Sermon Notes; a Daily Devotional

2 Corinthians 4:5 & 6 "5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Today's verses strike me as a poetic summary of our studies this past week. Where we learn the high importance of our communication and focusing on defending our neighbors and putting their actions in the best possible light. Oh, that our conversation could shine the Light of Jesus Christ in the hearts of our friends and neighbors.  This week we will wrap up our study of God's Garden. This week's produce is raisens. Coming from the vineyards and beginning as grapes; raisens are nature’s alternate to candy! They measure higher in sugars and nutrition than the grapes they are made from! Raisens increases your supply of energy, aids digestion, reduces body acidity, ...

Psalms 39:1 "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me." AMEN. This is the challenge; hold our tongue when in the presence of the wicked! To keep from sinning with our words and our communication. Instead we want to honor God with our words. Defend our neighbors and put their actions in the best possible light. Seemingly simple things like this will make a world of difference everyday and always.  We need to focus on building others up. Seek ways to offer encouragement, give inspiration, uplift peoples spirits, express contentment, share gladness, display happiness, have empathy, aid when we can, offer assistance to those in need, help others. Do our level best to be sure that it is BLESSING that springs forth from our tongue!!! Our words become representative of the Gospel. The Gospel gives us great responsibility to teach God's word. Our communication, all of it, not just the tim...

James 3:11 & 12 "11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." "OUT of the SAME MOUTH proceedeth BLESSING and CURSING. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." Was yesterday's verse from James and today's verses futher illustrates this crucial point.  Our communication must be sincere and honest. We want to be mindful of how and what we communicate. We can be great witnesses just by being a good neighbor. We can honor God with our words. Defend our neighbors and put their actions in the best possible light. Seemingly simple things like this will make a world of difference everyday and always.  We need to focus on building others up. Seek ways to offer encouragement, give inspiration, uplift peoples spirits, express contentment, share gladness, display happiness, have empathy, aid when we can, offe...

James 3:9 & 10 "9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." THE TONGUE is full of poison. And, it's like HELL FIRE! James, the brother of Jesus, gives no quarter in his writing about the tongue. His prosecution is not against "slips" of the tounge. It is that people use their communication mischievously and maliciously. If dialog and communication is not sincere and honest it will result in tension, stress and worse. Because of that we want to be mindful of how and what we communicate. There is quite a bit in Holy Scriptures about our tongue and communication. In today's verses we get the real confounding problem with communication; "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. OUT of the SAME MOUTH proceedeth...

James 3:7 & 8 "7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." NO MAN CAN TAME THE TONGUE! "it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." Wild animals can be tamed more easily than the tongue! Is it really "slips" of the tounge that make it SO DANGEROUS? OR, is it that people use their communication mischievously and maliciously???  On a very basic level we use our tongue to relay a message or make a request. We engage in dialogue with others for meaningful exchanges in personal communication. True dialogue is defined as hearing the other person’s position without waiting to interject, and without bias. This is hard to find in our world today. Dialogue is the foundation of all meaningful exchange. Dialogue is a critical function for defining intent and setting goals. If dialog and communication i...

James 3:5 & 6 "5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." We are continuing our God's Garden series. This week's featured produce is leeks. The leek is a vegetable, closely related to onions, garlic, shallots, scallions and chives. Leeks also reminds us of "LEAKS!" LEAKS sinks ships... "Loose lips sink ships!" A phrase originated during World War II cautioning Americans to watch what they talk about. Information can cost people their lives in times of war. As we study or verses from the book of James we can see that like lips, the tongue can cause us trouble too. The tongue, or what we choose to say, can be like a FIRE! EVEN HELL FIRE! WOAH. Just the little tongue, saying a few lit...

James 3:3 & 4 "3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth." In our studies we have turned our attention to the book of James. Written by the half-brother of Jesus. He became an apostle after he had seen and believed the Lord post-resurrection! We started with from chapter three, verse one, which has some familiar advice like; with the great honor to lead and guide comes greater responsibility and accountability. Heaven forbid our faults and shortcomings would hurt the Gospel message and the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Today's verse we ease into the more targeted subject of staying on course; "Behold, we put BITS in the horses' mouths, that they may OBEY us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the s...

