Scripture: John 11: 35

³⁵ Then Jesus wept.

Scripture Commentary:

These two words, “Jesus wept,” are profound. We are reading about the human part of Jesus Christ. He showed empathy by grieving for someone who was loved.

In Luke 19: 41, we read, “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,” seeing the pain and sin in the people. His love was so great that he could only weep for the lost.

As Jesus looks down on us today the tears are probably rolling down his cheeks.

Jesus Christ shows that he cares enough for the people of Jerusalem to weep over them, and his weeping carries over to today.

The people of yesterday rejected God’s salvation in Jesus Christ when He offered it to them. The same offer is on the table today. God’s grace, mercy and salvation are offered to everyone on the planet. Why do we not accept it?

Satan offers silver and gold, and the so-called good life. This is an offer of complete damnation into an eternal life of hell.

Jesus wasn’t afraid to reveal his true feelings for Jerusalem and Lazarus.

In his human form, Jesus experienced the loss of a friend. His friendship is extended to each of us today.

Be honest with God; do not hide anything from Him. When Jesus saw the people weeping for Lazarus, he wept. Likewise, Jesus weeps for us today because his love for us has not changed.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

John 11

Luke 19

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

Jesus, the Light of the World

Jesus Sent Us the Bread of Life

Scripture: Psalm 146: 1-4

¹ Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. ² I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. ³ Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. ⁴ When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.

Scripture Commentary: Place your trust in the One who can.

Trust not in man for he is only here for a moment in time. Trust God. His Word is forever. The psalmist portrays man as an inadequate savior, a false hope. Even princes cannot deliver.

We must put our trust in God.

He is our only hope. We are lost in this stopping station called earth. The last four psalms overflow with praise. Each begins and ends with “Praise the Lord.” Together they show us where, why and how to trust and praise God. These psalms take our minds off ourselves and our problems and shortcomings. They focus us on God and give us the hope to go on.

Praise and trust in the Lord.

Praising and trusting God causes us to know how much He loves us and how much we love Him. As verse 8 says,  “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly.” Strive to become more and more like Him. The more you learn about God and His ways, the better you will understand yourself and learn what God has for you.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Psalm 146

Proverbs 3 (Referenced in the description)

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

God Shows Us Great Mercy

Open Your Heart and Be Blessed By God

Scripture: Psalm 14: 1-2

Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! ² The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.

Scripture Commentary: Do you seek God?

What does God see when He looks at us today? We are His children; He is our Father, our God. God knows we aren’t perfect but are we trying? Is He looking at disobedient, hateful, vindictive people or kind, loving, prayerful people who not only love God but also are obedient to His laws and way of life? Do we seek God?

If you believe there is no Good, then you are lost and an atheist. This person ignores the evidence that God exists or s/he is just wicked and refuses to live by God’s truths. You become this person when you reject God and live as you see fit. You give way to the flesh and the world’s way of life.

To live and speak in direct defiance of God is utterly foolish. When the day of judgment comes and you stand before God, He will ask what you did in His name. What is your answer? Because on that day of your judgment, you will stand with either God or Satan.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Psalm 14

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

God Says To “Ask of Me, and I Shall Give”

Lord, Cleanse Me for I Have Sinned

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2: 5, 10, 15

⁵ I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. ¹⁰ But^[e] it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.  ¹⁵ Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 

Scripture Commentary:

Trust in the power of God. Unbelievers do not know God. They go about life lost, with no purpose. God’s plan is not in their heart, mind or soul. They have rejected Jesus Christ in their life. Christ’s death and resurrection is misunderstood.

The Holy Spirit is in each of us but if you do not accept Jesus Christ, it is asleep.

The Holy Spirit can only comfort and guide if it is called upon. The promise of salvation is revealed only to those who believe in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, and they place their faith in his hands.

Through Paul, the Holy Spirit showed us the path to salvation and eternity with God, the Father. This world is preparation, a stopping station for our real home in the Kingdom with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Corinthians 2

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 1 Corinthians:

Can Others See the Temple of God in You?

God Is the Foundation

Scripture: Psalm 130: 1-4

¹ From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. ² Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. ³ Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? ⁴ But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

Scripture Commentary: Cry out to God from the depths of despair.

There are times in life when we feel the depths of despair. We feel hopeless, discouraged, and life seems impossible. Times like these make us feel isolated and distant from God. This is precisely when we need God the most.

When you’re feeling sorry for yourself, surrender to God and tell Him your concerns. God is merciful. He forgives and forgets; He heals and He loves. We are His children.

Crying out to God will turn our attention to the only One who can really help.

Do not block your access to God by placing a wall between you and Him. Each second of the day God gives us a chance to talk to Him and to redeem ourselves. He hears our voice and listens to our plea.

To you who are reading this message, God has given you another chance to talk to Him. He holds no grudges. He forgives and forgets. God puts our sins as far away as the east is from the west and they are forgiven and forgotten.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Reference:

Psalm 130

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

Lord, Teach Me Your Ways

Praise God with trumpet, harp, organs and cymbals

Scripture: John 20: 28-29

²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Scripture Commentary:

What would have happened to Thomas had he not seen the resurrected Jesus Christ for himself? Christ was not hard on Thomas for his doubts. Some people need to doubt before they believe.

