MITN XIV, Verses 1 - 14

1. About this time King Herod was hearing reports about Jesus, and about the remarkable things that were occurring around Him, and because of Him.

2. So he told his officials, "I think that this man must be the re-incarnation of John the Baptist! The man that we executed has come back from the dead in the form of this Jesus, and that's apparently why He has the power to work these miracles!"

3. Herod was very aware of John, the Forerunner, because earlier he had arrested John, and had had him chained and put in prison.

4. He did this because John, outspoken as he was, had told him, "It isn't right or appropriate for you to take Herodias, the wife of your brother Philip."

5. Herod wanted to kill John for daring to confront him in this way, but the people thought that John was a prophet, and Herod was afraid of what they might do if he touched him.

6. But when Herod's birthday came, the teenage daughter of Herodias danced for the guests at his celebration, particularly directing her movements toward her uncle/stepfather. And Herod was seduced by the dance, and was greatly pleased by it…

7. …so much, in fact, that in an outburst of passionate reaction to her, he publicly swore to give her anything she wanted.

8. But the girl's mother, who has been incensed at the words of John, told her to say to him, "Right here on this platter, I want the head of that John the Baptist!"

9. And immediately the king regretted what he had said in the heat of the moment, but he didn’t want to break the promise that he had made in front of his guests. So he ordered a guard,

10. “All right, then…do it…go to the prison right now and cut off John's head.”

11. And sure enough, John was then decapitated, and his severed head was taken on a platter to the girl, and she then presented the gruesome trophy to her mother.

12. Shortly thereafter, John's followers took his headless body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus about the horrible thing that had happened.

13. After Jesus heard the shattering news about John, He crossed Lake Galilee to go to some place where He could be alone to grieve silently, and to try to process what had happened in His own way. But, as usual, the crowds found out that He was moving, and followed Him on foot from the surrounding towns.

14. When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw the large, needy throng, and instead of resenting their lack of sensitivity to His suffering, or focusing on His own feelings, He immediately was moved with compassion for them. So He translated His heartbreak into healing by curing everyone there who was sick. He sacrificed His own need for solitude for the sake of service, and in this way He soothed His own sorrow.

MITN XIV

This is what I have written for Chapter 14...how do you like it so far?

Anyway...hope you're having a great Saturday...

Some things have been updated on the other blogs...

Something very powerful is going to happen tomorrow at CITN...I look forward to experiencing it with you...

Peace...

Hey bloggers...While I was looking for Jesus pictures to use for MITN, I came across this, and it gave me a chuckle...thought I'd share a laugh with you...

MITN XIII, Verses 44 - 58

44. “The Kingdom of/from the heavens is like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.

45. Again the Kingdom of/from the heavens is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls,

46. who, on finding one single pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it.

47. And again, the Kingdom of/from the heavens is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea, and gathered in a diverse array of fish…fish of every sort, in fact.

48. When it was full, men dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted out what was good from the catch into baskets, but that which was worthless they threw away.

49. So it will be at the close and consummation of this age, when judgment comes on this nation. But, again, as was the concept in the story of the wheat and darnel, the angels will go forth and ultimately separate all that which is wicked and unnecessary from all that which is righteous and eternal,

50. And cast the refuse into the furnace of fire, where, again, the purging process will cause weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth in those who are being purged.

51. Now, as I have created a panorama of truth through the telling of these stories, I ask you…have you comprehended these conceptual tales taken together?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

52. He said to them, “All right, then…every teacher and interpreter of the sacred truths who has been instructed about and trained for Kingdom-life, and has become a disciple, is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and old…that which seems fresh and newly born, as well as that which seems ancient and familiar.”

53. When Jesus had finished this series of comparisons in story form, He left there.

54. And, coming to His own country of Nazareth, He taught in their synagogue with such unprecedented understanding and conspicuous confidence, that they were amazed with bewildered wonder. Upon hearing Him the people said, “Where in the world did this Man get this kind of wisdom…and from where does He derive these miraculous powers?

55. Isn’t this just the local carpenter's son? Isn’t His mother called Mary? Aren’t His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

56. Don’t all of His sisters live right here in this very town? We know His family…all of them…and we know how ordinary they all are…so what has made this man so special? He obviously didn’t get all this from His family…so where is all this coming from?

57. And instead of being intrigued by this, and interested in finding out more about Him, they took offense at Him. They fought in their minds what seemed to them unfamiliar and unexplainable, and so were repelled by what those from the other towns and villages were drawn to. Their natural knowledge of Him hindered them from acknowledging His authority, and caused them, instead, to stumble at His ministry. But Jesus said to them, “Once again this truth is confirmed…a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house.”

58. And He did virtually none of the amazing works of power that He had become known for there in His hometown, because of their limited perception of Him. Their own lack of vision, and inability to see beyond the physical realm, kept them from receiving what He had to offer them.

Wonderful Wednesday

Hey bloggers...I'll be back later (super busy day), but in the meantime, one of my articles is on Streaming Faith right now...go to www.streamingfaith.com...this one is on the editorial page (under My Community)...title is Enjoying Successful Transition, and I think one of my devotionals will be on later today...check it out...

Anf if you want to leave a comment there, I wouldn't mind...

Oh, and if I don't get back here before LifeSkills tonight, I just want to tell you that it's going to be really good...

Got to go...

____________


Later...

Hey, thanks to any of you who left comments on Streaming Faith...I appreciate it...

LifeSkills was great tonight...I really liked the more informal format, and enjoyed the interactive part...your thoughts? The outline is now posted on that blog...

