SCRIPTURE:
^“Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:31-34, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself what words or phrases are repeated!

Mother (5)
Brothers (5)
Jesus (7)
my (5)

Interpretation:
I asked myself what is significant about Jesus' family's actions?
I found it very interesting that Jesus’ mother and brothers do not call Jesus on their own when they arrived. Instead, they sent someone in to call Jesus.

Imagine you are preaching a sermon when your family arrives. Instead of them coming in to call you, they send someone else to call you to them.

How would that make you feel?
They already arrived and were standing outside of where Jesus was. They could have gone in and talked to Jesus but they did not. It is possible that it was so crowded it would have been easier to send someone else!

Jesus was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

Observations:
I asked myself what was the response of Jesus?

Jesus’ response was three-fold:

"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
“Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!”
“Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Interpretation:
I asked myself what is the significance of Jesus mentioning only mother, brother, and sister?
Jesus was willing to acknowledge anyone doing the will of God as His brother, sister, and mother but not as father. Jesus knew who His Father was and no one was going to become His Father except Father God. To say someone can be his brother, sister, and mother was ok but not to call anyone Father except Father God.

I asked myself what was Jesus trying to teach the crowd?
What came to my mind is there is more to life than an earthly family. Jesus went as far as to say that anyone who does ‘God’s will’ can be His mother, brother, and sister. That is so cool. I believe Jesus was making a profound statement about the Kingdom of God. Jesus wanted His own family to know the importance of the will of God and His purpose of starting a new family, the church-body of believers.

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. It starts with having a desire to do the will of God. This is the most important thing and Jesus emphasized it to the crowds and for His own earthly family.

I ask you now dear friend, what are you doing with God’s will?
Dear friend, in this world we live in we can be pulled in all directions. We can even be pulled into the direction our family wants us to go but our family’s desires for us may not be in line with what God’s will is for our life. Jesus wants us to focus on God’s will and makes a promise that we will be his mother, brother, and sister.

It will not be easy to do God’s will when our own mind is leaning on to our own understanding. That is what Jesus’ family was doing. When Jesus did not have time to eat, they went to take charge of Him thinking they knew best. However, they did not! When it comes to our life, we need to seek the Lord more than anything even over our families.

HOWEVER, this does not mean we dishonor our families or ignore them. On the contrary, we have to honor them for this is the will of God but at the same time we need to be obedient to God over man. This means if what our family wants for us is contradictory to what God wants for us, we need to take God’s side. This is not always easy but the Lord will help us get through.

Having the desire to do God’s will is the first step in doing God’s will. We need to depend on Father God to help us do His will. God’s universal will is that you accept what He did for you because He sent His only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have Everlasting Life.

God wants you to accept Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for you and accept that He was raised again on the third day to give you Salvation when you turn to Him. To turn to Him and receive the free gift of grace, you need to turn your life over to Him.

Won’t you do that my friend?
You can do that right now! You do not have to wait! You can go now, you can go! You can walk in faith. May you have the desire to do God’s will in your life as you allow Jesus to work in you and through you! Amen!

"God’s Own Deliverance’ SAVES! Wonderfully Immanuel Leaves Lesson!" (G.O.D.’S W.I.L.L)/”What are you doing with God’s will?"

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you so much for teaching me the importance of doing God’s will. We are so sorry for our sin and repent of our sin. Thank you Lord for loving us so much and dying for our sin! We accept your cleansing blood on the cross shed to save us. We accept the free gift of grace you give us! Thank you that your desire has been to do God’s will and you want us to do the same. Help us please Jesus, for on our own we mess up but with your help we can scale any mountain and do what you want us to do. Forgive us when we are rebellious and go our own way. Help us to always seek you Lord and please bring harmony in our families. Help us to live for you and serve you. Help us to love and honor our families whatever your will is for us. Families that do not understand, help them see your love in their own lives and come to understand why other family members choose to do your will. Thank you so much Jesus. We acknowledge you as our Lord and Personal Savior. Please come into our heart and make our heart your home. Please save us Jesus. Live in us Jesus and please help us and guide us. Thank you Lord even when we mess up and have gone our own way, you in your love rescue us as we seek you. Thank you Jesus for hearing us and answering us! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

You can invite the GREAT PHYSICIAN right now as you make this your prayer.

