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A Present and Future Kingdom - Psalm 145:11-13

"They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom and will declare Your might, informing all people of Your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; Your rule is for all generations" (Psalm 145:11-13,HCSB).

The creative and redemptive activity of God in His universe is so inexplicable that we have to rely on figures of speech to communicate it. One of the figures of speech used to describe the reality of God’s rule and reign over the universe is to describe it as a "kingdom."

Powerless! - Mark 12:24-25

"Jesus replied, Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven" (Mark 12:24-25, NLT).

The Sadducees based their views on the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, and they were fond of debating about Jewish religious teachings. They didn't believe in the resurrection from the dead and so they asked Jesus a question about resurrection and framed it as a question about marriage.

The Steve Show - Luke 9:23-24

"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it" (Luke 9:23-24, NASB).

I've got a show going on.

I call it The Steve Show.

As you might imagine, I'm the star of The Steve Show. I produce and direct my own show. And, I follow the script that I wrote for my show.

The Steve Show. It's all about me!

When Faith Doesn't Heal - Mark 10:52

"'Go your way,' Jesus told him. 'Your faith has healed you.' Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road" (Mark 10:52,HCSB).

This verse is the conclusion to the familiar story of blind Bartimaeus. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem accompanied by a large entourage of people. He had just left Jericho when He passed by Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting by the road.

When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, he began to cry out: "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!"

When To Take Matters Into Your Own Hands - Leviticus 24:12

"They kept the man in custody until the Lord’s will in the matter should become clear to them." (Leviticus 24:12, NLT).

During their wilderness wandering, the Israelites took a man into custody who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father. He had been in a fight with an Israelite man and during the fight, the man with the Egyptian father blasphemed God.

When this happened, the Israelites took him into custody and brought him to Moses for judgment. While

Moses was waiting to hear from the Lord about the matter, they held him in custody without harming him, not taking matters into their own hands.

Because the man who committed the blasphemy had an Egyptian father, possibly as the result of a sexual assault or intermarriage or some other nefarious act, the Israelites had reason to be prejudiced against him.

And, blasphemy was a particularly egregious crime, a capital offense.

But they waited for God's judgment on the man.

The Israelites exercised restraint and demonstrated trust in God's will. They waited on God instead of inciting mob rule.

Oh, that as God's people we would learn this important lesson both individually and collectively: to exercise restraint and wait for God's will to be clear to us before we take matters into our own hands.

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2, NLT)

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Irreverent Faith - Mark 10:46-52

"And Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.' And they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.' And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus" (Mark 10:49-50, ESV).

Have you ever heard the saying, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease!" This story from the gospel of Mark is a case in point for that saying.

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large entourage, blind Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was approaching, he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Mark 10:47).

Harmony's Blessing - Psalm 133

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard onto his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—life forevermore" (Psalm 133, HCSB).

While it may be the gathering of God's people at Jerusalem during one of the annual festivals that inspired the Psalmist to write this brief reflection, he assures us that God's blessing abounds wherever brotherly love among God's people abounds.

The Unbelieving Believer - Mark 9:14-29

"And he answered them, 'O faithless generations, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" (Mark 9:20, ESV)

The story of Jesus healing a boy with an unclean spirit demonstrates the dilemma many Christians face when trying to live out their faith--being an unbelieving believer.

Bad Weather Farmers - Psalm 126:5-6

"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest" (Psalm 126:5-6, NLT).

Do you sometimes seem to be doing everything right and everything goes wrong?

You are faithful to God, planting seed for His Kingdom by serving and obeying Him in every way. Then, in the middle of your faithfulness and obedience, first one problem or tragedy strikes, then another, and then another.

More - Leviticus 19:23-25

"When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am Yahweh your God" (Leviticus 19:23-25, HCSB).

The prohibition from eating the fruit of a newly planted fruit tree may have had to do with the fact that the fruit of a young tree was not well formed and did not taste good in the early stages of its life.

Since the firstfruits belonged to God (see Numbers 18:12-17), the fruit of the fourth year was consecrated to God as a praise offering to indicate that the Israelites recognized that God was the One who gave them the good things the earth produced and blessed them with increased production.

Life Blood - Leviticus 17:10-11

"And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people, for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible."

 These verses explain the theology of substitutionary atonement.

Israel was forbidden to consume blood because blood was symbolic of the life given by God and was reserved as God’s portion of each animal sacrifice.

