by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 8; The Cross Before The Throne

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Mark 8 :29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 

 8:30       And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. 

 8:31       And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and [of] the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 

 8:32       And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 

 8:33       But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. 

 8:34       And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 

 8:35       For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 

 8:36       For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 

 8:37       Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

 8:38       Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 

Peter could not comprehend or imagine Jesus being crucified. I think this is why Peter was so sure of himself, when later he swore he would never deny Jesus. I think he made that promise while only thinking of Jesus upon a throne, never dreaming Jesus would be crucified on a cross. Jesus rebuked Peter, because Peter was telling Him he did not need to die to self on the cross. Jesus at once recognized this as a message from Satan. Earlier Satan had told Jesus He would not have to die if He would just worship him. If he would, then Satan would give Jesus the world back without Him needing to die. Long before this, Satan spoke through false prophets in the Old Testament, prophesying smooth things that kings longed to hear. The kings would get upset when a real prophet would prophesy about death and destruction, because they did not want to hear it. Peter did not want to hear it either. Peter only wanted smooth things prophesied to him. Jesus, the King of Kings had to overcome where the former kings failed, and be willing to accept a prophecy of death and loss.  Jesus gives Peter a further rebuke, when he tells him that if he is ashamed of these words about the cross, then Jesus would also be ashamed of Him when He comes in glory. Peter, who at the time could only imagine a throne and glory, finally found that glory-in the cross. He who loses his life finds it. Jesus was glorified after he was crucified. Do you want glory and honor and a throne too? Then pick up your cross and follow Jesus in death to self. Find the glory that many Old Testament kings greatly desired, but were never willing to die to self for.

by In Light Of The Cross

My New Outlook For The New Year

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

“Humans are very seldom either totally sincere or totally hypocritical. Their moods change, their motives are mixed, and they often themselves are quite mistaken as to what their motives are.” – C.S. Lewis

In  order to be more personal I have made a video blog on my new outlook for the New Year. A quote by C.S. Lewis has given me a better way of looking at things in 2011. Please let my share my message with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOw2ZXqwMJM

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 7; Inside and Outside

 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash [their] hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And [when they come] from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, [as] the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.  Mark 7:1-7

Funny how people think making the outside look all nice makes the inside nice too. Just like the Pharisees thought if they washed their hands they were holy, likewise Pilate in Matthew 27, thought he could wash away his guilt by washing his hands. We cannot wash away our sins. What we need is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There are many people who think that being baptized will save them, but they are being just as legalistic as the Pharisees. What they need is to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. We cannot by washing ourselves make ourselves, holy or converted. What we need is not a revival, but a crucifying of the flesh to be dead and gone forever, never to return. What we need is for Jesus to make us a new creation 2 Corinthians 5:17.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 6; Fruit of the Spirit, Lesson 3

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Mark 6 tells the same story that Matthew 14 tells. Here is a blog I already wrote a while back on Matthew 14.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].  Psalms 126:5-6

As we look at Joy in this week’s SS lesson lets be reminded the greatest joy is in sharing Jesus with others. This is something we all can do. We may feel like we are not good enough for the job but please prayerfully consider the story of Jesus feeding the multitude:

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.  And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. Matthew 14:14-17

 

Okay, what just happened here? The disciples knew the crowd was hungry but felt that they could not get the job done so they tell Jesus to send the crowd to the village markets where people were trained and better prepared to feed such a crowd. You know, professionals, people who are trained and do this sort of thing for a living.

Jesus tells the disciples to do it themselves. The disciples remind Jesus that they do not have adequate provisions. This is why they need to go to the professionals.

He said, Bring them hither to me.  Matthew 14:18

Okay what just happened? Jesus asked the disciples to do it and by George they are going to do it. Has God ever asked you to share the bread of life with a friend or neighbor but you decided to just leave it with the professionals instead? After all there are people who are trained and get paid by the church to do this kind of stuff. But Jesus asked you!

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  Matthew 14:19

Okay what just happened? Jesus gave the bread to the disciples so that they would now have plenty to share with the crowd. Likewise when Jesus asks you to share the bread of life with others, He first wants you to receive the bread of life from Him, and then you will have something to share with the crowd. The crowd did not need to go to the villagers. The disciples just needed to go to Jesus.