Dear Jesus, thank you for healing the paralytic after forgiving his sins. You set him free to go home. I want to be free. I don’t know everything about you. I still have a lot of questions. What I do know is that you died on the cross for my sins. When it comes to sin, I am a paralytic Oh Lord. I am infected with this deadly disease known as sin. I am not perfect but a sinner who needs your cleansing blood to clean me of my sin everyday. I confess to you my sin and repent of my sin. I know you have forgiven me when you died on the cross. I want to accept that forgiveness. Thank you for shedding your cleansing precious blood for me. You were nailed to the cross because of me. It is like I actually held the hammer and pounded the nails so I could be free. Thank you for willingly dying for me Jesus. Thank you for taking the shame and pain for me. Thank you for doing that to set me free. I come to the cross and ask you for your healing in my life. Thank you for the power of your Blood to redeem humanity. Thank you for coming back to life to save us and give us Eternal Life as we yield to you. Your blood can heal us where we are. I love you Jesus. Even with my questions, I come to you now and accept you into my heart. Please Jesus come into my heart and make my heart your home. Give me a transfusion of change. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus. I acknowledge you now as my Lord and Personal Savior. Please be the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior Jesus and because of what you have done for me when God looks at me, He now sees me covered in your blood and His judgment passes over me. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me. Thank you for being with me Lord. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus I now belong to you and never need to be alone! You will always be with me and have given me Salvation. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.

As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus too this blessed New Year of 2008! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and forever! Amen!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-720-4579.

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

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.Click picture to read my dad's memoriam:

' I AM ' Series Archives:

What kind of L.I.G.H.T do you follow? (Dec 13, 07, 10:09 a.m.)

"What kind of B.R.E.A.D do you eat?" (Dec 08, 07, 10:10 a.m.)

"Who is your S.H.E.P.H.E.R.D?" (June 30, 06)

Gospel of Mark Archives:

Mark 1:1: "What does the G.O.S.P.E.L mean to you?" (Jan 15, 08, 1:15 p.m.)

Mark 1:1-4: "How seriously do you T.E.S.T.I.F.Y about prophesy?" (Jan 12, 08, 11:18 p.m.)

Mark 1:5-8: "Who do you P.O.I.N.T to?" (Jan 16, 08, 8:48 a.m.)

Mark 1:9: How will you take a S.T.A.N.D? (Jan 17, 08, 11:21 a.m.)

Mark 1:9-11: "How is your loving P.R.A.I.S.E?" (Jan 18, 08, 8:53 a.m.)

Mark 1:12-13: "How do you handle T.E.M.P.T.A.T.I.O.N?" (Jan 19, 08, 12:27 p.m.)

Mark 1:14-15: How do you handle T.I.M.E given to you? (Jan 21, 08, 1:31 p.m.)

Mark 1:16-18: "What kind of P.R.O.F.E.S.S.I.O.N are you in?" (Jan 26, 08, 10:22 a.m.)

Mark 1:19-20: "Without having to P.R.O.C.R.A.S.T.I.N.A.T.E, what should you do?" (Jan 29, 08, 10:44 a.m.)

Mark 1:20-22: "How do you rate in the B.U.S.I.N.E.S.S of Jesus?" (Jan 30, 08, 11:29 a.m.)

Mark 1:20-22: "Whose T.E.A.C.H.I.N.G.S do you follow?" (Jan 31, 08, 11:52 a.m.)

Mark 1:23-28: "What C.A.P.T.I.V.I.T.Y are you facing today?" (Feb 01, 08, 10:35 a.m.)

Mark 4:3-20: "What if Jesus talked F.O.O.T.B.A.L.L?" (Feb 02, 08, 10:35 a.m.)

