Tagged: Bible Study

“Before long they were begging [Jesus] to go away from their district.” –Mark 5:17 The people of the Gerasene town had lost two-thousand swine to drowning (Mk 5:13). They intuitively realized that if Jesus stayed around, they would lose even more things, so they told Jesus to leave. The Gerasenes cut their losses and cut their costs by asking Jesus to leave. We cut our losses when we refuse to lose our lives or lose anything further by getting more deeply involved in the kingdom of God. But “what profit does he show who gains the whole world and destroys...

“There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.” –1 Corinthians 13:13 If we have not love, we are nothing (1 Cor 13:2). If we have not love, our best efforts are useless (1 Cor 13:3). “The man without love has known nothing of God, for God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). “The man who does not love is among the living dead” (1 Jn 3:14). Life without love is death. We must have love. However, it is humanly impossible for us to truly love. It seems that we...

“Nathan said to David: ‘You are the man!’ ” –2 Samuel 12:7 David committed adultery, lied repeatedly, and had some people killed (2 Sm 11:4ff). After all these sins, he naturally did not feel very guilty, for guilt usually decreases as sin increases. This is because of the blinding, numbing effects of sin (see Jn 9:39-41). However, the Lord in His mercy sent the prophet Nathan to convict David of his sins (2 Sm 12:1). Then David repented and prayed: “Have mercy on me, O God, in Your goodness; in the greatness of Your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly...

“Let him who has ears to hear Me, hear!” –Mark 4:23 When you receive any revelation, blessing, encouragement, strength, or hope from reading the daily Scriptures and the commentary in this book, you must share what God has given you. “The gift you have received, give as a gift” (Mt 10:8). “In the measure you give you shall receive, and more besides” (Mk 4:24). The more you share from God’s Word, the more you will receive. If you don’t share what you receive, what little you “have will be taken away” (Mk 4:25). The Bible and even this book, One...

“The sower is sowing…the word.” –Mark 4:14 Modern agriculture sows seed very precisely. Along a row, seeds are planted with a specific spacing. In addition, rows are spaced apart horizontally. Thus the amount of seed necessary to plant a field can be calculated from the dimensions of the field. Using modern sowing techniques, seed is not wasted or over-sown. The farmer knows how many seed bags to buy, and can save his costs by not overbuying seed. This is not the sowing method that Jesus’ hearers used. They used the “broadcast” method of sowing. A sower went to the seedpile...