Last Will Be First Redux - Mark 10:31

"But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Jesus presents the same basic Kingdom principle in the context of wealth as He did in reference to importance and recognition. A rich young man would not sell all that he had to follow Jesus, though he wanted to be a follower, because he had many possessions. Jesus remarked how difficult it is for those who are rich to follow Him into His Kingdom, but tempered His remark with the statement that all things are possible with God (meaning rich people can, in fact, be saved but it is more difficult for them to trust in God rather than their wealth than it is for the poor). He concludes by reiterating that those who seem to be closest to God may not be as close as they think and those who seem farthest from God are often the most redeemable.

When Last is Better Than First - Mark 9:35

"If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." How do you get ahead in the Kingdom of God? Not by promoting yourself or your ministry, nor by expanding your resume, nor by working harder and longer than everybody else.When the disciples were discussing who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, Jesus told them that you get achieve success in God's Kingdom by serving others--especially the most vulnerable. Jesus used an object lesson to demonstrate this principle. He embraced a child in front of the disciples. Children were considered unimportant because they had no power or status in society. By embracing the child Jesus characterized Kingdom greatness as being comprised of humility rather than self-importance.

Building for Eternity - Psalm 127:1

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." We do a lot of things in life and we do a lot of things with our life. We build marriages; we build families; we build careers; we build friendships; we build homes. But all this life-building counts for nothing--we labor in vain and stand to lose our souls--unless we are building for eternity. Specifically, this means that unless your efforts are conducted in obedience to God and directed at pleasing Him, they really do not count for anything. This observation by the Psalmist is just the Old Testament way of saying what Jesus meant when He told His disciples to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36). If God is not in whatever you do--all that you do--then it is not worth doing!

Which Comes First, Faith or Miracle? - Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came to Jesus asking Him for a sign from heaven to prove that He was the Son of God. Would another sign finally convince them that Jesus was the Messiah? Apparently all the miracles that Jesus had already performed--healing the sick, driving out demons, walking on water, raising the dead--were not signs enough for them. Probably, another sign would not convince them to believe in Jesus because they already had their minds made up. Anyway, when you study the miracles of Jesus, you see that miracles don't necessarily lead one to have faith. You have faith first and then the miracle occurs. So it's not the miracles that God performs in our lives that make us believe in Him, but because we believe He will do miraculous things. So, would another sign convince the Pharisees? No, because almost always the belief precedes the miracle?

Making Worship Enjoyable - Psalm 122

Does going to church sometimes become drudgery? It shouldn't be so according to Psalm 122. The Psalmist said that you should actually look forward to going to church and worshiping God: "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord" (vs 1). The Psalmist was preoccupied with seeking peace and unity so that there would be security in the house of the Lord. So be a promoter of peace and unity at your church and you will find joy and gladness in God's house and you will look forward to going to church and participating in worship.

What Do You Depend On? - Psalm 121:1-2

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. While this Psalm seems to be speaking to the pilgrim coming to the temple in Jerusalem to sacrifice and worship, it also becomes a moral lesson for the journey of life. The Psalmist directed his plea for help not toward the hills surrounding Jerusalem or even the Temple Mount, but to the Lord Himself, the person of God, Who created heaven and earth. So what do you depend on? Do you find your security in your job, your home, your life insurance policy, your bank account, your retirement fund? The Psalmist makes it clear that the Lord is your Keeper and should be the One on Whom you depend. So much so that the Psalm is dominated by the word, "keep." The Lord is your keeper (vs 5). The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore (vs 7-8).

The Principle of God's Provision - Mark 6:30-44

Jesus and His disciples traveled to an isolated place for a time of rest from their ministry to find a crowd of thousands of people waiting for them. Jesus "had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34) and taught and ministered to them until late in the day. The disciples wanted to send the crowd away to buy food in the surrounding villages but Jesus commanded His disciples to feed them with the food they already had, which was only five loaves of bread and two fish. So Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish and divided them up and it miraculously became enough food to feed five thousand men plus women and children with twelve baskets of food left over. This miracle demonstrates the way God provides for our needs. God does not send us a whole bunch of what we do not already have or need. God takes the little that we already have and enlarges or enhances it to meet our need. So here's the principle: When you offer any and all the resources (or talents and abilities) you possess totally, completely, and willingly to God, He provides for your need by extending, expanding, or enhancing those resources (or talents and abilities), even to an abundance.