Mark 1:29-31: "Where do you need H.E.A.L.I.N.G?" (Feb 05, 08, 11:44 a.m.)

Mark 1:32-34: "Where do you need an A.N.S.W.E.R?" (Feb 06, 08, 11:16 a.m.)

Mark 1:35-39: "Where do you give your S.O.L.I.T.A.R.Y time to the Lord?" (Feb 07, 08, 11:41 a.m.)

Mark 1:40-42: "Where do you need to be C.L.E.A.N?" (Feb 09, 08, 11:00 a.m.)

Mark 1:43-45: "What do your actions C.A.U.S.E?" (Feb 11, 08, 9:23 a.m.)

MARK CHAPTER 2:

Mark 2:1-2: "What do you do with your P.O.P.U.L.A.R.I.T.Y?" (Feb 12, 08, 9:52 a.m.)

Mark 2:2-5: "What kind of F.R.I.E.N.D are you?" (Feb 13, 08, 11:49 a.m.)

Mark 2:5-12: "Where does P.A.R.A.L.Y.S.I.S take hold of you?" (Feb 15, 08, 7:42 a.m.)

Mark 2:5-12: "What are you thinking in your M.I.N.D?" (Feb 16, 08, 11:08 a.m.)

Mark 2:5-12: "What do you represent by your A.C.T.I.O.N.S?" (Feb 18, 08, 8:23 a.m.)

Mark 2:13-15: "Where are you looking for A.C.C.E.P.T.A.N.C.E?" (Feb 19, 08, 11:22 a.m.)

Mark 2:15-17: "Who do you I.N.V.I.T.E to Jesus?" (Feb 20, 08, 9:57 a.m.)

Mark 2:18-20: "When do you F.A.S.T?" (Feb 21, 08, 9:32 a.m.)

Mark 2:21-22: "How do you see your L.I.F.E?" (Feb 22, 08, 9:56 a.m.)

Mark 2:23-28: "What kind of L.E.A.D.E.R will you be? (Feb 23, 08, 10:46 a.m.)

Mark 2:23-28: "What does the S.A.B.B.A.T.H mean to you?" (Feb 25, 08, 10:46 a.m.)

CHAPTER 3:

Mark 3:1-6:"Whose N.E.E.D.S do you meet?" (Feb 26, 08, 9:54 a.m.)

Mark 3:7-8: "What is your I.M.P.A.C.T?" (Feb 27, 08, 8:17 a.m.)

Mark 3:9-11: "What S.P.A.C.E do you give yourself?" (Feb 28, 08, 9:38 a.m.)

Mark 3:11-12: "How do you fight E.V.I.L?" (Feb 29, 08, 9:11 a.m.)

Mark 3:13-16: "What emphasis do you put on your R.E.L.A.T.I.O.N.S.H.I.P with Jesus?" (March 01, 08, 9:29 a.m.)

Mark 3:17-19: "Where do you have your A.P.P.O.I.N.T.M.E.N.T in?" (March 03, 08, 9:49 a.m.)

Mark 3:20: "Where do you G.A.T.H.E.R?" (March 04, 08, 12:07 p.m.)

Mark 3:21: "How are your actions seen by your F.A.M.I.L.Y?" (March 05, 08, 10:24 a.m.)

Mark 3:22-27: "How do you handle S.L.A.N.D.E.R?" (March 06, 08, 7:57 a.m.)

Mark 3:28-30: "What is your V.I.E.W of Jesus?" (March 07, 08, 8:18 a.m.)

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EXPRESSIONS

Video: Delta Zeta Deliciously Delivers Lusciously with Lambda Chi Alpha

Video: Chi Omega's Operation Offers Nothin' But a Gangsta Party at Kappa Alpha Psi's Place

“God’s Own Deliverance SAVES! Wonderfully Immanuel Leaves Lesson! (G.O.D.’S W.I.L.L)”

By Ramesh C.ReddyPittsburgh StandardMarch 08, 2008

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By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

March 08, 2008