MITN VII

Hey bloggers,
I trust that you all had a wonderful thanksgiving...we certainly did. Thanks for the discussion already posted here in regards to the part of Matthew In The Now that I have written so far. I really appreciate your insights, and your encouragement. I remember that when I did John In The Now a couple of years ago, that having to go through and so closely examine the meaning of each verse of the Fourth Gospel really brought about an amazing amount of revelation for me...and the same thing is happening to me now as I again go, word by word, phrase by phrase, through this powerful biography of Jesus, the Christ. I know that I probably should pace myself a little with putting it all here on the blog every day so that you could have more time to digest it, but I have found that when I'm in a productive writing zone, I need to ride the wave of creativity as far as I can. I also want to get as much of it done as is possible before we go to Brazil next week. Each chapter that I finish seems to be my favorite, so here's my current best chapter. Enjoy!

1. “Don’t set yourself up as a judge who takes the liberty of casually condemning others, or even as a critic who thinks that he or she has the right to criticize them, because when you do that, you set a universal law into motion that will inevitably bring negative things back into your own life. In other words, don’t judge so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves.

2. “For in direct proportion to your judgment, criticism and condemnation of others, you will be personally judged and criticized and condemned. It’s just the way the law works. And in accordance with the measure you use to deal out to others…whatever you may deal out…it will be dealt out again to you. You define the terms of your own life in this sense.

3. “And why do you fixate on the very small particle…the tiny speck of sawdust…that is in your brother's eye, while you are completely unaware of and oblivious to the huge beam of timber that is in your own eye?

4. “Or how can you obsessively say to your brother, ‘Let me try to get that tiny, superficial splinter that I’m preoccupied with out of your eye,’ when all the while there is the beam of timber that is obvious to everyone but you lodged in your own eye?

5. “Don’t be such a clueless hypocrite! Work on dislodging that beam of timber from your own eye first, because until you can completely remove such glaring, personal obstructions, you’re frankly not qualified to take on the responsibility of extracting anything at all from your brother's eye, no matter how big or how small.

6. “Don’t treat these holy truths and sacred concepts like scraps that are fit only to be thrown out to the dogs. Rather, value the truths you hold dear and esteem them highly, as if they were exquisite pearls, not as if they are old leftovers to be tossed into a feeding trough for pigs. If you don’t discern your audience, or if you are flip with sacred things, you run the risk of presenting priceless pearls to pigs, who, when they realize that you have not fed them the slop they desire, will trample the gems and turn and tear you in pieces.

7. “But keep on asking – never stop expressing your desires, or challenging the boundaries of your faith – and it will ultimately be given you. Keep on seeking – never abandon your sense of wonder or your inquisitive interest in the mysterious – and you will ultimately find . Keep on knocking – never believe that your possibilities are exhausted or that your opportunities are finite – and the door will ultimately be opened to you.

8. “For everyone in this life who keeps on asking keeps on receiving. And he or she who keeps on seeking keeps on finding. And to him or her who keeps on knocking, doors will continue to be opened.

9. “Or what father is there of you, if his hungry son asks him for a loaf of bread, will ignore the request and instead hand him a stone to eat?

10. “Or if he asks for a fish, will serve him up a snake for dinner?

11. “If you then, with all of your potential for evil, know how to give good and beautiful gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in the heavenly realm lavish the best gifts on those who keep making a demand on Him!























12. “So discipline yourself to live by this simple rule: whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, do also to and for them. This not only will set positive things in motion for your life, it will fulfill all the Law and the teaching of the Prophets, because this basic principle is the sum of all the writings of the holy books.

13. “Enter into the full blessings of kingdom-life through the narrow gate of this kind of discipline. For the gate that leads to self-destruction is wide and easily accessible, and many are unwittingly entering through it.

14. “But the gate of selfless servitude is narrow and the way is compressed…the way that leads to a fulfilled, kingdom life in the now…and few are those who find it.

15. “Beware of false prophets who come to you dressed as sheep but, inside, they are devouring wolves whose only intention is to scatter the sheep and bring division among them.

16. “You will fully recognize them by the fruits of their relationships and their track record with people. Do people pick grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?

17. “Even so, every healthy tree bears good, nutritious fruit, but the diseased and decaying tree bears bad, inedible fruit.

18. “A good or healthy tree can’t bear worthless fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear high quality fruit.

