Mark 4:11

Mark 4:11 “And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,” “

Sometimes it’s really satisfying when a child “gets it”; that moment they understand something you’ve been trying to teach them. Oh, it may be something you’ve been trying to hammer home, or it may be something they’ve caught from your actions. While thinking about what God had to show me on this verse, my youngest son reminded me that Jesus used parables in the everyday objects that people in Biblical times were familiar with: agriculture, coin of the realm, livestock, etc. I told him that he was right; he explained the stories in things that they should understand. I realized that he got it.

Jesus was revealing things to the disciples about the kingdom of God; they were active pursuers of the truth. To those who claimed they sought the truth, Jesus offered the parables. I read in research that parables had physical and spiritual meanings. The crowd (including the religious leaders) might comprehend the physical, but not see the spiritual; sometimes, even the disciples had trouble seeing. But rejoice in the fact that God has not hidden the blessings of our eternal home; there is no complicated puzzle to figure out on how to gain eternal life. Jesus is the answer.

Submitted…for your information.

Something to think about today.

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Matthew 4:11

Hiatus is over…back to task!

The following is the start of a new Bible study series that I’ll title For Your Information. I call it that, because the verses we’ll be covering in the New Testament are all chapter 4, verse 11…in other words, 4-1-1 (the number you dial for information on the phone). God pointed out some interesting observations to me on some of these verses thus far, not the least of which was the Scripture reference of 4:11. So come along with me as we start this study in Matthew; I pray God blesses you through it.

Matthew 4:11 “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

“Oh, the devil doesn’t bother me.” Really? Then you must not be doing something right…

On our most recent Carpenters for Christ mission trip, we knew the devil was against us. Not on our most recent trips had we encountered ALL these distractions:
• Trouble with not all the materials being ready for the building
• Rain delays
• One Carpenter’s father-in-law died in a tragic truck accident not a couple of days before his son-in-law was to leave on the mission
• One Carpenter was delayed a day because his mother fell and had to be hospitalized for observation (she was later discharged, just banged up thank the Lord!)
• One Carpenter, who wasn’t able to come, went home to be with the Lord.
• One Carpenter had to leave early due to his daughter being hospitalized.
• One Carpenter had surgery on his foot at the last minute.
But despite all the devil threw at us, He who is with us is greater than he who was against us. Jesus blessed our mission and the building went up. He sent us just the number of men we needed, and even was in the rain to cool off some hot June temperatures. He was glorified!

You know, we can’t beat the devil by ourselves…but Jesus can. He already won that encounter in Matthew, and will never lose to the devil. You may be facing hardships right now yourself; I know of some good friends who are in Dallas consulting a specialist for the wife’s back injury that has been most debilitating. But they know God is there.

So, for your information, in the matchup of Jesus vs the devil…Jesus ALWAYS wins!

Something to think about today.

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