A blessed Sunday (".)
Day 4- Chapter 4 in The Book of Mark.
Our Loving God, Jesus, is teaching us again today, He is the only one who has the unquestionable authority to teach; may we all listen to Him with all our hearts.
Mark 4 (excerpts)
The Parable of the Sower
... please see my blog- post#15 We will be fruitful...in God's light- to read more about "the parable of the sower", thank you :)
http://ingodslight.blogspot.com/2011/08/15-we-will-be-fruitfulin-gods-light.html
http://ingodslight.blogspot.com/2011/08/15-we-will-be-fruitfulin-gods-light.html
A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
note: please see the complete text of Mark 4 through this link--Jesus, He is the only one who has the sole authority, and He is teaching us; how can we not listen to Him?
Here is the light He shed, through the Holy Spirit, so we can understand His words for us today:
(1) In the "parable of the sower", He is reminding us, to be one with Him, we all need to be the good soil, and to be fruitful, total reliance on Him, on His strength and His power, is His request from all of us; as we remain in Him, He will let us see His purpose for our lives;
(2) In the "lamp on a stand", He is telling us, nothing will be concealed from Him, no secrets; all will be revealed in His time, whether we did good, not so good or really something bad; but we never have to be afraid, as we learn to be in tune with Him, as we let Him guide us, He will teach us the right way- the path that is good and is pleasing to Him.
"Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.''-- Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
(3) In the "parable of the growing seed", He is letting us know that the "seeds" are His "words" being planted in all of us. And He is letting it grow in us; as we continue to lean on His understanding and wisdom, we will be able to discern what He wants us to know and apply in our lives, and when the time of His Kingdom come, He will harvest us. May we be part of the fruitful harvest He wants us all to be.
(4) In the "parable of the mustard seed", He is instilling in us, if we have faith in Him, even just as small as a mustard seed, He will let it grow in us, He will nurture it, He will take care of it, He will make it blossom, and in time, in His beautiful time, He will let us see how we become the largest plant- an unadulterated Christian, worthy of all the promises He gave us.
"He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you".-- Luke 17:6
Here is the light He shed, through the Holy Spirit, so we can understand His words for us today:
(1) In the "parable of the sower", He is reminding us, to be one with Him, we all need to be the good soil, and to be fruitful, total reliance on Him, on His strength and His power, is His request from all of us; as we remain in Him, He will let us see His purpose for our lives;
(2) In the "lamp on a stand", He is telling us, nothing will be concealed from Him, no secrets; all will be revealed in His time, whether we did good, not so good or really something bad; but we never have to be afraid, as we learn to be in tune with Him, as we let Him guide us, He will teach us the right way- the path that is good and is pleasing to Him.
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.''-- Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
(3) In the "parable of the growing seed", He is letting us know that the "seeds" are His "words" being planted in all of us. And He is letting it grow in us; as we continue to lean on His understanding and wisdom, we will be able to discern what He wants us to know and apply in our lives, and when the time of His Kingdom come, He will harvest us. May we be part of the fruitful harvest He wants us all to be.
(4) In the "parable of the mustard seed", He is instilling in us, if we have faith in Him, even just as small as a mustard seed, He will let it grow in us, He will nurture it, He will take care of it, He will make it blossom, and in time, in His beautiful time, He will let us see how we become the largest plant- an unadulterated Christian, worthy of all the promises He gave us.
"He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you".-- Luke 17:6
(5) In "Jesus calms the storm", there are two-sides He wants to present: the side of the disciples who are with Him (Jesus) and yet fear is still in them, and His side, the Son of God, who shows them His Mighty Power- that even the storm, the force of nature, He can command to quiet down. This is like a mirror of our walk with Him today. Yes, we are Christians, we believe Him, we acknowledge Jesus as our God, and yet, sometimes, the "storms" in our lives tends to distort how we should respond. There are times, we doubt how we will pass through it, but assuredly, as we hold onto His hands, as we let Him take over and be the One in-control, He will strengthen us- He is our God Almighty! All the "storms" in our lives- past, present and future, is just a miniscule compared to His power. Remember: Our God is bigger than any "storms" we will face.
Inspirational Prayer:
Dear Loving Jesus, teach us more and more on how to live our lives for you. Open our minds, our hearts, our whole being so that we are always in tune to you. Let us continue to walk in your light so that we may discover the beauty of the lives you want us to live. You are our Almighty God! We will be able to face all our "storms" praising you by the strength you will give us. We thank you everyday, every moment, every breath. Praise You Jesus, our Mighty God! Amen.
May we all remember that we will find the power and strength of God from His book- The Bible; may we all adhere in reading and contemplating on it everyday (".)
Proverbs 4:20-22 20
Inspirational Prayer:
Dear Loving Jesus, teach us more and more on how to live our lives for you. Open our minds, our hearts, our whole being so that we are always in tune to you. Let us continue to walk in your light so that we may discover the beauty of the lives you want us to live. You are our Almighty God! We will be able to face all our "storms" praising you by the strength you will give us. We thank you everyday, every moment, every breath. Praise You Jesus, our Mighty God! Amen.
May we all remember that we will find the power and strength of God from His book- The Bible; may we all adhere in reading and contemplating on it everyday (".)
Proverbs 4:20-22 20
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
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