19. “So every tree that does not bear good fruit…fruits of love, selflessness, empathy and consideration for others…needs to be cut down and thrown into the fire of purification.

20. “Therefore, you will fully know and discern them by their fruits.

21. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter into the blessings of kingdom-life. Just going through the motions of mechanically calling on my name or religiously praying a prayer does not automatically give one access to the kingdom of/from the heavens. Only those who do the will of My Father will enjoy the benefits of the kingdom in the now.

22. “When judgment comes on their lives, many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, haven’t we prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons and done many mighty works in Your name?’

23. And then I will say to them openly, ‘While you’ve been busily going through the motions of the ministry, you’ve never developed a real relationship with Me. It’s as if I’ve never known you. You haven’t shown Me your love, and you haven’t loved the people who have partaken of your so-called services. You’ve done so many things in My name for the wrong reasons that I want you to keep your distance from Me until you repent and get your priorities in order…until you start really representing Me and living your life the way I want you to live it!’

24. “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible and wise man who built his house upon bedrock.

25. “And all manner of inclement weather bombarded the house…rain fell and floods came and the winds blew and beat against it. But, no matter how bad the weather or how strong the wind, it did not fall, because it had been founded on the stable rock.

26. “Likewise, everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not demonstrate them will be like a stupid man who built his house on the sand.

27. “And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell. And when it fell, the damage was complete and severe.”

28. When Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount and finished His teaching, the crowds who had come to hear him were just astonished and left speechless. They had never heard anything expressed in such a direct manner…so practical, and yet so profound...and they were overwhelmed at His teaching,

29. for He was obviously speaking as One Who had authority and was comfortable with it, and not as did the scribes, whose insecurities caused them to hide behind their religion.

MITN VI

1. “Be careful not to fall into the trap of doing good deeds publicly, just so you can be seen by the people whose applause and approval you crave. If public opinion is that important to you, you’re inevitably going to forfeit the promise of receiving a reward from your Father Who is in the heavenly realm.

2. “So whenever you give to the poor, don’t make a lot of noise about it; don’t blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do so that they may be recognized and honored by the public. In all honesty, the accolades and pats on the back that they will receive for their supposed generosity is all the reward that they will get.

3. “But when you give to charity, your motives should be so pure that you will be happy to be absolutely discreet about it. In fact, your low-profile acts of kindness ought to make it seem as though your left hand doesn’t even know what your right hand is doing,

4. so that your deeds of charity may be done quietly and your love offerings may be given in secret…even in anonymity. And then your Father Who sees in secret and knows the hidden things of the heart will reward you openly.

5. “Also when you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen and heard by the people around them. Again, I tell you in all honesty, they have their reward in full, already.

6. “But when you pray – I mean when you really want to talk to God about what’s going on in your personal life – do it privately. Find a place where you can be alone…where you can close the door to the world and pray in confidence to your Father, Who dwells in the secret place. And your Father, Who sees into the hidden rooms of the heart, will reward you out in the open light of day. Then, when you emerge strengthened from your private place of individual prayer, you can move into a place of real, effective public prayer.

7. “And when you pray, do not mindlessly and mechanically mutter maxims and mottos; do not routinely and ritualistically repeat rote religious rhetoric as the Gentile heathen do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking.

8. “Do not be like them. Really communicate with God, because the thing about prayer is this: your Father already knows what you need even before you ask Him! So prayer is more about building relationship with the one to whom you pray, for whom you pray, and with whom you pray, than it is about just getting your physical needs met. In other words, it is communication that not only creates a connection in heaven, but also creates a community on the earth.

























9. “So pray like this: Our Father – not My Father…not your Father…but Our Father Who is in the heavenly realm – may Your name be hallowed by us and always kept holy in our collective consciousness.

10. “May Your kingdom continue to come to us and in us and through us. May Your will be done on earth…in the physical realm…as it is in heaven…in the spiritual realm.

11. Give us – not Me, not you, but us – give us this day, our daily bread…just the provision that we need in the now…no more…no less.

12. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…even the evil that we may find within ourselves. For Yours is the kingdom, the reign, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14. “For if you readily forgive the people in your life their thoughtless mistakes and human failures, your heavenly Father will also freely forgive you.

15. “But if you do not forgive others their mistakes and failures, you prevent the Father’s forgiveness from flowing into your life, and so you end up going through life having unfinished business with God.

