Josh1Eight

Scripture: Leviticus 18:2-5, 24-28 "2 I am the Lord your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. 5 If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord...Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. 25 Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out. 26 You must obey all my decrees and regulations. You must not commit any of these detestable sins. This applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. 27 “All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and this is how the land has become d...

Scripture: Mark 5:2-4, 25-26, "a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. 3 This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. 4 Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him...A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse...While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” Observations: In this short passage Mark tells about how Jesus encountered three seemingly hopeless individuals whom literally no one would or ever could help. The first guy was demon p...

Scripture: Mark 4:21-25 "21 Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. 22 For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. 23 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” 24 Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. 25 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” Observations: Jesus often taught that the Kingdom of God is very similar to planting seeds in the ground and watching them grow. His teachings, when obeyed by those who hear them, produce real understanding. No one would turn on a lamp and then throw it in the closet. Why? Becaus...

Scripture: Mark 2:15-17 "15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Observations: The Bible is a pretty honest book in that it doesn't hide the fact that every single person who followed Jesus was less than perfect. In fact, many times it highlights specific examples of how "un-perfect" Jesus' top 12 disciples really were. It's no surprise then to find in this passage that there were many disreputable sinners and people with lots of problem...

Scripture: Mark 2:2-5 "2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” Observations: The four men in this story did something so noteworthy that their actions found a place in the eternal record of God's Word in order to provide an excellent example for others to follow. These four men all had one thing in common- a man with a very serious need in his life. Not only was he paralyzed but he also desperately needed God's forgiveness. All four men saw a need in the life of someone they knew and decided to do something about it- they decided to bring...