God had also designated the sacrificial blood as the means of atonement. In other words, God’s grace permitted the life of the animal to be a substitute in exchange for the life of the human sinner.

The sacrifice of Christ on the cross follows this same pattern for substitutionary atonement as described in Leviticus with the exception that Christ's sacrifice, because He was God Incarnate, was once and for all while the sacrifice of bulls and goats had to be made repeatedly.

The Terrified Disciple - Mark 6:49-52

"When they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke with them and said, 'Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.' Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened." (Mark 6:49-52, HCSB).

Have you ever read a familiar passage in the Bible and found something new in it? That's what happened to me as I read again this familiar story of Jesus walking on the water.

Admittedly, Mark's version of this story does not include an important element described in Matthew's account (Matthew 14:22-33). In Matthew's version, Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water toward Jesus until he notices the wind and the waves, and consequently, begins to sink. So Peter's faith (or lack of it) is usually the focus of this story for us.

The Baddest Man In the World - Mark 5:1-20

"And Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, 'Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.' So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea...As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.And he did not permit him but said to him, 'Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.' And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled" (Mark 5:9-13, 18-20, ESV).

As Jesus was preaching on the east side of the sea of Galilee, He encountered a man possessed or controlled by evil spirits or demons.

This man lived alone in a cemetery and he was so bad that the people living in the region had tried to bind him with shackles and chains but he was always able to break the chains apart.

God Uses Rejects - Psalm 118:22-23

"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord; it is wonderful in our eyes" (Psalm 118:22-23, HCSB).

I am a member of a men's Sunday School class attended by several business and professional men in the community.

I know what you are thinking. You guys just sit around and talk about sports, politics, and business and not much time is spent discussing the Sunday School lesson.

The Good Thing About Death - Psalm 116:15

"The death of His faithful ones is valuable in the Lord's sight" (Psalm 116:15, HCSB).

While Easter is the time we celebrate the Lord's resurrection, we are also reminded that just as Jesus died and was resurrected, the only way human beings enter into eternal life is through the death of the physical body.

The Apostle Paul said, "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies" (I Corinthians 15:36).

Now, maybe it sounds morbid to say that death is the way to eternal life, but the fact is, you have to die to live eternally. As human beings, we strive for eternal life and death and resurrection are the means through which we enter into eternal life.

It's Personal - Matthew 28:18-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV).

In these verses that are known as the Great Commission, Jesus articulates to His disciples their mission just prior to His ascension into heaven.

Jesus simply tasks them with the job of making more disciples. And, to accomplish this task, He said He would be right there with them (and us) to help make more disciples.

The Unproductive Disciple - Mark 4:16-19

"The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced" (Mark 4:16-19, NLT).

This well-known parable of Jesus has been taught and preached many times over and most of us know its lessons well.

According to Jesus, when the message of the coming of the Kingdom of God is told, there are four categories of people who hear the message.

I've Got a Secret - Mark 4:10-11

"When He was alone with the Twelve, those who were around Him asked Him about the parables. He answered them, 'The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables" (Mark 4:10-11. HCSB).

Jesus made this statement to the twelve apostles after telling the all-familiar parable of the sower.

Now, a secret is usually some knowledge or information that one keeps hidden from others. But sometimes a secret is knowledge or information that is unknown to others but should be revealed.

The Discerning Christian - Leviticus 10:10

"You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean" (Leviticus 10:10, NLT).

Moses gave these instructions to Aaron's sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, on the occasion of the fiery death of their two older brothers, Nadab and Abihu.

As Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu served as priests in the Tabernacle. As priests they were tasked with keeping a fire burning constantly on the bronze altar of the Tabernacle and supplying coals from the altar for burning incense in the Tabernacle.

Perhaps careless from drinking wine, Nadab and Abihu took coals from another source. This violation of God’s instructions resulted in God's judgment on them and their subsequent deaths.

Complete Transformation - Mark 2:21-22

"Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins." (Mark 2:21-22, NLT).

Jesus made these analogies in response to questioning from indignant Pharisees as to why Jesus's disciples didn't fast like the disciples of John the Baptist (vs. 18).

Jesus responded that the guests at a wedding celebrate with the groom; they don't fast with the groom (vs. 19).

Jesus was saying that the customs and traditions of the old covenant are incompatible with the arrival of God’s Kingdom.