A Morning Cup of Tea: Jesus Casts out a Demon

Good morning! I hope this shows up at the right time. This is the first time I've written ahead of schedule.
  Today's reading is Luke 9: 37-45. A man came to Jesus begging for help with his only son, who was afflicted with a demon. The evil spirit made him hurt himself and froth at the mouth. The man said he had asked the disciples for help but they were unable to make the demon leave the boy. Jesus delivered the boy from the spirit. When it was done, Jesus said to his disciples,
  44. Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
 The disciples did not understand what he meant by this and they were afraid to ask. What Jesus wanted them to do was to pay attention. Really listen to what he was teaching them, because he would not always be with them in the flesh. His time of death was drawing near and he knew it. 
  While we don't have Jesus with us in the flesh we do have his Word -the bible. We don't know the time we have here on earth; we could be here another 50, 60 years or it could be over in the next ten minutes. We need to really listen and pay attention to what God wants us to know and do. 
 Have a wonderful day. 

A Morning Cup of Tea: Take Up Your Cross Daily

Good morning! Today's reading is Luke 9:18 - 27. During a time when Jesus was alone praying, he asked his disciples, Whom say the people that I am? (v18). They answered John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the old prophets risen again. 
  He asked them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answered, The Christ of God (v 20).
  Jesus commanded them to tell no one, letting them know that he would suffer and die, and be raised on the third day. 
  23. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 
  24. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
 25. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
 26. For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
  We are to take up our cross daily, following Jesus. It isn't always easy, but if we persevere, the reward will be great. We may not have a lot of money or fame or other worldly treasures, but what good are any of those things if we lose our eternal life? If we do have money or fame or whatever, we should use those things for good, and not for self. 

A Morning Cup of Tea: Sending Out the Twelve, Feeding the 5000

Good morning! Today's reading is Luke 9:1-17.  Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. He sent them all out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He gave them specific instructions not to take even a second coat with them. No money, no food, nothing. He wanted them to realize that God would provide for them. And if they were not welcomed in an area, Jesus told them to argue with the person to try and convince them of the truth. No, that's not right at all.
 5. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
 Jesus told them to shake the very dust from their feet. When talking to others, sometimes it is easy (for me anyway) to want to try and change the person's mind when they are obviously set against hearing it. In cases such as that we should simply move on. There are people out there who will hear the word gladly.
  When the apostles returned from their mission Jesus wanted to take them to a desert place in or near Bethsaida. They needed some time to themselves. In more modern terminology (but still showing my age, hee hee) they needed to recharge their batteries. But the people soon found where they were and came to them. Jesus didn't turn them away though. He taught them about God and healed those who needed healing. Jesus had a genuine love for people.
  As the day grew shorter, the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so they could go and find a place to sleep for the night, and to eat. Jesus said , Feed them."
  The answer of course, was, we can't. All we have are five loaves of bread and two fishes. The crowd consisted of about 5000 men, and no one really knows how many women and children were present, although we are pretty sure they were there. During this time only the men were counted.
  Jesus had them all sit down in groups of fifty and then he took the bread and the fish and blessed it, giving it to the disciples to feed the multitude. When everyone had eaten their fill there were 12 baskets of food remaining. 

A Morning Cup of Tea: Potpourri

The rest of chapter 9 (verses 36 through 50) continues the conversation that Jesus was having with his disciples. He touches on several subjects at the same time and yet he ties it all together somehow. 
 Jesus begins by holding a child, and talking of caring for them. I think he could be talking of new Christians as well. Take them into your care.
 Then John spoke of one who was not a follower but was casting out devils. He and the other disciples stopped him. Jesus told him not to stop someone like that. No one who does good will speak evil of Jesus. I think Jesus is speaking of new Christians and those who are trying to live a Christian life. Be careful how you treat them. Teach, but don't offend them. Children are precious; anyone who would deliberately hurt a child, we think should be punished. Babes in Christ are the same as children. Anyone who would deliberately do something to hurt them spiritually, Jesus said it is better that a millstone is hung around that person's neck  and cast into the sea (v42).
 Jesus continues his speech by talking of temptations and offenses. If your right eye causes you to sin, cast it out. It's better for you to have one eye than to keep both eyes and end up in hell (Gehenna). Look for the cause of the problem, he is saying. In today's terms, get rid of the temptation. In the movie Fireproof from a few years back, starring Kirk Cameron, the young man in the story had an addiction --a sin, to put it more bluntly -- to pornography. He could easily find it on the internet. That and other problems were tearing his marriage apart. While the movie teaches nothing about baptism as a part of salvation, it focuses on the sanctity of marriage and a relationship with Christ. As the young man studies more and realizes what he is doing,  he decides to destroy the computer at home. He got rid of the source of the sin.
  I leave with you verse 50, which I think ties together the conversation.
50. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith shall ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.

