Blog Archives - Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church

November 2, 2017

10/30/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Luke 18:15-43 - This section of this chapter gives Luke's inspired recollections of Jesus blessing the little children; the account of Jesus being approached by the rich young ruler; the rewards offered to Jesus' followers for their sacrifice in service; His foretelling of His death and resurrection; and, the healing of blind Bartimaeus. Note verse 24 regarding how the rich find it very difficult to enter the kingdom of God since they obviously have already made riches their god.

Luke 19 - This is the only Gospel to present the encounter Jesus had with Zacchaeus. This tax collector was short and had to climb a tree to see Jesus. The Lord immediately called out to him by name and said He must come to his house that evening! Zacchaeus was dumbfounded but welcomed Jesus in and showed the signs of salvation in his repentance. When people criticized Jesus for meeting with such a man Jesus made it clear that He had "...come to seek and to save that which was lost" verse 11. This chapter also speaks of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the children praising Him as "...the King who comes in the name of the Lord" verse 38.

November 1, 2017

10/30/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Matthew 20 - Jesus gives His parable of the laborers and the promise of the landowner to pay them a day's wage. What is highlighted is that the landowner paid a day's wage to all his laborers no matter how much time they spent in the fields. God has a right to give what He wants to give. The laborers for God should be more appreciative that they were able to serve the Lord than how much they received for their labors. Matthew speaks of two blind men that were healed seemingly contrary to what Mark and Luke said about only one blind man healed. The answer to this is that Mark and Luke highlighted just one of the two while Matthew mentioned both.

Matthew 21 - Matthew speaks of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as a clear fulfillment of the prophecy found in Zachariah 9:9. Jesus also drives the traders out of the Temple emphasizing that the Temple was Jesus' Father's house, not only showing that Jesus was the Son of God, but also showing that the Temple was the only building built by men that could rightfully be called, "God's House"!

October 31, 2017

10/28/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Matthew 19 - Jesus answers questions regarding divorce. He made clear that God only allowed divorce because of ...the hardness of your hearts...but from the beginning is was not so" verse 8. Jesus once again spoke of the intimacy He had for little children, verses 13-15. Note that "...He laid His hands on them..." A rich young ruler came to Jesus and called Him, "Good Teacher." In Jesus rebuke of His being called "Good" He basically was saying, "If you cannot call me God, then don't call me Good." Jesus also reminded His disciples that whatever they gave up on earth in order to follow Him would be richly rewarded in Heaven.

Mark 10 - Jesus spoke of the sacredness of marriage in the sight of God as He answered questions regarding divorce. When He dealt with the little children He became very angry with His disciples when they tried to turn the kids away, verses 13,14. When Jesus encountered the "rich young ruler" please note what verse 21 says, "Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him..." When Jesus spoke of His second coming two of His disciples, James and John, asked for a very special place in the Kingdom beside Jesus. Jesus rebuked them and reminded all of His disciples that even He did not come into this world to be served, verse 45. The chapter closes with the healing of blind Bartimaeus, a man who persistently called out to "Jesus of Nazareth" to have mercy on him, verses 47,48. Jesus rewarded his faith by giving him back his sight, verses 51, 52.

October 30, 2017

10/28/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Luke 17:11-37 - The healing of the ten lepers always gives us a reminder of the importance of gratitude and appreciation for our own salvation. It is not uncommon to hear the exhortation to be thankful for your soul being saved every day. Jesus spoke about His second coming and one of the things to note is verses 26 and 28 where He speaks of things being "...as it was in the days of Noah..." and "...as it was in the days of Lot..." By saying this Jesus was stating that things were running along as normal and then judgment fell. That is what a lot of the world will be doing just prior to the Day of Judgment. Many people will be going through their normal activities without thinking that the end is so near!

Luke 18:1-14 - Jesus spoke again on the subject of prayer. He starts off by encouraging His disciples to be persistent in presenting their prayer requests to God. "...men ought always to pray and not lose heart" verse 1. He also spoke against hypocrisy in prayer as He gave the illustration of the Pharisee and the tax collector coming before the Lord in prayer. The one was so full of himself it is nauseating to listen to him! The other, the tax collector, was so humble that it is refreshing to hear his cry for mercy!

October 29, 2017

10/26/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

John 11 - This chapter primarily deals with the raising of Lazarus from the dead and the aftermath of that event. When Jesus was told that Lazarus was sick He waited four days before heading to Bethany. He wanted Lazarus to face death and the grave in order to show His great power over both death and the grave. This would bring greater glory to Him, verse 4. When Jesus came to Martha and Mary He would be told that Lazarus had died and was already buried. This gave Jesus the opportunity to reveal that He was "...the resurrection and the life..." verses 25,26. He would "weep" verse 35, as He went to the grave. But, Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead by simply calling for him to come, verse 43,44. The Pharisees sought to kill Jesus. Caiaphas, the high priest, used that occasion to predict that someone would have to die for all the people, but he didn't really know how true that would be, verses 51,52.

October 28, 2017

10/26/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Luke 16 - Jesus spoke about the unjust steward in verses 1-9. He then spoke to His disciples about being faithful with whatever they had, verse10. At the end of this chapter from verses 19-31 Jesus spoke about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Both of these men died. The rich man went to a place of torment while Lazarus rested in the "bosom of Abraham" verse 22, most likely "Paradise." The rich man wanted Lazarus to go back and warn his brothers but Abraham wouldn't let him. Abraham said that his brothers could hear of salvation through God's Word. And he then stated that if they didn't listen to God's Word, then even one "rising from the dead" wouldn't be able to convince them to be saved.

