Scripture: John 4: 47-48

⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. ⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

Scripture Commentary:

You may have read this scripture and felt the urgency in the nobleman’s plea to Jesus to heal his son who was about to die. When we encounter problems in life, do we take them to Jesus or try to deal with them ourselves? And if you take it to God, do you leave it with Him or do you get impatient and try to fix it yourself? If you do the latter, why take it to Him in the first place?

Ye of little faith!

The nobleman in John walked 20 miles, leaving his son home, not knowing if he would die while he was on his way to Jesus. But the man took Jesus’s word that his son was alive and he started back home. Jesus didn’t have to touch the son, or be in the house or town with the son. All Jesus did was speak the Word and the father believed.

Do you believe God will provide when you ask for His guidance? This is true faith that he will take care of you and answer your prayer. God will provide what you need.

Jesus’s miracles are not illusions. They are real miracles that were done over 2,000 years ago and are being done today.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 4

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Works that Bear Fruit

Are You Spiritually Blind?

Scripture: Daniel 12: 2-3

² Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. ³ Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.

Scripture Commentary: Don’t gamble with your everlasting life with God.

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. These words are spoken at the end of funerals. For some it’s the beginning of an everlasting life with God and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. For others, it’s the beginning of everlasting damnation and punishment in hell with Satan.

This scripture references the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. One points the way to joy; the other to damnation. There is no middle ground; it’s only one way or the other. Some want to gamble, playing both sides of life. We think our job, money, house and talent are what God judges us on. But this is not so. God gives us material things but He will judge us on what we do with them. When we share what God gives us, we show that we are a servant of God. Otherwise, we only serve ourselves.

What are you doing with the life God has given you? Will you enjoy everlasting joy or damnation?

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Daniel 12

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Daniel:

Jesus, Son of God; Son of Man

Scripture: Matthew 14: 28-29

²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” ²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

Scripture Commentary:

Peter calls Jesus saying, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you.” How can anyone walk on water? Peter and the disciples had just witnessed Jesus feed 5,000 plus people. This is a miracle for that’s impossible to do with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. So Peter asks Jesus to call to him.

Do you believe that Jesus will answer when you call to Him?

Do you believe He can do for you what you can’t do for yourself? Peter wasn’t testing Jesus. He was testing himself. And when you go to Jesus, you test yourself. Do you truly believe in God and that He can do for you?

Peter is the only disciple who asks Jesus for permission to come to Him. He’s the only one who had the faith. Where is your faith? Peter started to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus. When you take your life into your own hands and out of Jesus’s hands, you will sink also.

Do not focus on the difficult circumstances of the world. Go to Jesus for his power and stop trying to deal with your inadequacies.

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Matthew 14

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Matthew:

Welcome Jesus Into Your Life

Not Everyone Has a Relationship with God. What About You?

Scripture: Galatians 6: 7-9

⁷ Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. ⁸ Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. ⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Scripture Commentary: You will always harvest what you plant.

At planting time the farmer plants his crops. He plants beans in one field, corn in another, and wheat in yet another. At harvest he expects a yield of the crops he planted.

For debate, let’s say that at harvest the corn field yields tomatoes. If this happens, the farmer would return to the barn where he stored the seed to see if he planted the wrong seed. What if he didn’t plant the wrong seed but another crop was harvested?

We come into this world blameless but as we go through life we take on things we should not. We judge people, we gossip, and act as if we are of great importance.

Bad seed yields useless crops.

What kind of seeds are you planting in your life and what will be your harvest?

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Galatians 6

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Galatians:

You Do Not Carry Your Burdens Alone

God Is Not a God of Confusion but of Truth

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5: 5-7

 ⁵ Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed^[d] and he himself^[e] will be saved on the day the Lord^[f] returns. ⁶ Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.^[g] 

Scripture Commentary: Yeast adds strength.

Yeast is a powerful ingredient. It’s added to flour to increase its size. Paul uses yeast as an analogy to explain how sin, if not addressed, will spread to the entire flock. If we are aware of a wrong and do nothing, we become part of that sin.

We are all sinners; however, we were all different people before we accepted Jesus Christ and repented. In 1 Corinthians the believers of the church of Corinth had not confronted sin. They ignored the problem. Paul writes to them to tell them, out of love, not vengeance, to deal with the situation.

God’s yeast is the Holy Spirit.

With prayer and God’s help, we are to do our best in love. However, if the person or people refuse to change and continue to let Satan lead them, we must cut them out of the flock. If allowed to stay, they will eventually contaminate it. If the member(s) are put out, they may realize the wrong they have done, repent, and return to serve the Lord.

It’s like the return of the prodigal son when the lost in Christ return. Yeast’s purpose is for good. When we work and do what God has for us, we will spread His gospel. God’s yeast is the Holy Spirit and He has placed it in each of us.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Corinthians 5

Read Other Commentary from 1 Corinthians:

Do You Believe Christ is Raised From the Dead?

