Hello All!
I hope and pray you are off to a fantastic week to your Monday. Everyday is a blessing. Each day is new opportunity to give glory to God and to Excel Still More in our faith.
I want to share some resources for you to help you to continue to grow in your faith and love for the Lord.
Below you will find my latest sermon called, “Conversion to Christ.” What does it mean to be converted? How is one converted to Christ?
My latest I CAN Do Podcast is on the topic of Miracles and Providence. I was greatly encouraged with this study and reminded about the power of God. Please let me know if you have any questions.
If you have any recommendations for the Podcast or if you would like to be a guest on the Podcast, please let me know.
If you are willing, please leave me a rating on my Podcast and subscribe! I would greatly appreciate it.
Below you will find an article I wrote about Jesus and how He cares. I hope you will be encouraged by it.
In our Bible reading we are in the gospel of Mark. Something that stands out to me is the great care Jesus had for people. I mentioned this in my Lord’s Supper Talk last week. Consider some examples from what we’ve already read in Mark.
- (Mark 1:29-31): “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. So he went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.”
- (Mark 1:39-41): He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. Then a man with leprosy came to him and on his knees, begged him: ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he told him. Be made clean.
- (Mark 2:16-17): Jesus cared for the outcasts in that He would eat with them.
Jesus cares for His creation! And yet, sometimes we can question just how much He cares. In (Mark 4:35-41) as Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee, a great storm arose. Jesus was asleep during the storm. The apostles woke Jesus and asked Him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” They had plenty of evidence from Jesus of how much He cared for people. But when trouble arises, we can begin to doubt that Jesus cares. This story reminds us of the great care of our Savior. He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still.” Then He asked His disciples a question: “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” There was an expectation Jesus had for His apostles. They were to have faith in Him. The same is true for us. Jesus cares for us! He demonstrated His great care by dying on the cross.
He cares. He also carries! I am reading a book where the author emphasizes this idea of how God cares and carries.
Notice in the examples provided the action Jesus took. His care and concern were seen. In our Bible reading for this week, we will read of the 5,000 in (Mark 6:30-44). This miracle is mentioned in all four gospels. Jesus saw the large crowd and had compassion on them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. They had come to hear and see Him. They were no doubt hungry. Jesus provided for them! In the Old Testament we see how God cared and carried His people. “And you saw in the wilderness how the LORD your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.” God provided every need for His people! He cared and carried them. He provided manna for the Israelites for four decades. Every day they would be reminded how much they were cared for by God.
The Father and the Son do the same thing for us! We are the people of God. We’ve seen the great care of the Father and Son by Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross. Jesus paid the debt that we could never pay. The cross is a reminder of how much God cares!
What’s interesting in (Mark 4) is how the apostles doubted in the care of Jesus. The same happened with the Israelites. In (Deuteronomy 1:32) it says, “But in spite of this you did not trust the LORD your God, who went before you on the journey to seek out a place for you to camp…”
What about us? Do we know how much God cares? Do we know how God has carried us through trials and suffering? Do we forget how He has gone before us and blessed us with our daily needs?
Let us walk with faith in 2023. Let us rejoice in the great care of our God! And let us remember He will carry us through this year!
Have a great week and remember that Jesus loves you very much!
Benjamin Lee
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