enjoy the art of cooking experiment by creating new recipes for whatever dish they are preparing. Always striving to make each dish better than the one before until one day they create the perfect dish, then the recipe becomes complete to be used and enjoyed by everyone. There is no need to add any other ingredients or take any out, it is finished.
The Bible is a lot like that perfect dish you have just created. The Holy Spirit was not experimenting when writing through the various authors over the years, but each one was adding to the overall message of the Bible. Each ingredient added enhanced the flavor causing the psalmist to say, “How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” (Ps.119:103 nlt) And “Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Ps.34:8 nlt)
The Bible is the perfect dish for all to enjoy. It provides nourishment for our souls and gives us strength needed in times of adversity. It is the dish that includes the perfect ingredients leading us to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Note the words written in the book of Proverbs, “Every word of God proves true……Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.” (30:5-6 nlt) Nothing needs to be added to the Bible, although many have tried over the years and are still trying, and nothing needs to be removed as some have recently advocated.
Just as you would not want anyone to add or subtract from your perfect dish, God does not want any words added or removed from His finished product. Those who do will lead others and themselves down a path of destruction. “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.” (Rev.22:18-19 nlt)
God has created the perfect dish for us. Let’s enjoy it.
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” 1 Chronicles 29:14 NIV
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The month of April is a dreaded month for some here in the United States. It’s tax month. Pay what you owe. There are Christians who frown on giving any money to a government that does not abide by Biblical standards. However, that will be a topic for another day. Today, let us inquire about the source of our income. The fact we have any money to give to the government comes from God.
King David was aware of this when he said, “Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!” (1Chr.29:14 niv) David and all Israel were donating gold, silver, bronze, iron, and precious stones for the construction of the Temple. In his prayer, David acknowledges, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?” (1Chr.29:14 niv) David knew all he had, and all that the people had come from God’s hand. They were giving it back to Him in building the Temple. David also wrote in the book of Psalms, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (24:1 niv)
A proper perspective of the source of our income can be gleaned from David. It comes from God. Yes, you worked for it, but God opened the door of opportunity for your job, and He gives you the knowledge and strength to perform in it. When we consider everything that we have is from God, it should make it easier to let go of some of our resources, especially since it is not ours to begin with. Allow God to speak to you where He would like you to share and invest your income. It is from God’s hand.
Word for the Soul 