Friday, February 28: Mark 10-12
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Thursday, February 27: Mark 7-9
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Wednesday, February 26th: Mark 4-6
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Tuesday, February 25th: Mark 1-3
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Monday, February 23rd: Matthew 23-25
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Sunday, February 23rd: Matthew 23-25
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Saturday, February 22nd: Matthew 20-22
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Friday, February 21st: Matthew 17-19
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments section write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Thursday, February 20th: Matthew 14-16
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments section write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

It is truly what is in our hearts and what we say that matters. Both our hearts and our lips must be in the right place.

 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁹ They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ ¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Wednesday, February 19th: Matthew 11-13
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments section write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

What do you guys think that this means?

¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,^[d] and violent people have been raiding it.

Those of us for who God has performed miracles in our lives, we have a lot of responsibility to repent and live correctly.  We don’t have an excuse to live like the people who don’t have God’s redemption.  Like the towns that were unrepentant after his miracles had been shown, the day of judgment will determine much.

I often wonder why Jesus told people not to tell of his miracles and the good he did. Is it because he didn't want to be exalted until he truly fulfilled his purpose here on earth?

What do you guys think he meant by:

          ⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. 

The reason why Jesus spoke in so many parables is because Though seeing, they did not see; though hearing, they did not hear or understand.  It is so important for us to make sure that we do not rely on our own ability and logic  so not to fool ourselves into thinking that we fully understand God’s desires or plan.

How are we persecuted today? I know that in Sunday school we always were asked how we were persecuted in daily life.  I remember saying if someone made fun of us for being Christian. It has become so much more complicated and we need to make sure that we do not fall due to trouble.  “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the work, making it unfruitful."

The Parable of the Weeds is a good explanation of why God allows bad people in his good world.  Not that God was sleeping, original man was. We just need to make sure we are the good not the bad harvest. 

Tuesday, February 18th: Matthew 8-10
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

Monday, February 17th: Matthew 5-7
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Thoughts: 
(In the comments write any take aways... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)

I have never thought that I was perfect or satisfactory in God's eyes. This passage reminds me how short I fall from what God asks of his people. God desires us to be quite, submissive, meek, forgiving people when our automatic instinct is to demand justice for ourselves and point out how even if we are in the wrong that the other person is more so in the wrong. We often fail by the rules of this world, but even with obeying those rules do we incredibly fall short of God's rules.  Every new passage is like a new reminder of just how insufficient we all are.

It is interesting that Jesus says that when we are acknowledged on earth that we have already received our full reward.  We should hide our efforts for Him so that only He can appreciate them and so they are fully for Him....Honestly, what does this mean about this blog?

How often do we ask the Lord for forgiveness?  We need forgiveness for everything and therefore should ask incredibly often, however the Lord stipulates that he will only forgive us if we forgive our debtors.  Matthew 6:14-15 serves as a reminder that we need to be active in our forgiveness. 

Our eyes are the lamp of our body and if they are unhealthy then our whole body is full of darkness. Does this mean that what we watch corrupts our soul?

Possibly the most worrisome is the following.  Good works do not get us into heaven but too often do we think that calling out to the Lord will suffice. 
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
And finally "everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand."

Sunday, February 16th: Matthew 1-4


Thoughts: 
(For this section, just write any take aways and put your name below if you want... it can just be thoughts or a discussion)


How crazy would it be Joseph who was about to leave his fiance who cheated on him and was pregnant just as an Angel appeared to him and told him that his soon to be son was from the Holy Spirit and was going to save the sins of the wold. Wow, I would call that a game changer.

How much do we really 'Prepare the way for the Lord,    make straight paths for him.’  How much do we actually produce good fruit?



I wonder what Jesus' life was like before baptism.  He obviously was God's son but his baptism was more than a ceremony; it was the moment that heaven opened to him and that the spirit descended on him. 

Jesus did not only resist the temptation but he knew that he didn't even need to be tested. Giving into the tests, even if he came out victorious would have acknowledged that he was proving himself by Satan's standard.  His angels would have definitely lifted him up but just engaging in that would have signified the importance of Satan's opinions.  Too often do I try to prove myself faithful or seem like a good Christian by the world's standards when I should be proving myself faithful to God. The world's opinion shouldn't even matter compared to what God wants.  We should ask ourselfves whther we try to seem like a good Christian more than we try to be a good Christian?