“And when they had sent away the crowd, they took Him with them as He was in the boat. And there were also other little boats with Him.” (Mark 4:36) Jesus had finished speaking to the crowd and had shared the parable of the Sower and the parable of the mustard seed when He sent the crowd away. He had already told the disciples that they would go to the other side of the sea. (Mark 4:35) He had been teaching from the boat. It’s a fact that water is a good conductor of sound.

“Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him and watched him; I am like a green fir tree. Your fruit is found from Me.” (Hosea 14:8) There is so much history in this one verse. A quick review: First, Ephraim was Joseph’s younger son who was doubly blessed by Joseph’s father, Jacob. Ephraim becomes a big tribe. At the first census, the tribe had 40,500 men. (Numbers 1:32,33) The tribe of Ephraim settled in the northern part of Israel which even

“Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, I will; be clean!” (Mark 1:41) Jesus spoke beautiful words of love and compassion when He walked the earth, and which now speak to us. Whatever the need, He says, “I will.” Do you need healing? He says, “I will.” Right away one doubts and thinks of the brethren who were not healed here on earth. Jesus’ words do not change. He will. But we need to see the circumstances. As hurtful as it may see

“You shall lead me with Your counsel and afterward receive me to glory.” (Psalms 73:24) This psalm was written by Asaph. He was the lead musician during David’s reign. In this psalm, he laments the prosperity of the wicked. Then when he realizes their end, he repents of his murmuring. He affirms that the Lord is with him and has always had his back. Then he makes the statement above. Unlike the wicked, the Lord leads him with wisdom in all his affairs. He has the Lord’s c

“...oil for the light, spices for anointing oil and for sweet incense,” (Exodus 25:6) God directed Moses to gather certain things for the sanctuary. Oil and spices were a couple of them. The Lord was very specific. The oil was to be used for the light. The light would come from seven lamps on a lampstand which would not be extinguished at all. (Exodus 25:31-37) It’s no coincidence that in Revelation Jesus holds a candlestick on which are seven candles representing the seven

“As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.” (Song of Solomon 2:3) This Scripture is from Solomon’s epic poem about the love between a bride and her bridegroom. As pointed out in other lessons, Solomon’s poem has been accepted as canon, meaning that it was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit and so it has been included in the Bible because it figuratively te

“The soul who gives freely shall be made fat; and he who waters shall also be watered himself.” (Proverbs 11:25) Traditionally, it’s believed that David wrote this psalm. In the King James translation, the word used is liberal which means blessing. What is being said is the liberal soul, the blessing soul or soul of blessing. Remembering that the soul is the mind, will and emotions, we get the picture of a person who is emotionally driven to be a blessing and to give. He wi

“We have turned pale because we have heard reproach; shame has covered our faces, for foreigners have come into the holy places of Jehovah's house.” (Jeremiah 51:51) Many have written of this time besides Jeremiah. There is Isaiah, Daniel, writers of some psalms, Zephaniah, Micah, Nehemiah and Ezekiel to name a few. The Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, took them captives, sacked the treasures out of the temple and burned the temple down. Asaph lamented, “A Psalm of Asaph. O G

“The trees of Jehovah are full, the cedars of Lebanon which He has planted;” (Psalms 104:16) These are not actual trees that the Lord has planted. David used figurative language in describing God’s people. This verse is not about actual trees planted by the Lord. In God's Word in Genesis, the Lord commanded the earth to bring forth all kinds of plants from the seeds in the earth. “And God said, Let the earth bring forth tender sprouts (the herb seeding seed and the fruit tr

“Jehovah reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of islands be glad.” (Psalms 97:1) Asaph is known as the author of Psalms 97. He was one of the chief musicians when David was king and wrote twelve of the psalms, mostly for worship and lament. In this verse, he declares that Jehovah reigns. The Lord reigns overall, each one living or dead, authorities, nations, the entire world and the universe. He is over everything, knows about everything before it happens and

“Draw me, we will run after You. The King has brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in You, we will remember Your love more than wine; the upright love You.” (Song of Solomon 1:4) Remember that Solomon wrote this epic poem about the relationship between a bride and a bridegroom. It tells of that passionate love and devotion for each other at the time of their marriage. His poem is included in Canon Law because whether known or unbeknownst to Solomon, he wr

“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Revelation 21:23) This is going to be something to behold. There will be no sun, no moon and no stars to provide light. The light will come from Jesus. It’s strange how we can just read over Scripture without understanding nor explore what God is saying to us. Isaiah prophesied, “Then the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be

“Nevertheless, I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand.” (Psalms 73:23) Asaph who was one of David’s chief musicians wrote this psalm. He had a problem understanding how the wicked could prosper. He thought of all the things he’d done for righteousness sakes and thought it was in vain. He hadn’t gained anything. Then he realized that their end is destruction. He repented when he realized that they are headed for destruction and it’s the greatness of

“On the day of your standing on the other side , on the day that the strangers were capturing his force, and foreigners entered his gates...

“...and you said, Behold! Jehovah our God has revealed His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen today that God talks with man, yet he still lives.” (Deuteronomy 5:24) Moses tells the Israelites how the heads of the tribes and elders came to him and spoke to him about hearing God’s voice. It was a fearful thing to hear the voice of God coming out of the midst of the fire on the mountain. “And it happened on the third

“All those who were numbered in the camp of Dan were a hundred fifty-seven thousand, six hundred. They shall go last with their banners.” (Numbers 2:31) God is a God of order. Every tiny detail does not escape His direction. The manner in which the tribes were to travel in the exodus from Egypt was ordered for His purposes. We learn that the tribe of Dan brought up the rear. Their role was to protect the Israelites from attack from the rear and protect those lagging behind

“And they gathered it every morning, each man according to his eating. And when the sun became hot, it melted.” (Exodus 16:21) This was the manna, the bread from heaven that fed and sustained the Israelites until they reached the Promised Land. Remember that all the events in the Old Testament are shadows or have implications and meaning of the New Covenant in the New Testament. In the New Covenant, we have Jesus, the Bread of Life. “And Jesus said to them, I am the bread

“Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits;” (Psalms 103:2) David knew how easy in our lives it is to forget all that God has done for us, especially in times of hardships. We forget how much He loves us. Doubts creep in and we forget how the Lord has brought us through past tribulations. We forget how faithful He has been. All we can focus on is the problem instead of the problem solver. We forget Who God is. We forget His promises. And we forget who we are

“...among whom you also are the called-out ones of Jesus Christ: to all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:6-7) Paul was writing to the Roman Jewish and Gentile believers who had this internal strife between them. The big deal with the Jewish Christians was that they wanted to keep the Torah especially the ritual of circumcision. And the Gentiles were denied equal privi

“Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth.” (John 17:17) Jesus prayed to the Father for Him to sanctify His disciples who believed on Him then and those who would believe, which includes us. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” (John 17:9) Not only do we belong to Jesus, but to the Father. When Jesus prayed sanctify them, the Greek word means to make holy or consecrate, set them apart for the L