The day with dianne Louise

As He was going out of the temple complex, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, look!" What massive stones! What impressive buildings!" Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!" Mark 13:1,2 Mankind is so focused on building buildings and creating structures yet all will crumble and fall and only those that are built on love and grace will endure. The true gospel, the one that builds up and liberates the lost, giving them a hope and future, this is the one that will endure. If we build out of the flesh, it will fall. If we endeavor to hold up the structure with the flesh, it will fall. When my marriage first fell apart The Lord told me that my life had all been wrong and He was going to strip hte tree and start again. He has stripped the tree of all that was a wrong foundation and begun to build my life, healing me piece by piece. His love is creating my life and making ...

Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning Hia disciples, He said to them, "I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave our of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed-all she had to live on. Mark 12:41-44 Jesus appreciated the widow's gift. We look on our gifts and think that unless they are large they are worthless but our God sees the sacrifice and intent of the heart. There are times when it hurts to give and these are the moments of faith. My God will supply all my needs. I trust in You Lord. He treasures these times, these gifts. They are like the childish drawings of our children that we receive on our birthday. We treasure these, they mean more to us than the times they give out of their a...

He also said in His teaching, " Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes, and who want greetings in the marketplaces, and the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honour at banquets. They devour widows houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher punishment. Mark 12:38-40 We have religions today when men go aroun in long robes and are given honour as above. It is not the wearing of long robes or the receiving of honour that Jesus was talking about but rather the heart attitude and lack of knowledge of truth. Every year churches have fund raisers and recently  I heard a testimony of a young man who thought it was godly to take money from his mortgage to give. The fact that he was cheered shows me that others agreed.  If I use debt to give then there is a problem. Why not give the small amount I do have? Why cause financial stress in the effort to appear godly? It is good to want to give but it is wise to seek God for how an...

So Jesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex, "how can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David? David himself says by the Holy Spirit: 'The Lord declared to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.' David himself calls Him Lord'; how then can the Messiah be his son?" And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight. Mark 12:35-37 The scribes believed the Messiah would be a descendant of David, howeverJesus points out that He is more than that. David also calls Him Lord. The scribes fun it hard to call the Messiah Lord. Jesus makes a point of showing the scribes their error in belief. By taking only half they miss the greater half, Lord. Lord over all. As Christians we run a similar risk. We can accept Jesus as Saviour but fail to make Him Lord. He is more than Saviour, He is Lord over all. By allowing Him to be Lord we allow Him to fully liberate us. Liberty is a wonderful experience. Amen! T...

One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, "Which command is the most important of all?" "This is the most important," Jesus answered: 'Listen Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One.  Love The Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other command greater than these." Then the scribe said to Him, " You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to question Him an...

Some Saducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and questioned Him: "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no chid, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers. The first took the wife, and dying left no offspring. The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?" Jesus told them, " Are you not deceived because you don't know the Scriptures or the power of God?" For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the Angels in heaven. Now concerning the dead being raised- haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the buring bush, how God spoke to him: "I am the God of Abraham and t...

Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him to trap Him by what He said. When they came, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don't show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, or should we not pay? But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, "Why are you testing Me? Bring Me. Denarius to look at." So they brought one. "Whose image and inscription is this?" He asked them. "Caesar's," they replied. Then Jesus told them, "Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him. Mark 12:13-17 The Pharisees are showing their lack of understanding for truth. They say they know that Jesus is truthful yet they lie in their deceit.  A liar is so caught up in deceit that he cannot discern truth and assumes those they attempt to deceive will acce...