Mark 15 - 5.4.26

SCRIPTURE: Mark 15:6-15

“Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

“Crucify him!” they shouted.

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”

OBSERVATION

In this passage much symbolism and fulfillment of Scripture was taken place during the trial of Jesus. He was standing before the chief priests, the elders, the teachers of the law, the whole Sanhedrin and Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, being interrogated. Jesus was found blameless because He lived the perfect life, and was the blameless Lamb of God, but the religious leaders wanted to end His life which would place the sins of the world onto His shoulders. Barabbas, who was an insurrectionist, was released due to the traditions, and pardoned for his crime. There are a couple of parallels between Jesus and Barabbas. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and the Jewish meaning of Barabbas is son of the father. Secondly, in Leviticus 16:6-10 for the Day of Atonement, Aaron was instructed to present two goats before the Lord. One goat was to the slaughtered for an offering, and the other goat was to be released into the wilderness. Both individuals labeled  “Sons of the Father” were presented. Lastly, Jesus represented the lamb that was pure, spotless, and blameless to be offered as a sacrifice for the atonement of everyone. 

APPLICATION

We see the sacrifice that Christ has made for us. He was innocent and lived the life that none of us could live, but through His sacrifice, we now have the power to live holy and sacrificial lives. 1 Peter 15-16 states, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church to “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). 

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I thank you for sacrificing and offering Yourself that we may live. What You’ve done for us showed Your unconditional love that You had from the beginning. Lord Jesus, we thank You for revealing Yourself all throughout Scripture and fulfilling the promises of redemption. Lord, I pray that I will live a life that is pleasing to You since have laid down Your life, resurrected from the dead, and gave the same promise that we will be resurrected also.  

- Darrence Hamilton

Genesis 7 - 5.1.26

Scripture: ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭7‬:‭5‬-10

“And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.”

Observations 

The Lord asked Noah to do an outrageous thing, build a huge ship on dry land.  The task due to the size and that it had three decks must have taken a long time. It also could not be hidden. Noah must have been ridiculed and even harassed.  Still it says Noah did ALL the Lord commanded. Then, they were on the ark a week before it started to rain. This had not stood out to me before.  I can’t imagine that. God told him to go and the rain would come seven days later.  But oh the ridicule from neighbors.  Although, their jaws must have dropped as the animals entered too. 

Application

I want to be like Noah and do all the Lord commands me. No wonder Noah stood out in the generation that was evil enough for God to regret making man. Noah’s obedience saved his family.

How many times do we shy away from doing things that seem like they would turn our family off?  Or keep something God is doing a secret? Noah had no choice. His family would need to go on the ark to be saved.  God gave Noah a plan, down to the type of wood and how many of each animal. He will do the same for us if we listen to him. 

 Prayer

Father God thank you that you are looking throughout the earth for those who will obey and serve you. I marvel that you chose me. Thank you for your love for me. Please help me to obey you and have faith like Noah. When tasks look impossible, help me remember how you provided for him.  I want to do all you say so those who don’t know you will find your salvation. Noah saved their lives from destruction. People I know are on the wrong path. Help me be a light and do the hard things you ask.  Thank you for the wisdom you offer, the strength you give in my weakness and hope. 

Amen

- Cindy Howard

Genesis 6 - 04.30.26

SCRIPTURE

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV

OBSERVATION

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5 NIV)

Scripture emphasizes it with almost unbearable clarity—every inclination of even the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

But—Noah stood out to God…Noah found favor with God.

Noah was a righteous man” (Genesis 6:9)—

not because he was flawless,

but because he believed God.

Noah’s righteousness Came by his Faith in God. Hebrews shares

in the great “wall of Faith” from chapter 11 about Noah:

“It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood.

He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.”

‭‭(Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

APPLICATION

Righteousness Comes BY Faith

Trust and Believe in God

Paul said it best in his letter to the Philippian Church.

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law;

rather,

I become righteous through faith in Christ.

For God’s way of making us right with himself—depends on faith.

‭‭(Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭9NLT‬‬)

I recently watched the life of Phil Robertson on Pure Flix called The Blind. Larry started watching their reality show (Duck Dynasty) when we were taking turns in Palm Springs caring for his mom on Hospice. He was so taken back by this strange family living in the woods that had godly values and ended each show at the dinner table saying Grace.

The movie had one part that I will never forget because it’s true for every believer yet we don’t ever actually word it this way. When Phil finally surrenders his life to Jesus and goes into the baptism waters the Pastor asks him this question, “Are you ready to die?”

In essence this is what happens when we give our lives to Jesus.

Are we ready to die—So we can Live?

Our Old lives cease and our NEW Lives Begin. The Old has died—The New Begins.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a NEW person. The OLD life is gone; a NEW life has begun!”

‭‭(2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ NLT)

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:4 NIV)

PRAYER

Lord Jesus,

Thank YOU LORD Jesus that YOU Changed EVERYTHING.

No matter how desperate the world may seem, no matter how challenging our circumstances may at times feel—Your gracious Gift of Salvation has made me alive IN Christ. The old is gone. The New Life has begun.

I Trust Jesus…I have died to my own ways of thinking and doing.

Everything else…is worthless.

Thank YOU that I can walk with YOU daily and have the assurance of Knowing YOU are WITH me Now and with me forever.

Teach me how to BE with YOU.

Teach me how To Follow YOU.

Teach me how to Live For YOU…that I may be pleasing and my life may be sweet worship to YOU.

Everything I have is Yours.

Empty me, FILL me, Use me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Tina L Kudelka