Today, I'm reading about "Hardening of a Heart"...

Spiritual hardening begins with self-sufficiency, security in one's self, and self-satisfaction. The real danger is that at some point, repeated resistance to God will yield an actual inability to respond, which the Bible describes as a hardened heart. Insensitivity indicates advanced hardening.


"To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge, But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them." Matthew 13:12


~ Refusing to listen causes hardening of heart. When people reject Jesus, their hardness of heart drives away any understanding they may have.

He is Risen!!

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, "Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died."

The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.


[Shorter ending of Mark]

Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen.


[Longer ending of Mark]

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn't believe her.

Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: they will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed."

When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs. Mark 16: 5-20

I want to remind you...

of God's protection in the midst of danger. He doesn't promise us a world free from dangers, but He does promise His help whenever we face danger. I know someone needs to be reminded of this today ...


Those who live in the secret place of the Most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.

If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you; (not ever affect you)
no plague will come near your home.
For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.
The will hold you up with their hands
so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.
You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation." Psalm 91


Look again at that last verse... "I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation." Hallelujah! He sent us Christ, our Savior! Your faith, in God as your protector, will carry you through the ups and downs of life. But here's the condition... "Those who live in the secret place of the Most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty." In other words, we will be kept safe only when we give our daily devotion to Him! Even as many bad things happen all around us, we can take comfort God watches over us in times of great fear and overwhelming stress.

If This Isn't Comfort...

then I don't know what comfort is!


"If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not leave you as orphans--I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you will also live.

When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them." John 14: 15-21


How awesome! What a miracle! We are NEVER ALONE. When Jesus said, "I will come to you," He meant it. What a gift!

When you turn to Christ...

you begin to see Him differently! The blind man Jesus had just healed was being questioned by the Pharisees...


Then they cursed him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don't even know where this man comes from."

"Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from? We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it."

"You were born a total sinner!" they answered. "Are you trying to teach us?" And they threw him out of the synagogue.

This man's new faith was severely tested by some of the authorities. He was cursed and evicted from the synagogue. Persecution may come when you follow Jesus. You may lose friends; you may even lose your life. But no one can ever take away the eternal life Jesus gives you.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man answered, "Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him." "You have seen him," Jesus said, "and he is speaking to you!" "Yes, Lord, I believe!" the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

Then Jesus told him, "I entered this world to render judgment--to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind." Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, "Are you saying we're blind?"

"If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty,was" Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see." John 9: 28-41

This man gained not only physical sight but also spiritual sight.

The Pharisees were shocked that Jesus thought they were spiritually blind. Jesus countered by saying that it was only blindness (stubbornness and stupidity) that could excuse their behavior. To those who remained open and recognized how sin had truly blinded them from knowing the truth, he gave spiritual understanding and insight. But he rejected those who had become complacent, self-satisfied, and blind.

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Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

I realize I haven't posted here in over two months. God has opened the door very wide for a new ministry, "Christians with Disabilities." Much time and effort has gone into the startup of that. However, today something struck me when I was reading the gospel of John. Let's look at when Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand...


"Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied, Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!"

Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes (The men alone numbered 5,000). Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers so that none is wasted." So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves." John6: 5-13


The disciples Are contrasted with the young boy who gave what he had. They certainly had more resources than the boy, but they knew they didn't have enough, so they didn't give anything at all. The boy gave what little he had, and it made all the difference. If we offer nothing to God, He will have nothing to use. But He can take what we have and turn it into something great!


There's a H-U-G-E lesson in these leftovers. God always give in abundance! He takes whatever we can offer in time, ability, or resources... And multiplies its effectiveness beyond our wildest expectations!! If we take the first step in making yourself available to God, He will show you how greatly you can be used to advance the Kingdom of God!!!

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I was just sitting here minding my own business...

when I heard the Spirit of God tell my spirit that I need to publish these words...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend [or overcome] it." John 1: 1-5



Wrap your heads around this! John affirms three vital truths about the Word [Christ]: He existed in the beginning; He was with God; and in His divine nature He was indeed God.

"Life" and "light" are favorite terms used frequently by John throughout this book. Here he shows that Christ came to give us life and open our eyes to the light of salvation, which conquers the darkness of this world.

Here are lyrics from the song, "Lord I Lift Your Name On High"...

Lord, I lift your name on high
Lord, I love to sing Your praises

I'm so glad You're in my life. I'm so glad You came to save us

You came from Heaven to earth to show the way
From the earth to the cross - my debt to pay
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky
Lord, I lift Your Name on high

I'm sitting here thinking of Job...

The book of Job reveals how God speaks to us, and gives us some reasons for suffering. Let me share them...God speaks again and again though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. He makes them turn from doing wrong;he keeps them from pride. He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.

Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones. They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food. Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out. They are at death's door; the angels of death wait for them." Job 33: 14-19, 22

"Yes, God does these things again and again for people. He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life." 33: 29-30


So God speaks (1) through dreams...and (2) through pain. I heard a great teaching by John Piper on the book of Job. If you want to hear it, the link is Desiring God