16. “And whenever you are fasting, don’t walk around looking sullen, intense and morose like the hypocrites do, for they play into religious stereotypes with their dramatics, that their fasting may be apparent to and seen by people. I tell you, honestly, that the attention they get from their audience is their full and complete reward.

17. “But when you fast, see to it that you smell good and look good through the whole process

18. so that your fasting may not be noticed by people, but by your Father (Who sees the secret motives of the heart); and your Father (Who sees what no one else can see), will reward you out in the open where everyone can see.

19. “Do not just accumulate and amass wealth in earthly places where your treasure may be vulnerable to the natural elements. Keep it away from moths and rust…anything that might consume and destroy it…and hold it in a dimension where thieves can never break through and steal it.

20. “But gather your wealth up and deposit it into the heavenly realm, where neither moth (anything that might eat it up) nor rust (anything that might cause it to disintegrate) may consume and destroy and where thieves are not able to break through and steal what you have;

21. for where your treasure or wealth is, there will your heart and mind and attention be also.

22. “Your perception ultimately becomes your reality. It’s as if the eye is the lamp of the body, because your vision (or the way that you see things) is the light that continually shines on your life-path and determines its direction. Perception is everything. So if your eye is healthy through singleness of vision – or if your perspective on life is positive and progressive – then your entire body will be full of light…your entire being will be progressively enlightened.

23. “But if your eye is diseased (if your perception is warped), your whole body or self will be full of darkness. And you can’t imagine how much darkness you can bring on yourself just by seeing things the wrong way and how dark that darkness can ultimately become if left unchecked!

24. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be opposed to the other. In a word, you cannot simultaneously serve God and Mammon (the god that people create in their lives through their illusions and delusions about money and possessions).

25. “Therefore, I tell you, stop being perpetually worried and unnecessarily stressed about your quality of life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink. Don’t be preoccupied by your body-image and by what you’ll have to put on. In the big picture, isn’t life greater and more important than food and the body more than clothing?

26. “Just take some time and look at the birds of the air. Haven’t you noticed that they aren’t preoccupied with the business of sowing and reaping and gathering their harvest into barns? And yet your heavenly Father keeps faithfully feeding them. Don’t you think that you are worth much more than they?

27. “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add any height to his or her frame, or any years, or even minutes for that matter, onto his or her life-span?

28. “And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn how they grow; they don’t strive with trying to be beautifully adorned, and they don’t wear themselves out by staying in a constant spin.

29. “And yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his magnificent excellence was not arrayed like one of these beauties.

30. “So think about it…if God personally designs the wardrobe and so elegantly clothes the grass of the field (which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace) will He not much more surely clothe you, O you whose faith needs to be enlarged?

31. “In other words, it’s just pointless to worry and be anxious, saying, ‘What are we going to have to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to have to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to have to wear?’

32. “For the nations are obsessed with these kinds of things, yet the fact remains that your heavenly Father already knows full well that you need them all.

33. “But seek out and search for a revelation of the kingdom of God in and through every circumstance, and in every situation. And seek it first (or first thing)...before you strive with the circumstance... before you start to worry about the situation…before you fret over it…before you allow yourself to become overwhelmed by it or let it become exaggerated in your mind. And along with your primary search, look diligently for His righteousness, (or His rightness) to be revealed somewhere in the thing, as well. When you prioritize the kingdom in this way, then you can be sure that everything in your personal world will come into order, and that all you need for your daily provision will just automatically flow into your life and will be added to you as a result of your quest.

34. “So don’t worry or be anxious about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Live in the now, because the kingdom is always revealed in the now. Deal with tomorrow and what it may bring when it gets here, knowing that tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. As you live each day as it comes, God will enable you to successfully handle each day’s trouble, whatever it may be.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What are you thankful for?

MITN V

1. One day, when Jesus saw how large the crowds were becoming, He climbed up to a high part of a mountainside and just sat down, looking out over them. When the disciples saw him sitting there, they climbed up to where He was.

2. When they had all come up higher together, He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying:

3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit – those who have been broken emotionally and whose self-esteem has been severely damaged – for they have the opportunity to rethink their lives, and are in a position to receive total restoration by seeking the kingdom of/from the heavens!

4. “Blessed are those who are in mourning – those whose dreams have been shattered, who have known nothing but heartbreak and disappointment – for they have the promise that they shall be completely comforted!

5. “Blessed are the meek – those who regularly exercise strength under perfect control – for their restraint, humility and self-control will ultimately cause them to literally inherit the earth!

6. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – the seekers who want more, who refuse to settle for the religious status quo, and who earnestly desire to embrace all truth – for they shall be spiritually satisfied!

7. “Blessed are the merciful – the ones who are quick to forgive and move on, who are slow to judge, and are unwilling to condemn – for they themselves shall obtain mercy in their own lives!

8. “Blessed are the pure in heart – those who do not live by hidden agendas and ulterior motives…the unpretentious…the real people experiencing the real God in the real world – for they shall be able to see God fully and clearly, and without any optical obstruction!

9. “Blessed are the makers and maintainers of peace – the ones who build the bridges, tear down the walls, and are repairers of the breach – for their noble and humanitarian efforts shall cause them to be called the very sons of God!

10. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake – those who are misunderstood, misquoted and misjudged for their beliefs, and are hated for their stand for the truth – for their clear vision will reveal the kingdom of/from the heavens on the earth!

11. “Blessed are you, even when people revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil things against you, and make up hurtful and ridiculous rumors about you on My account.

12. “You must see the persecution for what it is and not take it personally. You should actually be glad and even joyful when you experience it, for your reward in heaven is great…strong and intense…and you are in good company, for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who came before you.

13. “You are, in a sense, the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost the strength of its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is then useless…not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and walked on by oblivious people.

14. “You are also the light of the world…a well-lit metropolis built on a hill that cannot be hidden or ignored in any way.

15. “Think about it: no one lights a lamp and then covers it up and obscures its radiance. On the contrary, a lamp is made to be lit and then fixed somewhere up high on a lamp stand, so that it can burn brightly and illuminate the entire house.














16. “So let your own personal light unashamedly shine before the public that they may see your obvious excellence and the demonstration of your good deeds and acts of kindness, and, as a result, glorify your Father Who is in the heavenly realm.

17. “Look, don’t think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the Prophets; in fact, I have come not to do away with or undo them, but to complete and fulfill them and to make them finally make sense to you.

18. “I tell you in all honesty, until the sky and earth pass away and perish, not one smallest letter nor one little punctuation mark will pass from the Law until all the things that it foreshadows are accomplished.

19. “Whoever then does away with or relaxes one of the least important of these commandments and teaches people to do the same shall be called least important in the kingdom of/from the heavens; his religion will trivialize him. But he who practices them and teaches others to do so shall be called great in the kingdom of/from the heavens; he will cause the Law to come alive and accomplish its true purpose in the lives of people.

20. “For I tell you, unless your righteousness is more than that of the superficial scribes and pretentious Pharisees, you will never enter the reign or the kingdom of/from the heavens.

21. “You have heard that it was said in times past, ‘You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court.’

22. “But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his or her brother or sister, and harbors malice and heart-enmity against another, shall be unable to escape the same punishment imposed by the same court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to a brother or sister shall be liable to experience the punishment imposed by the Sanhedrin. And those who are in the habit of randomly saying, ‘You stupid idiot!’ to others may be inviting unnecessary violence to themselves, and could even end up on a heap of garbage and burning rubble in the dump at Gehenna, just outside the city of Jerusalem.

23. “So if and when you are offering your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has any grievance against you,

24. “leave your gift at the altar and go make peace with your brother (you don’t need too many enemies), and then come back and present your gift.

25. “Come to terms quickly with your accuser, or with one who is adversarial with you, while you are on the way traveling with him, so that your accuser doesn’t decide to hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

26. “You know how the system works…you will not be released from prison until you have paid the last penny of the fine that you owe.

27. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

28. “But I say to you that anyone who even looks at someone and fantasizes about committing adultery with them has already done so in his or her heart.

29. “So if looking at someone causes you to lust after them – especially if they are off-limits to you (as in another man’s wife or another woman’s husband) – then pluck out your right eye and throw it away before your lust gets you into trouble. It is better to lose one of your bodily members than to be stoned for adultery, or killed by a jealous husband or wife, and have your whole body thrown onto the burning garbage dumb at Gehenna, in the Valley of Hinnom!

30. “And if your right hand serves as a trap to ensnare you, or causes you to steal or to hurt someone, cut it off and cast it from you. Again, it is better that you lose one of your members than that your entire body should be thrown into the garbage-fires of Gehenna, and your entire life be thrown away because of some silly foolishness.

31. “It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must simply give her a certificate of divorce…no questions asked.’

