A Present and Future Kingdom – Psalm 145:11-13

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kingdom_of_God“They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom and will declare Your might, informing all people of Your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; Your rule is for all generations” (Psalm 145:11-13, HCSB).

The creative and redemptive activity of God in His universe is so inexplicable that we have to rely on figures of speech to communicate it. One of the figures of speech used to describe the reality of God’s rule and reign over the universe is to describe it as a “kingdom.”

A kingdom is a form of government. In the kingdom metaphor God is portrayed as a merciful monarch who loves the subjects of His Kingdom and solicits them to come under His loving care and righteous government. In God’s Kingdom He is both a Sovereign King and a Benevolent King.

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Powerless! – Mark 12:24-25

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powerless“Jesus replied, Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven” (Mark 12:24-25, NLT).

The Sadducees based their views on the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, and they were fond of debating about Jewish religious teachings. They didn’t believe in the resurrection from the dead and so they asked Jesus a question about resurrection and framed it as a question about marriage.

Jesus recognized their hypocrisy and addressed their real question directly from the very Scriptures they purported to believe.

But, Jesus prefaced His remarks with this piercing accusation: You don’t know the Scriptures and so you don’t know the power of God!

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The Steve Show – Luke 9:23-24

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Steve-Star_Of_The_Steve_Show“And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it” (Luke 9:23-24, NASB).

I’ve got a show going on.

I call it The Steve Show.

As you might imagine, I’m the star of The Steve Show. I produce and direct my own show. And, I follow the script that I wrote for my show.

The Steve Show. It’s all about me!

You can watch The Steve Show. It’s on all the time. Just watch me!

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When Faith Doesn’t Heal – Mark 10:52

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mountain-moving-faith“‘Go your way,’ Jesus told him. ‘Your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road” (Mark 10:52, HCSB).

This verse is the conclusion to the familiar story of blind Bartimaeus. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem accompanied by a large entourage of people. He had just left Jericho when He passed by Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting by the road.

When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, he began to cry out: “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!”

Bartimaeus was pleading so loudly that people told him to keep quiet, but he just cried out for Jesus all the more.

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Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands – Leviticus 24:12

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MattersInOwnHands“They kept the man in custody until the Lord’s will in the matter should become clear to them.” (Leviticus 24:12, NLT).

During their wilderness wandering, the Israelites took a man into custody who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father. He had been in a fight with an Israelite man and during the fight, the man with the Egyptian father blasphemed God.

When this happened, the Israelites took him into custody and brought him to Moses for judgment. While Moses was waiting to hear from the Lord about the matter, they held him in custody without harming him, not taking matters into their own hands.

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Irreverent Faith – Mark 10:46-52

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“Jesus_Looking_BackAnd Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.’ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus” (Mark 10:49-50, ESV).

Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease!” This story from the gospel of Mark is a case in point for that saying.

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large entourage, blind Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was approaching, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47).

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Harmony’s Blessing – Psalm 133

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christian-unity“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard onto his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—life forevermore” (Psalm 133, HCSB).

While it may be the gathering of God’s people at Jerusalem during one of the annual festivals that inspired the Psalmist to write this brief reflection, he assures us that God’s blessing abounds wherever brotherly love among God’s people abounds.

And what is the blessing that emanates from living in harmony with one another?

Eternal life!

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The Unbelieving Believer – Mark 9:14-29

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prayer2“And he answered them, ‘O faithless generations, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Mark 9:20, ESV)

The story of Jesus healing a boy with an unclean spirit demonstrates the dilemma many Christians face when trying to live out their faith. They may find themselves become unbelieving believers!

Jesus finds some of his disciples arguing with some Jewish religious leaders and a crowd had gathered around them. A man in the crowd explains to Jesus that since childhood his son has been possessed by a demon that causes the boy to have seizures, convulsions, and not be able to talk.

Jesus’s disciples were unable to cast out the demon, so the father pleaded with Jesus to help the boy if He could.

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Bad Weather Farmers – Psalm 126:5-6

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badweatherfarmer“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest” (Psalm 126:5-6, NLT).

Do you sometimes seem to be doing everything right and everything goes wrong?

You are faithful to God, planting seed for His Kingdom by serving and obeying Him in every way. Then, in the middle of your faithfulness and obedience, first one problem or tragedy strikes, then another, and then another.

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More – Leviticus 19:23-25

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moneyfromheaven“When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am Yahweh your God” (Leviticus 19:23-25, HCSB).

The prohibition from eating the fruit of a newly planted fruit tree may have had to do with the fact that the fruit of a young tree was not well formed and did not taste good in the early stages of its life.

Since the firstfruits belonged to God (see Numbers 18:12-17), the fruit of the fourth year was consecrated to God as a praise offering to indicate that the Israelites recognized that God was the One who gave them the good things the earth produced and blessed them with increased production.

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