A Morning Cup of Tea: Who is Greatest?

Good morning! Today we are focusing on just a few verses of chapter 9, 30 through 35.
 Jesus told his disciples that he would be delivered to men who would kill him, and he would rise again on the third day. The disciples did not understand what he meant, but they did not ask him (v32). They knew he could raise the dead, but they were probably wondering how he could raise himself.
 But on the way to Capernaum they began arguing amongst themselves. Jesus asked them about it, but they did not want to answer him. They were arguing over who among them was greatest. 
35. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
   All too often we become caught up in who is more important, who is the greatest among us? We should not focus on who is greatest. We should be looking to serve others. How can we take care of others if our minds are continually on who will receive the biggest crown in heaven? Or here on earth for that matter.  

A Morning Cup of Tea: Healing the Demoniac Child

Good morning! It's a rainy morning here in my part of Georgia. The weather feels nice outside.
  Today we are looking at Mark 9: 17-29. Jesus had come to his disciples and the multitude gathered around them.  A man came up to Jesus asking for help for his son, who was afflicted with a deaf and dumb spirit.. It caused the boy to try to harm himself by water and by fire. The man said that the disciples could not make the spirit go away.
  23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
 24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
  Jesus commanded the spirit to leave the young man and it did.  But did you notice what the father said? He knew Jesus could heal his son, but also admitted doubts and asked for help with that. He had lived for a long time with his child being afflicted. He believed, yet in his heart he wondered if there would ever be any help for his son. I kind of know the feeling. My son isn't afflicted with a demon, he just has autism. I've seen the biting, the frustration because of not getting his message across, the whole bit. It wears a person down. Yet at the same time, it's what makes me cling more to my faith. It does get better.  

A Morning Cup of Tea: The Transfiguration

We are now in chapter 9 of Mark, verses 2-13. Jesus took Peter, James and John with him up on a mountain. There, the three disciples saw Jesus turn a glowing white, and Elijah and Moses were with him, talking to him. That must have been an amazing sight to the men! Two prophets, long dead, now standing and talking with Jesus!  
  Peter said, It is good that we've seen this. We should build three tabernacles here on this spot : one for you, one for Elijah and one for Moses. But then a cloud came over the area and soon there was only Jesus standing there. A voice from above told them, This is my Son. Hear him.
 As they came down from the mountain, Jesus told the three not to tell anyone what they had seen. They probably would have scarcely believed it themselves if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.
 They wanted to worship the two prophets right along with Jesus, having all three on the same level. That wasn't the plan. Jesus is not just another prophet. He is the Son of God. The time for following Moses and Elijah are past now. Now we are to follow Jesus. 
 Before the small group reached the other disciples they asked of Jesus, why do the scribes say that Elijah must first come?
  Jesus replied that he did come already, meaning John the baptiser. And man did to him what they were going to do, according to the scriptures.

A Morning Cup of Tea: The The Kingdom of God on Earth

Good Sunday morning to you! Today we begin chapter 9 of Mark.
  The very first verse of the chapter I suspect goes along with the last part of chapter eight. 
 1,And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
 God's kingdom here on earth is the church. We know that was established in Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost. 
   As an interesting read, here is something from http://www.greatpeaceacademy.blogspot.com/ 
 I tried finding it again on the blog but was unsuccessful.

 