32. “But I tell you, whoever just casually dismisses and divorces his wife for no good or valid reason, such as unfaithfulness or infidelity, will inadvertently cause her to go out and commit adultery herself. And whoever marries a woman who has been divorced in this way will inadvertently commit adultery with her, seeing that she will more than likely still consider herself married to her previous husband.

33. “Again, you have heard that it was said in ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord as a religious duty.’

34. “But I tell you, do not foolishly bind yourselves by an oath at all…either by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35. or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.

36. “And do not even swear by your head, for it is not absolute; you are not able to make a single hair white or black.

37. “Just let your ‘Yes’ simply be ‘Yes’; likewise, let your ‘No’ be simply ‘No’ – no more, no less. Anything more than that implies that you are not honest enough for people to believe that your word alone is your bond. It makes it appear as if you are a liar like the adversary.

38. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’

39. “But I want you to see things in a whole new way. I say to you, do not resist the evil man who injures you – choose your battles. If anyone strikes you on the right jaw or cheek, turn to him the other one too, initially. Your moral authority in this case will prove that you are stronger than your opponent, and that you don’t have to stoop to his level!

40. “And if anyone wants to sue you and take the very shirt off your back, let him have your coat also. It will prove that you see a bigger picture, one in which your Father in heaven will reward you with new shirts and a new coat!

41. “Along the same lines, if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. It will prove that God is your strength and that you are nobody’s victim!

42. “Give to him who keeps on begging from you and do not turn away from him who would borrow from you. It will prove that you are the prosperous one, the one who knows that God is his source.

43. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

44. “But I want you to rethink that. I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45. to show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven and that love always and ultimately wins. And anyway, the truth is, whether you like it or not, that He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers, alike.

46. “So if you only love those who love you, where is the reward in that? Don’t you know that even the tax collectors do that?

47. “And if you only acknowledge and speak to your own people, what more than others are you doing? Don’t you know that even those of the nations do that?

48. “These ideas are new to you and alien to your religious mindset, but you can do all of this because I have declared you to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect. You therefore must already be perfect, even if you don’t realize it yet and even if you don’t act like it yet, because I have come to reveal, once and for all, that you are created in the Father’s perfect image.

MITN IV

Hey bloggers,

Thanks for the good reports from yesterday...apparently CD and DVD sales of the service were way, way up, which is awesome! One thing that really seemed to strike a chord with everyone was the part about Jesus saying, "satan, get behind Me". In that point I said that, because he ultimately helps to fulfill God's purposes (see Colossians 1:16, especially in the Amplified Bible, for more on that), that we should say, when tempted or tested by him, "satan, get behind me...get behind me and PUSH...push me into my purpose and destiny!" I wanted to refer to this before you read MITN Chapter IV, because Jesus made that particular statement in the 16th Chapter of Matthew, not here in this one.

Also, Sunday before last in my sermon (entitled: "After This"), I read this same passage from the Khaboris Manuscript (in Aramaic, the language that Jesus actually spoke), and pointed out that in that translation, Jesus refers to his own conflicting thoughts as "satana" or "satan", and speaks to "it", rather than "he" (get the CD for more info). But I have paraphrased it here in MITN in the more conventional sense of satan being an actual separate entity or being, a concept with which we are more familiar, and with which we are probably more theologically comfortable. Just some food for thought. Hope you enjoy...

1. Then Jesus was purposely led by the Holy Spirit out into the solitude of the desert wilderness for an intentionally staged and personal confrontation with the devil (or the adversary) into a place where He could be tempted, tested and tried by him, one-on-one, for kingdom purposes.

2. And He went completely without food for forty days and forty nights, and at the end of His fast He realized that He was hungry.

3. And at that time the adversary came and said to Him, “If You really are who You believe and say that You are – the manifestation of God in the physical realm…His own Son – then command these stones to be made into loaves of bread.”

4. But He replied, “I will not, because it has been written, ‘Man shall not live and be sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth, in the now, from the mouth of God!’”

5. Then the adversary took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a high gable (or turret) of the temple sanctuary.

6. And he said to Him, “If You really are the Son of God as You say You are, then throw Yourself down off this tower; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

7. Jesus said to him, “Yes, but it is also written, ‘You shall not tempt, test, or try the Lord your God!’”

8. Again, the adversary took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him in panoramic view all the kingdoms of the world and the splendor and magnificence of them all.