Where Is the Wise? Search for Wisdom

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3: 6-9

⁶ I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. ⁷ It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. ⁹ For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

Scripture Commentary:

No one person is more important to God than another. There are no stars in God’s family. We are one with God, our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

God has given each of us a gift. How, or if, we use it is up to each of us. One of Paul’s gifts was to plant seeds of the gospel in people’s hearts. Paul was a pioneer who brought salvation to the lost in Corinth along with Apollos. Both were important.

The church in Corinth was financially well off. They were more focused on worldly values and not on the true spirit of God. We encounter this problem today when we follow the preacher, not God’s message. There are a lot of churches that fall apart once a pastor leaves a church or dies.

We are to respect our pastor but not put him or her on a pedestal. Remember, there are no superstars in God’s House. There are only workers to carry the Gospel to the world.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Corinthians 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 1 Corinthians:

Husband and Wife: Keep God in Your Marriage

The Lord Offers You A Seat At His Table

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5: 6-8, 10

⁶ So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸ Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Scripture Commentary:

You stand at the station, waiting to go home. How do you spend that time? Do you do nothing or are you using your time productively? Use this example as an analogy of your life. How are you spending your life? Are you advancing your own message or spreading the Gospel of Christ?

Stand for God.

God has given each of us an assignment. Do you know yours? Talk to God; read His Word (The Bible). Stand for God. Although we can’t see Him, we can talk to Him, and He talks to us through The Holy Spirit.

For those of us who have a relationship with God, we know that death is not the end but the beginning. Eternal life is the gift God has for His followers; however, God’s gift of salvation is not free. One day we each will give an account.

Jesus’ death and resurrection has made us whole.

Love one another, help one another, and be obedient to God. He knows we are not perfect and that we will sin; however, when you sin, ask for forgiveness. Don’t take pride in false, worldly values. Jesus’ death and resurrection has freed us from Satan’s hold on death.

Free at last. Thank God!

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

2 Corinthians 5

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 2 Corinthians:

God’s Grace Is Sufficient For Me

Examine Your Spiritual Life Today

Scripture : Jeremiah 2: 13, 29

¹³ “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! ²⁹ Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,” says the Lord.

Scripture Commentary:

God asks the people in Jeremiah 2 why He has been abandoned? The question is still relevant today. God further asks how has He wronged the people. He has loved them, and freed them from slavery from the Egyptians. God forsakes no one. It is we who forsake God when we put self, or self-serving things, before Him.

Think. Has God forgotten or left you? These verses compare the relationship with God to that of a marriage. Why would you seek worthless things rather than God’s love? The only lasting security is found in God, not in yourself. Do not let temptation distract you from God, the Father.

Verse 13 references “cracked cisterns.” A cistern is a pot or vase that holds water. A broken cistern is useless. If you have denied God, you are like a broken cistern. You can hold nothing. Be a vessel for God so He can fill you with His love. Carry His gospel throughout the world.

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Jeremiah 2

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Jeremiah:

Trust God Who Can Do All Things

What Message Does God Have For You?

Scripture: Psalm 103: 1-2, 8-9

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. ² Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. ⁸ The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. ⁹ He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.

Scripture Commentary:

We get angry with a person or a group of people and won’t let it go. Why is that? God not only forgets; He forgives and is compassionate and merciful. So, if we ask God to forgive us, why is it so hard to forgive others?

If we’ve truly surrendered to God, then we can forgive and forget. If not, then we haven’t truly committed to God. We need to think about everything God has done in our lives. He has forgiven our sins, healed our diseases, redeemed us from death and given us His love and compassion. And we have a chance to be with Him forever.

We get all this, and all He asks is to be faithful to Him and love one another. Let go of the past. God has. We have a clean record moving forward.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, follow the path He has given. You are fragile but God is all powerful. He knows your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t use your weakness to justify sin. Ask God for his forgiveness, wisdom, and spiritual strength to guide you through your life.

Thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ, and His love.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Psalm 103

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

Blessed Is the Person Who Walks With God

The Lord Is My Mighty Fortress, My Deliverer

Scripture: Proverbs 3: 5-7

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. ⁶ Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. ⁷ Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Scripture Commentary: God gives us the choice to trust Him.

Do you fully trust God or only partially trust Him? When do you turn to Him – all the time or when you run into trouble? Most of us do our own thing our own way and over the course of time, the mistakes pile up. God gives us the gift of choice; we choose when to call on Him.

Learn to trust God.

God does not force himself on us. He’s just there for us. We learn to trust Him. The learning curve is short for some, but there are those who never learn to put their trust in Him. God is a better judge than we for what’s best for us. We may not get what we want but God gives us what is best for us.

We must never try to think for God or discount what He is doing in our life. His ways are not our ways; His time is not our time. We must acknowledge God in all our ways. This means turning everything over to Him.

Don’t rely on yourself. Put God first in your life. Make Him a vital part of everything you say and do. Trust God completely, without question.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Proverbs 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Proverbs:

Avoid Sexual Sin: Steps to Take

Let God Help You Make Decisions