James 3:1 & 2 "1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." Coming from last week's study; we want to learn how to be more passionate about our FAITH. We can take our passion and determination to focus on our FAITH in our Lord andSavior, JesusChrist! We need to focus on building others up. Seek ways to offer encouragement, give inspiration, uplift peoples spirits, express contentment, share gladness, display happiness, have empathy, aid when we can, offer assistance to those in need, help others. We don't want to let our set backs hold us back. We want to proceed with the good that we DO DO! And, build upon our success!!  Getting better everyday!!! As we continue to study this week, we turn to the book of James. This is preceived to be the earliest writing of the New Testament! Written...

1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." We were studying the parable of The Shrewd Steward. It is a cautionary lesson; while this is often how our world works it's NOT the way we want to do things. We do not want to pit others against each other and we don't want to cheat people. JESUS did note "for the children of this world are in their generation WISER than the children of light." Because there was a cunning, decisive and passionate quality to the steward's actions that we can take inspiration!  As we figure out how to be more passionate about our FAITH. We can be more clever and more resourceful with our FAITH. We can take our passion and make it work for Jesus! We can take a determination and focus on FAITH! For inspiration turn to First Thessalonians, chapter five, verses eleven. The Apostle Paul is writing encouraging words to the Church at Thessalonica. These are words that can enco...

Luke 16:8 "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." We are studying the parable of The Shrewd Steward. The "certain rich man" fired his steward. The steward makes it so that others are indebted to him by marking down or lowering the amount that people owed to the "certain rich man." These people not only owe one to the steward they are also accomplices. While this is often how our world works it's not the way we want to do things. This is a cautionary lesson. We do not want to pit others against each other and we don't want to cheat people. Yet, there is a cunning, decisive and passionate quality to the steward's actions that we can take inspiration from; today's verse; "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation WISER than the children...

Luke 16:5-7 "5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore." We are studying the parable of The Shrewd Steward. The "certain rich man" fired his steward. If the steward had done wrong to his employer, he is experienced in what he is doing now. If the steward had NOT done wrong his employer has motivated his former steward to look out for himself.  The steward makes it so that others are indebted to him. Today's verses; "So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and si...

Luke 16:3 & 4 "3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses." "You're FIRED!"🤬 Said the "certain rich man" to his steward.  This is a moment we all HATE to experience. Jesus used this situation as a teaching example in this parable recorded by the good doctor Luke in chapter sixteen. If the steward had been working for the "certain rich man" for years there was a lot of time and energy invested in this business. This kind of situation will hurt everyone and will result in PASSION being squeezed out of those involved.  In today's verse the steward does what he has to do; "I am resolved what to do, that... they may receive me into their houses." This stress filled situation motivated the steward to work quickly and decisive...

Luke 16:1 & 2 "1 And He said also unto His disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward." "You're FIRED!"🤬 Said the "certain rich man" to his steward.  This is a moment we all HATE to experience. It's super stressful and anxiety producing. It's all to common today and even back in the day when Jesus walked the dusty roads of Judea. No doubt, this is one of the reasons Jesus used this situation as a teaching example in this parable recorded by the good doctor Luke in chapter sixteen.  "You're FIRED!" Is enough to take the wind out of anyone's sails. If the steward had been working for the "certain rich man" for years there was a lot of time and energy invested in this business. If the ri...

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." We are continuing to study GOD'S Garden. The center of it all is the Gospel events. We are blessed beyond measure by GOD through His Son. We KNOW all of because of the Holy Bible, the most epic Valentine letter ever written! It can be boiled down to the one verse; John 3:16! While this Valentine is written to you and to me, it is also written to "WHOSOEVER." It's true GOD loves His creation. He sends His blessings to the just and the unjust. God's Son was sacrificed for ALL of US. This amazing LOVE is something we will marvel at for all eternity. This needs to draw us closer to GOD everyday.  We can see God's plan symbolized in His creation! This week's produce from the Garden is the Passion Fruit. God's LOVE is not only wi...

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus told His Disciples that His resurrection would happen but they didn't understand!!! And, when it happened it shocked and surprised them!!! Then THEY got to tell THE STORY!!! It's something only God would come up with! And, He didn't stop there; in chapter eight of the Apostle Paul's letter to the believers in Rome, we read that absolutely NOTHING "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Futher driving home the point that we are blessed beyond measure by GOD through His Son.  We need to see the Holy Bible as the most epic Valentine letter ever written! At it's core we read today's verse; "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." W...