Luke 17:1-10 - Jesus warned against the offending of His "little ones" verse 2. He also spoke about the disciples service to God, that they should not serve to get special recognition, but they should serve out of a sense of duty and responsibility to Him.

October 27, 2017

10/24/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Luke 14 - It's interesting that Jesus spoke of a feast when someone was invited and they came expecting to take the "seat of honor, verse 8, but was humiliated when the host told them to give up that seat to someone more honorable. Then Jesus spoke of His great feast in His kingdom where everyone invited was to be honored but there were many who refused to come! What a contrast between the two feasts and those who were invited. Humility is always important when approaching God, but He also wants us to know it truly is an honor to be invited to His home!

Luke 15 - This is the chapter of "The Lost has been Found!" A shepherd loses a sheep and does everything to find it and rejoices for the rescue! A woman loses a coin and searches diligently until she finds it and rejoices with her neighbors for her blessing! A son gets lost because of his own waywardness but realizes he can go back home to his father. His father rejoices for the salvation of his son. All three instances speaks of God's desire that those who are lost would be found and come back to Him!

October 26, 2017

10/24/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Luke 12 - This chapter is full of great teaching! Just a couple of highlights: First, look at verses 11 and 12 and be reminded that when you're faced with taking a stand for Christ, the Holy Spirit will be working in you giving you what you need to say. This is why memorization is so important. The Holy Spirit will draw from the Biblical treasure you have stored away in your heart to use in your witness. Second, note the parable of the rich fool in verses 16-21 and make sure your true riches are in heaven. Someone once said, "Your real treasures are what money can't buy and what death cannot take away."

Luke 13 - Jesus speaks about the need for changing one's mind about Christ and about sin in verses 1-5. That's the basic meaning of "repentance." You can't turn to the Lord until you see that you're a sinner without the ability to be saved, and you also need to see that Christ is ultimately the only One who can provide salvation. Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath day, verses 10-11. When the Jewish leaders rebuked Him for doing so on that day, He strongly rebuked them for their cold-hearted hypocrisy! This literally put these leaders to shame, verse 17. At the end of this chapter you'll read again the words of Jesus about the Jews' rejection of Him. He said, "...I wanted to...but you were not willing!" How often is God ready to do something for people but they are not willing or ready to receive His blessings!

October 25, 2017

10/22/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Luke 10 - What is interesting at the beginning of this chapter is to understand how many more disciples were following Jesus besides the original twelve. Note verse 1 that Jesus "appointed seventy others also" to carry the Gospel to the lost. When cities showed indifference to Jesus and rejected His message He showed His righteous displeasure by making them aware that their rejection would result in their judgment. Jesus gives the great event of the "Good Samaritan" in verses 21-37 to show how even strangers are to be treated as neighbors by His disciples. Jesus then highlighted Mary's sitting at the feet of Jesus was more important than Martha's serving.

Luke 11* - Jesus speaks highly of importunate praying as He gave the illustration of reaching out to your neighbor in the middle of the night and ask for help. You can also use this same illustration as a great way to pray for the unsaved. They come to you for help and you know you can't save them. So you come to the Lord in intercessory prayer and ask Him to give your unsaved friend the salvation they need. At the close of this chapter Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and warns His disciples not to follow their example.

John 10:22-42 - In this passage Jesus makes very clear that He is God. Note the reaction of the Jews in verses 31 and verse 33 when Jesus had spoken of God as "His Father" in verse 30. The Jews understood very clearly that Jesus was claiming His deity.

*Remember, that back on the 13th of this month I had already given a commentary for chapter 11. I'm repeating it here simply because the order of reading chronologically through the Bible that I have been following has you reading Luke 11 twice. I had said that I would use the same commentary at this point. Sorry for any confusion!

October 24, 2017

10/22/2017

Insights on Today's Reading

John 9 - This entire chapter deals with Jesus healing the man born blind. You may find it incredulous that the disciples asked Jesus if this man's blindness was due to his own sin, or that of his parents! But perhaps they were thinking that God knew what this man would have done later in life, that he was inflicted with blindness to keep him from some major sin. Jesus made clear that this affliction did not come because of anyone's sinfulness. It happened "that the works of God should be revealed..." verse 3. Even though this man would suffer blindness for years God had a reason for allowing it for so long. This can help all of us to be patient when an affliction goes on and on and we wonder why. Jesus did heal this man, verses 6,7. The Jewish leaders would be dumbfounded as to how this happened since they wouldn't believe in Jesus' miraculous powers. Eventually this man was "cast out of the synagogue" verse 34. But Jesus would save him, verses 35-38.

John 10:1-21 - Jesus declares Himself to be "the door of the sheep" in verse 7, and "the Good Shepherd in verses 11 and 14. He used the illustration of Shepherd and sheep to show His relationship with those who would believe in Him. There are wonderful truths to be found in these verses but one in particular is Jesus' statement that He would "lay down" His life on His own, verse 18. You can't help but think of Psalm 23 when you read this passage in John.