A doubt is a form of a question, and a question needs an answer. When we seek the answer, we will find it. This is a good process.

Thomas still believed Jesus was the Messiah. His problem was that he did not fully understand Jesus’s teachings when Jesus said that he must die and in 3 days he would be resurrected.

Do not let doubt become a road block and stubborness become a lifestyle – that harms our faith, making us a candidate for Satan. We do not have to see a miracle or a physical appearance to believe in God. We have His Word, the Bible, to help in our walk of faith. Just study the Gospels to understand the life and mission of Jesus.

Thomas is a good example of a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus is as real now as he was then. A physical appearance will not make him any more real to you.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 20

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

You Can Depend on Jesus to Make You Whole

Jesus Offers You Living Water to Slack Your Thirst

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12: 5-7

⁵ And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: ⁶ And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. ⁷ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Scripture Commentary:

How does this story of David’s sin against God and God’s judgment apply to you and me today? We do sinful things in life and point to others without looking in the mirror at ourselves. We judge, compare, evaluate and pass judgment.

David did a sinful act but it took Nathan, with God’s direction, to present it in a way so David had no way of denying the sin against God. Likewise, we go about commiting sin and are in denial of what we do.

We have a Nathan in our lives who is all powerful for it is Jesus Christ.

We can lie to ourselves but we cannot lie to God. He has placed His Holy Spirit in each of us, and His Spirit records our rights and wrongs.

David faced his sin and asked God to forgive him. Our prayers asking for forgiveness help. We are not perfect; we will make mistakes. God knows this. When we pray to Him for forgiveness, He forgives us because He loves us. This doesn’t mean that we will not have to pay for our sin, but God will forgive. David had to account for his sin. (Read Psalm 51 for reference.)

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

2 Samuel 12

Psalm 51

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 2 Samuel:

God Is the Shield of My Salvation

God Is My Rock, Fortress and Deliverer

Scripture: John 10: 7, 9, 14

⁷ Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁹ I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Scripture Commentary: Jesus opens the door for all.

Jesus says, “I am the door…” Jesus opened the door for all of us when he placed himself on the cross and died for our sins. This gave us entry into God, the Father’s kingdom.

We will go through many doors in this life but the most important door is the one we will enter when our life on earth ends.

Can you hear Jesus’s voice or are you listening to another voice?

When Jesus says my flock hears my voice, it means that those who have repented and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior know his voice. Those who have not accepted him do not know what his voice sounds like.

Verse 16 tells us there are other sheep not part of the original flock who also are his. Jesus came to the Jews first so they could go into the world and spread the Gospel. Then Jesus opened the door to let in the Gentiles, who also are the sheep of his flock.

Jesus has his door wide open so the entire universe has the opportunity to come in.

Jesus committed his life and his love to us. What have you committed to him?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 10

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

God Has Prepared a Place for You

Do You Know the Gift of God?

Scripture: Psalm 73: 1-3, 12, 17

¹ Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. ² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. ³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ¹² This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. ¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Scripture Commentary:

Sometimes when we stand on the corner of our lives, we desire what man has placed before us. Money, houses, jewlery … all the wealth and desires of our heart. We may be in the company of people who have the wealth we wish to have. We think that if we could only have a portion – or all of these things – we will be happy.

But the question is this: If you had all these things, what would you do with it?

Would you help the ‘have nots’ or keep it all to yourself and not share? Can you take it with you when death knocks on your door? Or can you present it to God?

There are two themes in the verses above. First, the wicked prospers on earth and people wonder why they should be good. Second, the wealthy and wicked look good and the people wish to trade places with them.

Luke 16: 19-31 recounts the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In death the rich man realizes that his wealth is worthless.

God’s gift to us is His Son, Jesus Christ. He gives us a choice: accept and follow Him or follow the road of earthly devastation and damnation. What path are you on? Is it the path to God’s kingdom and glory or hell in a basket?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Psalm 73

Luke 16

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

Idols Cannot Speak, See, Hear or Help You

Teach Me Lord, and Order My Steps In Your Word

Scripture: Colossians 1: 27

 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Scripture Commentary:

God speaks to you from the depths of eternity. Before the world was formed, He says, “I AM!” You hear Him in the depths of your being where He has taken up residence. Christ is in you, the hope of glory.

The Lord your Savior is alive within you. Learn to tune into His Living Presence by seeking Him in silence. As you celebrate the wonder of His birth in Bethlehem, celebrate also your rebirth into eternal life.

This everlasting gift was the sole purpose of His entering your sin-stained world. Receive His gift with awe and humility. Take time to explore the vast dimensions of His love. Allow thankfulmess to flow freely from your heart in response to His glorious gift. Let His peace rule in your heart and be thankful.

Psalm 90: 2 says, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Colossians 1

Psalm 90

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Colossians:

Seek Christ Above All Things

Jesus Blotted Our Sins With His Blood