And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  Matthew 14:20

Okay what just happened? Even with just five loaves and two small fishes the disciples accomplished everything the pros in the village markets could have done, by just doing what Jesus asked, and receiving from Him first what they needed to share with others.

God has big plans for our church this year. A crowded city is hungry for the bread of life. If you are a disciple of Christ then He is asking you to feed them. Don’t just send them to the “preofessionals”.  You can feed them! In 2010 everyone can take the bread of life from Jesus and share it with others. Everyone can give a Bible study this year. It’s so easy even I can do it! But first we must receive from Jesus and then share it with the multitude. Are you in with us on this?

Jesus trained the disciples by giving them the bread first to share with others. They needed training but they did not need to send the people somewhere else to get better service. This year our church will be offering training so that you can share the bread of life with others, so that they will not need to go somewhere else for better service. I am looking forward to working with you this year as you share the bread of life with others!

“It is not the Lord’s purpose that ministers should be left to do the greatest part of the work of sowing the seeds of truth. Men who are not called to the ministry are to be encouraged to labor for the Master according to their several ability. Hundreds of men and women now idle could do acceptable service. By carrying the truth into the homes of their friends and neighbors, they could do a great work for the Master. God is no respecter of persons. He will use humble, devoted Christians, even if they have not received so thorough an education as some others. Let such ones engage in service for Him by doing house-to-house work. Sitting by the fireside, they can– if humble, discreet, and godly–do more to meet the real needs of families than could an ordained minister.” {Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7: 21.2}

You can find more studies and devotionals at In Light of The Cross.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 5; Demon Possession

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Have you noticed several demon possession stories already in the book of Mark? Are these stories relevent to us today?

Mark 5:1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 

 5:2   And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 

Here a demon possessed mad has an obsession with death. Is it not the same today? Are not gothic people today obsessed with death?

 5:3   Who had [his] dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 

 5:4   Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any [man] tame him. 

Today there are people in the church (Remember in Mark 1 the demoniac was in the temple) as well as the world who will not be tamed or bound by laws or standards. They want to do as they please without submitting to anyone, yet this is a sign of being controlled by the prince of darkness.

 5:5   And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 

Studies show that people who are cutters, and suicidal have been abused, usually sexually. With this man’s obsession with death and cutting, he may have been abused. I am glad Jesus came to be His Savior!

 5:6   But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 

 5:7   And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 

Here is a tremendous struggle. The man wants to worship Jesus but is tormented by His presence. Again, it is not Jesus who can’t dwell with sinners, but sinners who don’t want to dwell with God. This man is demon possessed, and so one sign of demon possession is not wanting to be in the presence of God weather it is in the church service, prayer meeting, or family worship.

 5:8   For he said unto him, Come out of the man, [thou] unclean spirit. 

 5:9   And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered, saying, My name [is] Legion: for we are many. 

Jesus did not need to know His name, but asked, so that the disciples could see what they were up against. On our own we are no match for Satan.

 5:10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 

 5:11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 

 5:12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 

 5:13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 

 5:14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told [it] in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 

 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 

Notice being in your right mind and properly clothed go together. Luke tells us this man was naked. The further we are from God the more clothes we are willing to take off. The closer we come to God the more appropriately we dress. For more on this please click here.

 5:16 And they that saw [it] told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and [also] concerning the swine. 

 5:17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 

Hhhmm….They want Jesus to go away. I wonder where those demons went after the pigs drowned. Here is a clue when people are asking Jesus to leave!

 5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 

A sign of demon possession is wanting Jesus to go away. A sign of conversion is wanting to be in His presence.

 5:19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 3-4; Dealing With Prejudice

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.  Mark 3:11-12

Some people say Seventh-day Adventists are deceitful when we hold meetings and do not make it known right away that we are Adventist. In reality we are only doing what Jesus was doing, and that is, removing the prejudice before saying who we are. Satan had told the human race that God was mean and harsh. So if Jesus had come and immediately said He was the Son of God, nobody would have given Him a chance. He silenced the demons, even though they were speaking truth, because the people needed to get to know Him without the prejudice, before He made it known who He was. Today, because of the lies about Adventists, we sometimes need to remove the prejudices before we make ourselves known.