And I love the feedback on MITN...your insights are inspirational and impressive...I plan on having the rest of Chapter XIII posted in a few hours...

That's all for now..

Peace.

MITN XIII, Verses 33 - 43

33. He also described the all-pervasive and powerful influence of the Kingdom to them using this simile: “The Kingdom of/from the heavens is like leaven, or sour dough yeast, which a woman took and covered over in three measures of meal or flour till all of it was leavened, or until all of the yeast had risen” In this way He described the Kingdom as something that has authority in three dimensions.

34. All of these ideas were presented to the crowds as Jesus spoke to them in allegorical stories, using these kinds of similes. In fact, He basically said nothing to them without employing this style of story-telling, and teaching technique.

35. Again, this was in fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open My mouth and tell my stories, and hidden within the simple plotlines of each one will be the revelation of mysteries which have been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

36. Then He left the throngs and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, “Please, explain to us the story of the darnel in the field.”

37. He answered them, “All right… the One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38. The field is the whole world as you know it, and the good seed are the children of the Kingdom. The darnel represents what was planted in the children by the enemy.

39. And the enemy who sowed it is that one who is an adversary to the authority of the Kingdom. The harvest is the close and consummation of this present age or eon, and the reapers are angels.

40. Just as the darnel is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of this age when judgment comes on this nation.

41. But, in the larger context (the field is the world), this is about more than just the judgment coming on this nation, and the end of this present era. Ultimately, the Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will cull out of His Kingdom all that which causes the practice of lawlessness in the children*.

42. And will cast it into the consuming fire of God, where the pain of the purification process will cause them to weep and grind their teeth, until its ends are accomplished.

43. Then the righteous…those who are righteous by faith, along with those who have been purified by fire…will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears to hear be listening, and let him consider and perceive and understand by hearing.

(* see Jeremiah 31:33, 34 and Hebrews 8:8-12)

MITN XIII, Verses 24 - 32

24. Another similar allegory that He shared with them (as a visible symbol representing an abstract idea) went like this: “The Kingdom of/from the heavens is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25. But while he was sleeping, an enemy of his came and sowed darnel...weeds that closely resemble wheat, among the real wheat that the man had planted. Then the enemy went on his way.

26. The man, of course, had no idea that his field had been sabotaged, but when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the darnel appeared right along with the wheat – the false growing in tandem with the real.

27. So the man’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good quality seed in your field? How, then, is it possible that it has darnel shoots in it?”

28. He replied to them, “Obviously, an enemy has done this in an attempt to compromise the harvest.” So the servants said to him, “Well, then, do you want us to go and weed them out so that the field can maintain its integrity?

29. He said to them, “No…don’t do that…because if you go in there focused only on removing the weeds – or what is false in the field – you’ll inadvertently root up the true wheat - or what is real - along with it.

30. Just let them grow together until that field’s harvest-time, because then I’ll tell the reapers, “Gather the darnel first and bind it in bundles to be purged in the fire, but gather the wheat that remains after the purging into my granary.”

31. He created for them yet another visual image by way of story-telling, again using the symbolism of a seed, saying, “The Kingdom of/from the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

32. Of all the seeds, it is actually the smallest, but when it has grown, it becomes the largest of the garden herbs…literally becomes a tree big enough for the birds of the air to come and find shelter in its branches. In this way He revealed that the Kingdom begins in the small things, but because it is a living, growing thing, it increases day by day.

The Big Picture

Hey bloggers...thanks for the reviews from yesterday...I really appreciate it...

I'll probably be back here with something later today, but in the meantime, there's fresh manna in all the rooms, so make yourself at home, and take all you want.

One other thing. On a couple of the other blogs I've asked for the regulars to sign in as blog followers, and some of you have done it. It doesn't mean that you have to write anything, it just shows your support for the site, and advertises it on the internet.

I could qualify or over-explain it, but I'm just going to let my YES be YES on this because it's important to me...if you are a minister ordained with Now Ministries, or a Staff Pastor or Care Pastor at CITN, I want you to go to the Now Ministries blog (preferably now) and sign on there as a blog follower. You don't ever have to write anything, but I want to know that you are aware of the site, and of what I'm trying to do there. Think of it as cyber-Body Builders.

I require very little of you, so I know that you'll be happy to show your support for this with a great attitude, busy as I'm sure you are today. It literally takes less than five minutes to do it. If you don't have five free minutes in your day, you are way overworked, and need to come in to counsel with me ASAP about time management. If you can't figure out how to do it, call the office (preferably now, if you're reading this during office hours) and let someone on the staff walk you through it over the phone. If you don't have a computer, come to the church office (preferably now, if you're reading this during office hours), and Rene or Jane or Robyn or P. Avery will set you up with one.

At the time of this writing, the current followers are Apostle Don Hughes, Pastor Leesa Hughes, Pastor Carey Harrell, Pastor Jon Scott, Pastor Gregg Kennard, Pastor Gregg Crawford, Pastor Chad Smith, Pastor Gerald Alphin, Pastor Avery Rogers, Pastor Nancy Courter, Pastor Machion Garrison, Pastor Jimmie Mayo, Pastor Jim Jaros, Pastor Scott Pettite, and Pastor Joshua Hutchinson…

Each one of you is a piece of the puzzle that makes up the big picture...remember, NONE OF US IS AS GOOD AS ALL OF US!

Thanks for your co-operation...

Now, go and explore the other rooms...and have a great day!


(Oh, BTW, read #6 on AYITN...I didn't know that it was going to say that today...things that make you go hmmmm...)

I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord!"