Romans 8:38 & 39 "38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." NO ONE expected the resurrection even though Jesus told His Disciples that it would happen!!! And, when it happened it still shocked and surprised them!!! Then THEY got to tell THE STORY!!! We experience GOD'S plan much the same way. We don't expect the cross and the suffering, but its there. We don't know what to expect. It's unlike anything we have experienced before. It defys logic. It is not the way we would do things. It's contrary to the way people run their lives and this society we live in. It's something only God would come up with! It's incredible! But wait! That's not all! In today's verses from the Apostle Paul's letter to the believe...

Mark 10:34 "And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again." We are in the Gospel of Mark, chapter ten, the Disciples are following Jesus as they travel together and Jesus takes this opportunity to tell them whats about to happen.  "... they shall condemn Him to DEATH, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles:" This is actually the third time Jesus is telling them God's plan to save the world. Jesus is telling them He will die and they keep ignoring Him. Jesus adds the details in today's verse; "And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He SHALL RISE AGAIN." !!! NO ONE expects a resurrection, but here Jesus is telling His Disciples that this will happen!!! And, when it does happen it still shocks and surprises them!!! Then THEY got to tell THE STORY!!! This is the way we experience GOD'S plan. We ...

Mark 10:33 "Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles:" This week's featured produce is the orange in our study of God's Garden. Oranges are VERY popular. In the United States the leading producers in Florida and California combined produce nearly 25 BILLION pounds of oranges annually. In addition to tasting wonderful oranges have many health benefits; High in Vitamin C, Boost immunity, Prevents skin damage, Keeps blood pressure in control, Brings down cholesterol, Controls blood sugar levels, Brings down the danger of cancer, Good for eye health and much more! We should eat MORE oranges!!! 🍊 🍊🍊 If oranges are good for us; the the Gospel message is even better! We are in the Gospel of Mark, chapter ten, the Disciples are following Jesus as they travel together and Jesus takes this opportunity to tell them whats ...

Here is my first artwork in a couple of decades. I have had many distractions and some struggles over the years and just couldn't and didn't do art for far too long. The will and ambition to draw is always there. Some of the time attempts to make art would yield results I did not want.  In the last few months I was doodling and trying to draw. And, there was more and more prodding from coincidences. It all came together when I changed jobs (time) and changed phones (tools.) Crazy that a phone can make so much of a difference. I picked out the Samsung Z Fold 3, a great phone that is cutting edge technology. As I am looking at art tools, I figure out that there is a free trial offer for Clip Studio Paint. A program that is comparable to Photoshop, which I used back in the 1990's! Back then I used a big desktop computer, monitor, scanner and more. Now, it's all in the palm of my hand in a phone! It's mind blowing! As I worked through what to draw I knew it needed to be...

Mark 10:32 "And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him," Knock knock.    -Who’s there? Banana.    -Banana who? Knock knock.    -Who’s there? Banana.    -Banana who? Knock knock.    -Who’s there? Banana.    -Banana who? Knock knock.    -Who’s there? Orange.    -Orange who? Orange you glad I didn’t say banana? Bad joke for a GOOD message. We are studying GOD'S Garden. This week's featured produce is the orange. There was a time when oranges were all the rage. Everything with orange flavor to it was highly desired and valued. Now days we have delicious and nutritious oranges all the time and we kind of take them for granted. And, oranges are the same as they ever were, maybe even better! Orange is used to describe the citrus fruit ...

Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Living in GOD'S Garden.  Our world was created by God. God provides everything for us.  When we needed Him the most; "...made Himself of NO REPUTATION, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became OBEDIENT unto DEATH, even the DEATH of the CROSS." If our Lord and Savior can do all this for us; we can LOVE our neighbors for Him. God's Garden, our world has always changed. Floods, drought, heat waves and cold fronts have always been with us. The weather of this world is always changing. This world was made for us as THE place where we can experience GOD'S LOVE.  We need to take care of God's Garden it was created for us. We were given dominion over the creation and have responsibility to make it fruitful and produc...

