McCormick Mustard Seed

Psalm 108:4 – (01/05/2018) 4  For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. The 108th Psalm is a great encouragement to me and in particular verse 4. Without God’s great love, I would be doomed. I am a sinner, I am a wretched man, the worst of sinners. A sinner saved by God’s love by His grace alone. I am empty and void without Jesus and without being filled by His Love through His Holy Spirit. Jesus is everything and I am nothing, except for what He makes of me in His love. A love that is higher than the heavens, an endless love, an eternal love, a relentless love. If God’s love could be measured than at some point it would run out and I would be under His wrath and His judgement again. God’s great love, shown to me in Jesus, is higher than the heavens. Is it endless, it is without measure…will it end at some point? I have to say no. God, who from all eternity organized this plan of love and this plan of salvation will never end

Mark 15:42-47 42  It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43  Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44  Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45  When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46  So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. In these 5 verses I see a four-fold witness to the death and burial of Jesus. First of all, there was Joseph of Arimathea who took down a dead body. He was a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the Kingdom of God. In one of the other gospels

James 1:9-11 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like the wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant, its blossom falls, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business In reading these verses again, I finally understand them a bit better than I ever have. There are trials in life and they often come when everything is either brilliant or when things are bad. These two times in my life are trials that can make me stop looking to Jesus. When everything is brilliant I may stop looking to Jesus, who provided everything for me. I may take Him for granted, take the glory for things that I do and I may begin thinking that I am the brilliant one. Or when everything is bad I may turn away from God, believe a lie about Him that He is not there and try and sort thing

Galations 1:4 Jesus gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. I am so thankful for Jesus! He gave Himself to rescue me. Jesus had to die to rescue me. He had to die in my place to rescue me. I don’t deserve it at all. Even though Jesus has rescued me I still sin, I still need to put to death my old life the old sinful desires. I need Jesus’ grace and power through His Holy Spirit every day.   No one else will ever rescue me the way He has. I watch movies and see heroes rescuing people. Jesus is my Hero, my savior and Lord. Jesus has rescued me from this present evil age and has rescued me for the age to come. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like that when I am in the middle of darkness, when worldly and material desires get in my way and I forget Him. I can get lured by distractions into dead ends and even things that can lead to death. This includes potential physical death and death of relationship with others. I

1 Timothy 6:1-2 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are your brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them. Work is hard. Working is compared to being under a yoke of slavery. Masters in those days, and employers today, may not always be wonderful people all the time and the demands of work that are put on employees may be burdensome. But regarding the relationships between employers and employees, they are to be respectful. Disrespect is not an option. An employee with a believing boss is not to show less respect for him or her because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service a

1 Corinthians 15:1  Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. Context 2-4 2  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. God does not mind reminding me of important things through His Word the Bible. It is what I do with the important things He tells me that matter. Do a I stop a bad habit because He tells me? Do I stop not doing somthing that I should be doing? Or I should really say it stronger than that: STOP SINNING because He tells me to! Do I put away the old life for the new life? Is the gospel alive in me and changing me each day? Do I battle and fight the good fight when it comes to th