Shallow or Deep?

Jesus and his disciples had been talking with the religious rulers. The rulers demanded a sign from heaven that would prove to them Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus told them no sign would be given. Then he and his disciples went into a boat to cross the lake.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.  “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them:

 “Why are you talking about having no bread?

 Do you still not see or understand?

 Are your hearts hardened?

 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?

 And don’t you remember?

 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Mark 8:14-21

A commentator said many Christians fail to listen, fail to understand the deeper things of God. It is because we don’t take the time to study the Bible. We think about things of this earth much more, “Do we have enough food in the house?”  “Do we need to replace this old table?”  “What shall we do Saturday night?”

Jesus asked them, “Don’t you remember?”  He was talking about the hundreds of loaves of bread he had given to the 4,000 people just that day. Why would they worry about food when they had two examples of Jesus providing plenty of food? Why would they think Jesus was talking about food. Jesus was telling them to remember what he had done in the past so they would not worry about the future.

The disciples many times took Jesus’ words literally when they weren’t meant that way. We make the same mistake today. Most Christians think the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus” is about heaven and hell. They seem to think we will be able to see and talk with the people in hell while we are in heaven. Impossible. If we are to be happy in heaven this could not be a literal story.  "Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there."  Psalm 37:10

Jesus was just saying that someone who would let people starve outside their door while they have plenty of food to share will indeed go to hell (grave, death, judgement) while those who suffer and love God will go to heaven. He also told us in that story that when people have decided to not follow God, even a miracle will not convince them. "He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”  Luke 16:31

Are our hearts hardened? This is something we probably don’t know but should ask God to soften our hearts so we understand his great love and goodness. 

We should ask God to give us hearts of flesh and take away our hearts of stone. We should ask him to renew a right spirit within us; to open our eyes, ears, heart, mind and hands to do his will. 

We need to hunger and thirst for righteousness and as he promised, he will fill us with himself. He will become inside of us a spring of water flowing upward to eternal life.

Shallow or Deep?

Jesus and his disciples had been talking with the religious rulers. The rulers demanded a sign from heaven that would prove to them Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus told them no sign would be given. Then he and his disciples went into a boat to cross the lake.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.  “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them:

 “Why are you talking about having no bread?

 Do you still not see or understand?

 Are your hearts hardened?

 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?

 And don’t you remember?

 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Mark 8:14-21

A commentator said many Christians fail to listen, fail to understand the deeper things of God. It is because we don’t take the time to study the Bible. We think about things of this earth much more, “Do we have enough food in the house?”  “Do we need to replace this old table?”  “What shall we do Saturday night?”

Jesus asked them, “Don’t you remember?”  He was talking about the hundreds of loaves of bread he had given to the 4,000 people just that day. Why would they worry about food when they had two examples of Jesus providing plenty of food? Why would they think Jesus was talking about food. Jesus was telling them to remember what he had done in the past so they would not worry about the future.

The disciples many times took Jesus’ words literally when they weren’t meant that way. We make the same mistake today. Most Christians think the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus” is about heaven and hell. They seem to think we will be able to see and talk with the people in hell while we are in heaven. Impossible. If we are to be happy in heaven this could not be a literal story.  "Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there."  Psalm 37:10

Jesus was just saying that someone who would let people starve outside their door while they have plenty of food to share will indeed go to hell (grave, death, judgement) while those who suffer and love God will go to heaven. He also told us in that story that when people have decided to not follow God, even a miracle will not convince them. "He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”  Luke 16:31

Are our hearts hardened? This is something we probably don’t know but should ask God to soften our hearts so we understand his great love and goodness. 

We should ask God to give us hearts of flesh and take away our hearts of stone. We should ask him to renew a right spirit within us; to open our eyes, ears, heart, mind and hands to do his will. 

We need to hunger and thirst for righteousness and as he promised, he will fill us with himself. He will become inside of us a spring of water flowing upward to eternal life.

The Greatest People in Heaven.

Me, my brother, Kim and my sister, Chloe.

This morning, I was reading through Matthew 18 and came upon the time Jesus told his friends who was the greatest in heaven. 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me."

I looked up this verse on Bible Hub to see what commentators would say about it. I was really moved; one reason is probably that I adore little children. Another reason is the Presidential election in the U.S.  All the fighting, the name-calling, and the grasping for power is disheartening. I'm glad God's kingdom is backwards and upside-down compared to our kingdoms here on earth.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

"Our Lord set a little child before them, solemnly assuring them, that unless they were converted and made like little children, they could not enter his kingdom. Children, when very young, do not desire authority, do not regard outward distinctions, are free from malice, are teachable, and willingly dependent on their parents." 

I remember when I was 11 yrs. old, my mother drove the family from California up to Canada for a wedding. There were 6 of us in the car. Dad couldn't come. We hit a blizzard in Montana and Mom couldn't see the edges of the road. Everyone was scared except me. I trusted my mother implicitly; she drove us everywhere all through my childhood. She had never been in an accident. I just knew inside me we wouldn't crash or go off the road down to who-knows-where. We didn't crash - we came to a little town and spent the night. In the morning, we could see there was no steep precipice to plunge down; the ground was flat as a pancake so even if we had gone off the road we would have been fine.

This is how I would like to trust God. Absolute calmness in any situation because I know him. I know how he leads and I know whatever happens, even if it seems bad, it will be good; good for me, and good for God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

 "Except ye be converted," does not imply, of necessity, that they (Jesus' friends) were not Christians before, or had not been born again. It means that their opinions and feelings about the kingdom of the Messiah must be changed. They had supposed that he was to be a temporal prince. They expected he would reign as other kings did. They supposed he would have his great officers of state, as other monarchs had, and they were ambitiously inquiring who should hold the highest offices. Jesus told them that they were wrong in their views and expectations. No such things would take place. From these notions they must be turned, changed or converted, or they could have no part in his kingdom. These ideas did not fit at all the nature of his kingdom."

"And become as little children - Children are, to a great extent, destitute of ambition, pride, and haughtiness They are characteristically humble and teachable. By requiring his disciples to be like them, he did not intend to express any opinion about the native moral character of children, but simply that in these respects they must become like them. They must lay aside their ambitious views and their pride, and be willing to occupy their proper station - a very lowly one."