The LORD's Day
It's after midnight as I reflect upon the day just past.
It's Monday now, the 2nd day of the week. When dawn arrives it will be another day of school and ...housework, possibly groceries.
The day that is just ended was the first day of the week. The Lord's Day. On this day in history, God created... He said, "Let there be light, and there was light." Genesis 1:3. That's it, He just said it and it happened. What an amazing thought... That was the first day of all, first Sunday. It was truly the LORD's Day because there was no one else on this world, the day belonged to Him.
Also on this day, The Day of the Lord, the waters dried up following the flood. Genesis 8:13 says, "By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth." Being that the book of Genesis was written by Moses, the first day of the first month would have been a Sunday, Why? you ask. Because we know that the 14th day of the first month, the Jews observed Passover which was celebrated on the Sabbath, which is a Saturday. Now there are seven days in a week and there always have been, so if you count backward from 14 you can see that the 1st day would have been a Sunday, the Lord's Day.
Speaking of Passover, the Passover week began on a Saturday, the Sabbath. The next day, a Sunday, the Feast of Unleavened Bread began and the Jews were to eat no bread that had any yeast only unleavened bread for seven days or one complete week. This was the first of 3 Holy Feasts that the Israelites were to observe, see Exodus 23:14-19. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Harvest also known as the Feast of Weeks and The Feast of Ingathering also known as the Feast of Tabernacles.These are detailed in Leviticus 23.
The 2nd of the 3 Holy Feasts, The Feast of Weeks is found in Leviticus 23:15-22. Here it says "From the day after the Sabbath..." (That's a Sunday) Vs. 16 "Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD." Since we have already established that the Sabbath was a Saturday, The day after would be a Sunday. So from the time that the Lord gave the law to Moses, the Hebrews observed the Feast of Weeks Every Year on a Sunday.
Looking on down in the same chapter. Verses 33-43 describe the Feast of Tabernacles. It says that on the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and last for seven days. So let's do some math here. If the 14th day of the month is a Sabbath (Saturday) that would mean that the 15th day of a month was Sunday. Remember we are dealing with a Hebrew Calendar, not a modern one. It goes on to say in verses 35-36, "The first day is a sacred assemly, do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work." So if they began the Feast of Tabernacles on the 15th day a Sunday, the seventh day would have been a Sabbath (Saturday), that means the eighth day would have been... You guessed it a Sunday, The LORD's Day. In which they were to hold a sacred assembly and an offering to the LORD.
Now let's fast forward about 1200 years. It is a Feast week in the City of Jerusalem, The Son of God is there, can you see Him? He's the one who is hanging on the cross, the day is a Friday, just before the sun set, He is removed from the cross, having died. Because the next day was a Holy Day, A Sabbath Day, they rushed to get Him Buried in a nearby tomb, As the sun sets, the Passover begins, the lamb is slain, the feast is ready. He waits... Three days, Friday, Saturday, then... Sunday morning arrives with an earthquake, the tomb is found empty, He has risen, The LORD'S DAY, is here. Praise Be unto God, for His ways are perfect.
But He isn't done, oh no, my friends. Fast Forward to the day of Pentecost. Why? you ask. Pentecost is a greek word, Pente means 50. It happened fifty days after the Passover, in the Hebrew text this day is the same as the Feast of Weeks. The 2nd Holy Feast. This was the day after the seven Sabbaths of Sabbaths, this was the day after the Sabbath, this was a Sunday, this was the LORD's Day. And what you might ask, happened on that day? Acts 2:1-4 "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all togethern one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them All of them were filled wth the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Beginning in verse 14, Peter and the other 11 stood up and addressed the crowd that formed, He preached the prophecy of Joel, he preached the prophecy of David, he preached unto them Jesus the Christ, and in verse 37, the people heard and were cut to the heart and said "Brothers, what shall we do to be saved?" Peter answered and said, "Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Then down in verse 41, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3000 souls were added to their number that day."
This day, the day of Pentecost, the day when the promised Comforter arrived, the Holy Spirit. This day, the day that Peter and the other apostles preached Jesus. This day, the day that 3000 souls believed and were baptized. This day, in history was a Sunday, the first day of the week, the LORD's day.
In Acts 20:7 we are told "On the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread." They observed the Supper of Our Lord, On the first day of the week, the LORD'S day.
Beautifully, God created light on the first day of the week.
Noah was saved from the flood, the waters dried up, on the first day of the week.
The 3 Holy Feasts of the Hebrews was observed on the first day of the week.
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
The Holy Spirit came on the first day of the week.
The church was established upon the first day of the week.
We observe the Supper of the Lord upon the first day of the week.
Praise be unto God My Father and My Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, for all they have done for me on the First Day of the Week, The LORD'S Day.

A Morning Cup of Tea: Chapter 9:1-5

Good morning! We are in chapter 9 of Matthew today and I have J already awake and rarin to go as they say, so we shall see how far we get. I apologize for any inconvenience.  If you read this series and have any questions, comments, whatever, I'd love to hear from you.

At the end of chapter 8, Jesus had gone over to the gergesenes where he cast out devils from two men who were possessed. The devils went into a herd of swine, who promptly dove over a cliff and drowned themselves. The keepers of the swine ran to tell the whole town. The towns people weren't so sure what to think of Jesus so they invited him to leave.
  In chapter 9, Jesus is back in his own town. Some people brought to him a man sick with the palsy. He could not get up out of his bed so they had to carry him wherever he went.  In verse 2, Jesus tells the man Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
  Scribes heard this and said to themselves that Jesus was blaspheming. Jesus knew their hearts.  He asked them (paraphrasing here) What is easier, to tell a man his sins are forgiven or to tell him to arise and walk? And then he told the palsied man to arise and walk. The man stood up and took his bed with him. He was healed because of his faith and the faith of those who brought him to Jesus!
  Jesus healed the sick and made the blind to see so that others might see the glory of the Father. These days we have the bible to tell us of these works and of God's love for us.