Philippians 2:5-8 "5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Jesus wants you and me to LOVE THEM.  LOVE your ENEMIES. LOVE THEM THAT CURSE you. LOVE THEM THAT HATE you. LOVE them that USE you, and PERSECUTE you! Love your neighbor. In this way we can live out The Shema!  It's not easy and Jesus know it.  From Jesus's advice to His Disciples to Paul's writing to the Philippians in today's verses; "Let this mind be in YOU, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the FORM of GOD, thought it NOT robbery to be equal with God:" Try to clearly see the picture of Jesus being the creator GOD AND being born as a baby. Being omnip...

Matthew 5:44&45 "44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Jesus and the scribe both recited The Shema. They agreed that loving GOD and our neighbors is better and more acceptable to God than all rituals and ceremonial law. Saying The Shema is one thing, living it is ANOTHER thing entirely.  How many of us try to have our lives guided by The Shema? How many of us are on the edge of surrendering to Jesus Christ? We know The Shema but just can't seem to live it. Our challenge then is to reach out to our neighbors. To LOVE our neighbors. Do the work to let them experience our love. So that our actions has value in their eyes. All the while we take time and make time for God. It...

Mark 12:34 "34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask Him any question." This is what we call a MIC DROP! The act of intentionally dropping your microphone at the end of a speech or performance, displaying a bold confidence that it has been very impressive or CANNOT BE TOPPED! "And, there were no further questions." Jesus and the scribe both have recited The Shema. They agreed that loving GOD and our neighbors is better and more acceptable to God than all rituals and ceremonial law. This is great praise from Jesus; "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." This scribe had an intellectual hold of the concept of The Shema but he had never followed them out to their conclusion with actions. Saying The Shema is one thing, living it is ANOTHER thing entirely.  How many of us try to have our lives guided by The Shema? Isn't it easier to maintain a hazy, laz...

Mark 12:32 & 33 "32 And the scribe said unto Him, Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: 33 And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Here in today's verses the scribe echos back the words Jesus just said. And, he added "is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." This is amazing insight from this scribe! We can understand this too; loving GOD and our neighbors is better and more acceptable to God than all rituals and ceremonial law. Observance of rituals and traditions cannot come at the expense of respecting God and our neighbors. It becomes a delicate balance of growing closer to God through the practice of religion but not letting that take us away from our "neighbors." This makes TIME so important to us. What i...

Mark 12:31 "31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Our theme plant from God's Garden is thyme. Thyme is a delightful herb used in cooking and it has helpful medicinal qualities. Thyme also reminds us of our own TIME and what it means to us. What is the most important way to use our time?  For our study verses we are in the Gospel of Mark, chapter twelve, when Pharisees and Herodians are trying to catch Jesus saying something WRONG. Jesus has answered everything perfectly when this scribe askes the BIG QUESTION; "What is the MOST important thing?" And, everyone knew the answer... it's The Shema! Verses that every young Jew learns as they are growing up.  "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: THIS is the FIRST commandment....

Mark 12:29 & 30 "29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." We are studying God's Garden. This week thyme. Thyme is a delightful herb often used in cooking. Thyme also boasts a slew of helpful medicinal qualities. Quality thyme makes everything better.  Thyme reminds us of our own quality TIME and what it means to us. What is the most important way to use our time? We can do all kinds of things. But, what about praying to God, praising God, worshipping God, studying the Holy Bible, and helping others less fortunate or in need???  For our study verses we have returned to the Gospel of Mark, chapter twelve, when there is a gathering of Pharisees and Herodians trying to catch Jesus saying something WRONG. Jesus has answered everything perfect...

Mark 12:28 "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?" We are living and playing in God's Garden. This week we want to study thyme. Thyme is a delightful herb with a pleasant, pungent, clover flavor. Often used in cooking. Thyme also boasts a slew of helpful medicinal qualities: lowering blood pressure, helping to alleviate cough, boosting immunity, possibly helping against certain types of cancer and more. Quality thyme makes everything better.  Thyme reminds us of our own quality TIME and what it means to us. We are going to study time this week. Yesterday we read the quintessential verses from Holy Scriptures about time; Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse one through eight. These verse express the ebb and flow of time better than anyone at anytime. "a TIME to every purpose under the heaven:" These are GREAT verses! But, we want to study...