In Mark 4 Jesus talks about the sower and the seed. Sometimes people receive the Word and get all excited about following Jesus, but when trials come they leave God. Could it be the seed was not sown deep enough? It takes time to develop deep roots. Do sometimes rush people into baptism only to find out later that we should have taken more time? Do we spend time building relationships or just through facts at people and expect them to get baptized? Are we geared towards relationships, or just telling people we’re right you’re wrong. That won’t get you anywhere. Jesus was always right, but He was also relational. He spent time with prostitutes and publicans, many of which did not get baptized until several years afterwards. Are we willing to wait that long or do we need them to get baptized right away for some reason? I think Jesus’ way is best.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 3; Is it a Sin to be Angry?

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched [it] out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.  Mark 3:1-5

This passage says that Jesus looked on them with anger. Why do people say it is a sin to be angry? I have found nowhere in the Bible where it says such a thing. Anger has its place. Ephesians 4: tells us we can be angry and not sin. We can even get angry at God sometimes and He does not hold it against us. In 1 Kings 19 Elijah gets so frustrated with God that he wants to die. God just thought Elijah was in a bad mood and needed rest, so he had him sleep under a juniper tree and then sent an angel to feed him when he woke up. In Jonah 4 Jonah gets mad at God but it didn’t bother God. I’m glad that we serve a God who understands when we get angry.

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 2; Jesus is The Goal, Not The Sabbath

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.  Mark 2:28

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath and the rest it gives points to the grace given us by God. How many well meaning Sabbath Keepers get it backwards? How many think they have done their duty by telling someone that Saturday is the Sabbath, but never point them to Jesus? We are witnesses for Jesus, not the Sabbath. We share the Sabbath only as it points people to the grace of God which saves them. I shake my head in despair, when I hear someone say that their friend or relative has finally accepted Jesus and now all they have to do is convince them about the Sabbath. They make it sound like the Sabbath is the goal and Jesus is not enough. I am not taking anything away from the Sabbath’s proper place, however the Sabbath is not the goal. Jesus is the goal!

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 1; Sin and Seperation

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Mark does not spend any time on Jesus’ birth of childhood and goes straight to Jesus’ ministry. Makes me wonder if Mark just didn’t like kids or something.

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. Mark 1:23-27

Isaiah 59:1 says that our sins separate us from God. God does not separate Himself from sinners. Sinners separate themselves from God. God can dwell with sin, but sin can not dwell with God. God did not run from Adam when Adam sinned. Adam ran from God. In this story we see the demoniac telling Jesus to leave Him alone. Jesus does not tell the demoniac to leave Him alone. God loves sinners, but sinners hate God. This is why God sent His Son to die for them and thus win their love back to Him.

In his sinless state, man held joyful communion with Him “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. But after his sin, he could no longer find joy in holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of God. Such is still the condition of the unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no joy in communion with Him. 

 The sinner could not be happy in God’s presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy beings. Could he be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. The spirit of unselfish love that reigns there—every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love—would touch no answering chord in his soul. His thoughts, his interests, his motives, would be alien to those that actuate the sinless dwellers there. He would be a discordant note in the melody of heaven. Heaven would be to him a place of torture; he would long to be hidden from Him who is its light, and the center of its joy.  It is no arbitrary decree on the part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven; they are shut out by their own unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them a consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them.—Steps to Christ, p 17.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.  Proverbs 8:36

by In Light Of The Cross

Sunset Over Naples

I am writing tonight from beautiful Naples.

Actually I am too tired to write alot right now, but wanted to share some pictures from my vacation spot here in Naples. My friend Ruth told me about a really neat beach off of Pine Ridge Road here in Naples. I was here last week and just had to come back. Please enjoy the pictures and videos. It is cold but still beautiful here. As a matter of fact this is suppose to be the coldest night in Florida 21 years. Earlier I said in recorded history but I was wrong!

 Starfish were all over the beach tonight.

Click here for a sunset video. If you liked that one click here for another one.

By the way I am selling 2011 calendars now with my pictures of the Tampa Bay area. 100% of the profits go to help struggling families this Christmas. The calendars are only $10.00. If you would like to order some please e-mail me at racerthree@yahoo.com Thank you!