9. And he said to Him, “All of these things I will give You if You will simply prostrate Yourself before me and sincerely worship me.”

10. Then Jesus said to him, “All right; that’s enough! I have nothing more to say to you. Your purpose here has been accomplished, and so you are dismissed – be gone! For it has been written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve’; so that is that…this episode and this conversation is over!”

11. Then the adversary departed from Him, having been dismissed so matter-of-factly, and ministering angels immediately came to Him and took care of His needs.

12. When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

13. First, He went to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region and area of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14. This fulfilled what God said prophetically through the prophet Isaiah:

15. “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where there is a great population of Gentiles,

16. the people who sat in darkness have now seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death reigned by constantly casting its shadow, a bright light has shined.”

17. From then on, Jesus began to preach, “It’s time for a complete paradigm shift! You must begin to think differently about God and about your relationship to Him – you must change your lives by changing your minds – because the kingdom of/from the heavens has come near enough to you to now manifest in your personal world!”















18. As He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed a pair of fishermen brothers: Simon, who is also known as Peter, and Andrew his brother, throwing a dragnet into the sea-like lake.

19. And, deliberately interrupting their routine, He said to them, “Come, follow Me…let Me be your life-guide, and as you are disciplined into My world-view, your skills as fishermen will be incorporated into the larger purpose of influencing people, to the point that you will literally ‘fish’ for human beings and become ‘fishermen of humanity!’”

20. His words were so compelling, and the concept of fishing for people was so intriguing to them, that they immediately left their nets right where they were and became His disciples.

21. And going on further from there, He noticed two other brothers: James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were busy in the boat with their father, mending their nets and preparing them for use, and right then and there He called them, as well.

22. And, finding His concepts and His charisma irresistible, they left the boat and their father at once and also joined Jesus as disciples and followed Him.

23. And He went all throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching nothing but the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every weakness and infirmity among the people.

24. So His fame as a healer spread quickly throughout all Syria and, as a result, they brought Him all who were sick and those afflicted with various diseases, those who were tormented and seemed to be under the influence of demons, and epileptics and paralyzed people. And regardless of the sickness or disease, or the seriousness of the situation, or the circumstances surrounding the individual, He healed them all, without reservation!

25. So enormous crowds of hurting people began to accompany and even mob Him, coming from Galilee and Decapolis (the district of the ten cities east of the Sea of Galilee), Jerusalem and Judea, and all the way from the other side of the Jordan.

MITN III

1. In those days John the Forerunner, who baptized and announced the earthly appearance of the Lamb of God, came preaching in the wilderness of Judea

2. and saying, “It’s time for a complete paradigm shift! You must begin to think differently about God and about your relationship to Him, for the kingdom of/from the heavens – the interior, tangible reign of God through Christ where His will is done on earth (in the physical realm) as it is in heaven (in the spiritual realm) – has now become available and accessible because it has come very near to you!”

3. This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord now, and make a straight highway for His entrance!’”

4. John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted completely of the carob-like pods that came from the locust tree, and wild honey.

5. People went out to see and hear him from Jerusalem and all Judea, and the whole region of the Jordan.

6. They willingly confessed their sins to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

7. But when he saw many of the religious leaders, both Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8. “Produce fruit in keeping with the real changing of your minds,

9. and do not think that you have the right to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

10. “Even now, the ax is already poised at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into God’s purifying fire.

11. “I baptize you in a river of water for transformation through the changing of your minds. But after me comes One who is much more powerful, whose sandals I am not worthy to even carry. He will purify you, not in a physical river of water, but by baptizing you with the Holy Spirit in a spiritual river of consuming fire!

12. “His winnowing fork and fan are in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn, and burning up the chaff in your lives with His unquenchable fire.”

13. Then one day Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.

14. But John protested passionately, having in mind to prevent Him, saying, “I’m the one who should be baptized by you! What are you thinking by coming to me in this way?”

15. But Jesus replied to him, “John, let’s do this; you must allow it to happen now, for this is the appropriate and most meaningful way for both of us to fulfill all righteousness and to perform wholly whatever is holy.” His direct words convinced John, and so he permitted Him.

16. And when Jesus was baptized, He came up at once out of the water, and immediately the heavens were opened and John saw the Spirit of God descending in the form of a dove and alighting on Him.

17. Just then, a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I take pleasure and with Whom I am completely and absolutely delighted!”